Committees and Other Court-Appointed Fiduciaries

Our lawyers represent bondholders, unsecured creditor committees, retiree committees and other committees in virtually every aspect of corporate reorganizations, out-of-court restructurings, insolvency and liquidation matters. We are able to synchronize the interests of diverse creditor constituencies and maximize the recovery for all unsecured creditors by bridging the gaps between parties of a committee and performing with objectivity. Our committee experience spans a variety of industries such as telecommunications, asbestos, energy, transportation, real estate and technology. Our experience includes:

• Representing the Unofficial Committee of General Motors Dealers, which was formed by the GM National Dealers Council (NDC), to represent it with the restructuring plans and subsequent bankruptcy proceedings of General Motors Corporation. The NDC represents the interests of approximately 6,000 GM dealers in the U.S. and serves as the dealer body's primary voice in matters relating to GM. The Unofficial Committee was formed by the NDC, in cooperation with the National Automobile Dealers Association, to represent the collective interest of GM dealers in GM's Chapter 11 case.
• Representing David T. Austern, the court-appointed future claimants representative (FCR) in the ongoing chapter 11 cases of W.R. Grace, a global chemical company. As counsel to the FCR, we obtained a court order terminating the Grace's exclusive right to file a plan of reorganization and filed a competing plan for consideration by the United States Bankruptcy Court. Additionally, the FCR took a lead role in the Bankruptcy Court's contested estimation proceeding to determine Grace's present and future aggregate asbestos bodily injury liability. The FCR and other parties have agreed with Grace on the terms of a plan of reorganization, which is proceeding to confirmation. We have a lead role in the negotiation and preparation of the plan of reorganization and related documents, and in the litigation and resolution of objections to confirmation of the plan.
• Representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Reliance Group Holdings, the holding company of one of the largest U.S. insurance companies with approximately US$500 million of public debt and an additional US$250 million in bank debt. We negotiated, drafted and obtained bankruptcy court approval of plans of reorganization for Reliance Group Holdings and Reliance Financial Services Corporation, which were overwhelmingly approved by the creditors. Through our efforts, the value of the unsecured bonds increased by over 3,500 percent. With US$12.6 billion in assets, Reliance was one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history. We continue to represent the RGH Liquidating Trust.