Large Cap
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January 17, 2025
SEC Fines Crypto Giant DCG, Ex-Genesis CEO $38.5M
Crypto venture capital firm Digital Currency Group and the ex-CEO of its bankrupt lending subsidiary Genesis Global Capital LLC agreed to a combined $38.5 million civil penalty Friday to settle claims they misled investors about Genesis' financial condition ahead of its collapse.
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January 17, 2025
FDIC Sues Ex-SVB Top Brass For 'Egregious Mismanagement'
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued Silicon Valley Bank's former CEO Gregory Becker and other top brass in California federal court in a bid to put them on the hook for the bank's costly 2023 failure, accusing them of "egregious mismanagement."
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January 17, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the family of the late chairman of Leicester City FC sue a helicopter manufacturer for £2.15 billion ($2.63 billion), Vivienne Westwood bring a copyright claim against the late designer's foundation and blockchain giant Tether file a new claim in its ongoing dispute with crypto trading firm Swan Bitcoin. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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January 17, 2025
Litigators Make Up Half Of Ballard Spahr's Promotion Class
Ballard Spahr LLP unveiled five promotions to partner and seven to of counsel on Wednesday, elevating lawyers for four of its five departments in five cities.
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January 16, 2025
Joann Can Fund Speedy Ch. 11 Sale Plans With Cash On Hand
Joann Inc. is racing to find a going concern buyer before mid-February, or it will take an offer from a firm that plans to liquidate the 80-year-old national craft supply retailer, attorneys told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Thursday, laying out the tight timeline proposed in its second Chapter 11 in less than a year.
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January 16, 2025
Facing Possible Liquidation, Joann Hopes For Ch. 11 Savior
Fabrics and crafts retailer Joann Inc. has returned to Chapter 11 for the second time in less than 12 months, with its future in the balance as it faces a potential liquidation if it can't find a buyer.
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January 16, 2025
Expert Witnesses Limited In J&J Talc Ch. 11 Dismissal Try
A Texas bankruptcy judge limited Thursday the number of expert witnesses that can provide testimony in an upcoming hearing on talc claimants' attempt to dismiss the Chapter 11 case of Johnson & Johnson's talc unit.
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January 16, 2025
Yellow Corp., Teamsters Debate WARN Suit Ahead Of Trial
Yellow Corp. and the unions representing many of the workers it laid off met in Delaware bankruptcy court Thursday to preview arguments they will deliver at a trial, set to start next week, that will determine whether the trucking company can escape some of the WARN Act claims it is facing after laying off 25,000 employees.
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January 16, 2025
Hearthside Proposes $30M In Ch. 11 Key Employee Bonuses
The bankrupt parent of snack maker Hearthside Food Solutions proposed a pair of retention and incentive payment plans that would provide up to $30 million in bonuses to key employees in the company's Texas Chapter 11 case.
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January 16, 2025
Womble Bond's New Delaware Leader Talks Growth, Visibility
A "proud and lifelong Delawarean," Jeffrey K. Simpson is excited to serve as the new managing partner of Womble Bond Dickinson's Wilmington office and help attract more talent by touting the benefits of practicing law in the First State.
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January 15, 2025
Amazon, FedEx, Anthem Blast Guo Ch. 11 Clawbacks
Amazon, Anthem and FedEx on Wednesday asked a Connecticut bankruptcy judge to toss millions in clawback claims against nearly 40 entities by Chinese exile Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee, saying during oral arguments that the trustee is misusing prior rulings that Guo's shell companies were his alter egos.
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January 15, 2025
When One Ch. 11 Doesn't Cut It: Recent 'Chapter 22s'
If there's something worse than bankruptcy, it's having to go through bankruptcy more than once. From exit loans that act more like a millstone than a launchpad, to unsuccessful attempts to shake off tort liability, to macroeconomic headwinds that just won't stop blowing, most Chapter 11 debtors show up to court more distressed the second time around.
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January 15, 2025
Madoff Feeder Fund Exec To Sell Home, Art In Trustee Deal
A co-founder of one of the earliest Bernie Madoff feeder funds and his wife have agreed to sell their Florida home and fine art collection, in addition to paying $550,000 to end a 14-year-old, $85 million clawback lawsuit from the Chapter 7 trustee liquidating Madoff's estate and defunct Ponzi investment firm.
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January 15, 2025
Calif. Resort Developer Seeks City Funding For Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave the owner of a California resort project another week to secure $11 million in municipal Chapter 11 financing, and similarly delayed a request by the U.S. Trustee's Office to dismiss the reorganization attempt, which the watchdog called hopeless.
