Mid Cap
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December 11, 2024
High Court Bar's Future: Haynes Boone's Daniel Geyser
Daniel L. Geyser of Haynes and Boone LLP is an unconventional U.S. Supreme Court advocate in every respect, from the path he forged to become one of the high court's frequent arguers to the way he runs his current practice from more than half a country away from the nation's capital.
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December 11, 2024
Embattled Texas Law Firm Heading To Mediation In Ch. 11
Troubled Houston law firm MMA Law said it will engage in mediation with litigation funders Equal Access Justice Fund LP and creditors to try to sort out issues pertaining to the firm's bankruptcy plan and other matters, days after Equal Access escaped a class action involving MMA Law.
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December 11, 2024
DA Says Allegheny County Pension System Risks Insolvency
The Allegheny County employee retirement coffers could run out of money within 15 years, the Pennsylvania jurisdiction's top prosecutor warned in a lawsuit seeking to make the county and the retirement board fix the allegedly floundering system.
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December 11, 2024
Blank Rome Partner Promotions Hold Steady At 12
Blank Rome LLP scored a three-peat with its recent attorney promotions after announcing this week it will elevate 12 attorneys to partner for the third year in a row when the new year starts.
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December 11, 2024
K&L Gates Hires Restructuring Pro From Katten In London
K&L Gates LLP has hired a restructuring specialist from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP to boost its legal services to clients ranging from corporate trustees to private credit funds and financial institutions.
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December 10, 2024
Texas Judge Says Infowars Sale Flawed, Rejects Onion Bid
A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday denied a request by the trustee of the Alex Jones estate to sell the conspiracy theorist's Infowars website to satirical news outlet The Onion, saying a muddled auction process failed to generate enough value for creditors.
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December 10, 2024
Paul Hastings Says Biz Waived Privilege On Malpractice Docs
Paul Hastings LLP has called on a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to force GenapSys Inc., known as Redwood Liquidating Co. since its bankruptcy, to turn over documents that it had inadvertently produced in a legal malpractice suit alleging that the law firm improperly drafted board documents that led to the "demise and liquidation" of the genetic-sequencing company.
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December 10, 2024
UpHealth Says Glocal Execs Stalling On $115M Award Suit
Digital health services company UpHealth has asked an Illinois federal judge to favor its efforts to pin down assets belonging to executives of Indian healthcare firm Glocal as it looks to enforce a $115 million arbitral award, saying the respondents are engaging in "obstructionist" conduct.
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December 10, 2024
US Trustee Seeks Oversight Of Hospital Chain's Ch. 11
The U.S. Trustee's Office has argued that bankrupt hospital operator CarePoint Health should be taken over by a Chapter 11 trustee, or it should be liquidated, due to gross mismanagement, including failing to remit more than $20 million withheld from employees' paychecks this year and concerns about a prepetition deal to sell one of its three hospitals.
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December 10, 2024
BigLaw Firms Freed From Bankruptcy Judge Romance Suit
Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Jackson Walker LLP have officially escaped an investor's racketeering lawsuit alleging a conspiracy involving a former Texas bankruptcy judge and his secret romance with a former Jackson Walker partner.
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December 10, 2024
Insurer QBE Settles Suit Over Failed $18M Wind Support Deal
Belgium-based insurer QBE Europe has settled a lawsuit accusing it of wasting available policy limits on pointless litigation rather than make a reasonable offer in a separate $18 million dispute over a failed wind support vessel deal, according to a Tuesday filing.
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December 10, 2024
Utah Beverage Canning Co. Seeks Sale In Ch. 11
A company that makes and fills beverage cans has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Utah bankruptcy court with $476 million in debt, saying COVID-19 caused delays in the opening of its Salt Lake City facility that left it with too little liquidity to continue.
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December 09, 2024
Pro Se Giuliani Says 4 Attys Turned Him Down, Blames Judge
Rudy Giuliani on Monday secured extra time to fight Georgia poll workers' request that he be held in civil contempt, time Giuliani argued he needed because he's struggling to find an attorney to represent him in the case thanks to a D.C. federal judge being "biased about Trump-related matters."
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December 09, 2024
Jones Says Waiver Gave Onion Unfair Edge In Infowars Auction
Lawyers for Alex Jones on Monday stepped up their criticism of satirical news outlet The Onion's bid to buy the conspiracy theorist's Infowars website, urging a Texas bankruptcy judge to block the deal and hand Infowars to a company operating a supplements website instead.
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December 09, 2024
NY Diocese Plan Confirmed, Bankruptcy Bills Reintroduced
A diocese covering 132 Roman Catholic parishes on New York's Long Island has secured confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan in a case it started four years ago. An Oregon federal judge has ruled that memos tied to an ethics scandal in the Southern District of Texas' bankruptcy court aren't shielded by attorney-client privilege. And members of the U.S. Senate have renewed legislation to ban the controversial "Texas two-step" bankruptcy maneuver and add protections for rank-and-file workers impacted by corporate insolvencies.