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January 15, 2025
Judge OKs More Fees In Calif. Debt Relief Firm's Bankruptcy
A California bankruptcy judge has tentatively approved an additional $2.1 million in professional fees in the bankruptcy case of a troubled debt relief firm, despite the amount of professional fees already exceeding the amount paid out to creditors so far.
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January 15, 2025
Crafts Retailer Joann Hits Ch. 11 Again With $616M In Debt
Fabrics and crafts retailer Joann Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court Wednesday with $615.7 million in debt and a plan to sell its assets, the company's second Chapter 11 filing in less than a year.
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January 14, 2025
Willkie Shouldn't Rep Franchise Group In Ch. 11, Says Trustee
The Office of the U.S. Trustee has objected to Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP serving as co-counsel for debtor Franchise Group Inc. in its Chapter 11, saying the firm did prepetition work for Franchise's ex-CEO and affiliates on transactions that led to Franchise being indebted in the first place.
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January 14, 2025
Prospect Medical Beats Objection To $29M In Ch. 11 Funds
A Texas bankruptcy judge said Tuesday she would allow struggling hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. to borrow part of a $100 million financing package that prompted an objection from the company's landlord, saying the money was needed to ensure patients continue to receive care.
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January 14, 2025
Resort Developer Asks To Wind Up Chinese Co. In Bahamas
The developer of the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas filed a petition Tuesday to liquidate a Chinese-owned construction firm that was hit with a $1.6 billion judgment last year by a New York court over its fraud tied to the construction of the resort project.
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January 14, 2025
Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action
California-based hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings filed for Chapter 11 in Texas with over $1 billion in debt. Joriki USA Inc. filed for Chapter 7 with $300 million in liabilities after its Canadian parent sought creditor protection and shut down a plant due to a listeria outbreak.
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January 14, 2025
Airline Workers' Attys Get $4.2M From ESOP Deal
A Delaware federal judge Tuesday awarded over $4.2 million in fees to class counsel in a suit over alleged mismanagement of the employee stock ownership plan at bankrupt cargo hauler Western Global Airlines that was settled in September for $14.5 million.
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January 13, 2025
Giuliani Held In Contempt Again, EPA Slams $535M Talc Deal
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt for a second time, Johnson & Johnson's bankrupt spinoff called Brown Rudnick's bid to represent an official committee of talc claimants "an ethical violation," and the federal government objected to a $535 million settlement that bankrupt talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels reached regarding talc claims in its New Jersey Chapter 11 case.
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January 13, 2025
Meet The Attorneys Advising Prospect Medical In Ch. 11
A team of attorneys from Sidley Austin LLP is representing California-based hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. in its Chapter 11 case in Texas, as the company aims to sell several facilities while refocusing on operations in its home state.
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January 13, 2025
Sen. Warren To Grill Treasury Pick On Trump's Tax Agenda
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., plans to ask Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday about President-elect Donald Trump's tax agenda and plans for the Internal Revenue Service, according to a letter she sent the nominee.
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January 13, 2025
Purdue Pharma Inks Draft Deal, Seeks Mediation Extension
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP has inked a 50-page term sheet and 75-page draft master settlement agreement that could resolve its more than 5-year-old bankruptcy case after its last plan was tossed out, it said in a New York court filing.
Expert Analysis
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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How 9th Circ. Ruling Expands Bankruptcy Trustees' Powers
The Ninth Circuit recently held in The Lovering Tubbs Trust v. Hoffman that a trustee can avoid intentionally fraudulent transfers, even if no creditor suffered harm as a result, materially strengthening bankruptcy trustees' powers, say Robert Klyman and Rod Kazempour at DLA Piper.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory
The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.
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Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers
Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.
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Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys
Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.
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AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys
The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Expect More Restaurant Ch. 11s As COVID Debt Comes Due
The wave of restaurant bankruptcies is likely to continue in the coming months as companies face the looming repayment of COVID-19 pandemic-era government loans, an uncertain economy and increased interest rates, says Isaac Marcushamer at DGIM Law.
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Mitigating Risk In Net Asset Value Facility Bankruptcies
In times of economic turbulence, parties to bankruptcy proceedings that involve net asset value facilities can mitigate risk by understanding the purpose of the automatic stay, complications it can create for NAV facility lenders and options for relief, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Tax Traps In Acquisitions Of Financially Distressed Targets
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Parties to the acquisition of an insolvent or bankrupt company face myriad tax considerations, including limitations on using the distressed company's tax benefits, cancellation of indebtedness income, tax lien issues and potential tax reorganizations.