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December 09, 2024
5th Circ. Revives Yemeni Man's Bid To Recover Atty Payment
The Fifth Circuit on Monday revived a Yemeni man's bid to recover over $800,000 from his former attorney, saying a bankruptcy court didn't fully flesh out whether equitable tolling was warranted if the attorney secretly transferred the money elsewhere.
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December 09, 2024
Cooley Attys Sued For Malpractice In Tech Co. Ch. 7
A trustee overseeing a software provider's Chapter 7 liquidation has accused a legal team from Cooley LLP of helping the company's CEO deceive investors and embezzle money while serving as its corporate counsel.
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December 09, 2024
Famous Steakhouse Chain's Ex-GC Gets Go-Ahead For Bias Suit
The ex-general counsel of iconic steakhouse chain The Palm Restaurant can move ahead with a discrimination lawsuit claiming she was ousted after a 2020 bankruptcy sale, a New York federal court ruled Monday.
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December 09, 2024
Litigation Funding Firms Escape Hurricane Ad Suit
Two litigation funders have succeeded in exiting a proposed class action alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a Houston federal court adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss claims for a lack of plausible allegations.
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December 06, 2024
Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
A Texas oil and gas driller is seeking permission to sell its oilfields, while the U.S. Trustee's Office is looking to shut another oil producer's yearslong Chapter 11 down, and creditors of a bankrupt medical implant maker are alleging the debtor's bankruptcy financing and sale plans are a way for its private equity sponsor to weasel out of product liability claims.
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December 06, 2024
Ga. Poll Workers Want 'Severe' Sanctions Against Giuliani
The two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani have asked a federal judge to hold the former Donald Trump attorney in civil contempt and impose "severe" sanctions for his "willful flouting" and "blatant disregard" of court orders.
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December 06, 2024
Creditor Says Failed Solar Biotech Bidder Shouldn't Get Fee
A creditor of Solar Biotech asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to deny a request to pay the failed stalking horse bidder's $456,000 breakup fee, arguing there was no evidence the protections were necessary or that the bidder relied on them.
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December 06, 2024
Cancer Claimant Amici Slam Bestwall's Two-Step Ch. 11
Georgia-Pacific unit Bestwall's bid to handle asbestos liability using a controversial "Texas Two-Step" Chapter 11 case is "grotesquely inequitable" and "plainly at odds" with the tenets of bankruptcy, a group of injury claimants in separate insolvency proceedings said in a brief urging the Fourth Circuit to toss the case.
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December 06, 2024
Conn. Panel Pares $150M From $1.44B Alex Jones Verdict
The Connecticut Appellate Court on Friday sliced $150 million from a $1.44 billion trial court judgment against Infowars host Alex Jones over his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, holding the state's consumer protection laws did not allow the massacre's survivors to recover for alleged harms connected to Jones' ancillary product sales.
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December 06, 2024
Calif. Trucking Company Files Ch. 11 With $325M Of Debt
California-based trucking company KAL Freight Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court, saying it has $325 million of debt obligations it can't meet after a post-COVID expansion effort foundered with slackening customer demand.
Q&A With 1MDB Co-Liquidator Angela Barkhouse
Angela Barkhouse, who leads the offshore restructuring business for Kroll, has faced heartbroken creditors and corrupt presidents in her time running financial probes and offshore asset recoveries, including stints as a joint liquidator for 1Malaysia Development Berhad and as an investigator of fraud by a former Maldives president.
Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action
KAL Freight Inc. filed for Chapter 11 due to declining demand after a COVID-19-related expansion. Vobev LLC entered bankruptcy citing COVID-19-linked delays in launching its Salt Lake City plant. Connecticut real estate firms filed in that state with between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities, while a Minnesota apartment complex filed in New York. Brazilian cement supplier InterCement Brasil SA filed a new Chapter 15 case in New York, adding entities excluded from its July filing.
Judge Grossman Reflects On 20 Years On Bankruptcy Bench
After nearly 20 years on the bench in the Eastern District of New York, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Grossman will retire next June.
Expert Analysis
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6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School
Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.
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Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware
Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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A Closer Look At SDNY Bankruptcy Rule Amendments
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York’s recent amendments to its local rules aim to streamline key Chapter 11 processes, resolve misunderstandings about previous iterations of the rules and urge caution about the use of artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Skadden.
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FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation
The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.
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Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.
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Equitable Mootness Insights From Greenlit Ch. 11 Plan Appeal
A Texas federal court recently allowed a challenge to ConvergeOne's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to proceed because it wouldn't disrupt the IT company's confirmed plan or harm creditors, reinforcing the importance of judicial restraint in applying equitable mootness where limited relief is possible, say attorneys at Parkins & Rubio.
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Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review
For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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The Challenges Of Abandoned Retirement Plans In Ch. 7
The Department of Labor's rule for unwinding retirement accounts when plan sponsors file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy was intended to alleviate trustees' administration issues, but practical challenges, like unresolved fee and identification matters, could hinder its implementation, say David Goodrich at Golden Goodrich and Nancy Simons at Stretto.
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Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer
Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
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When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records
Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?
Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.