NEW YORK, July 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- With its filing of Chapter 11 proceedings last week on behalf of SemGroup L.P., a Tulsa-based energy trading company that reported $14.2 billion in 2007 revenue, the Business Finance and Restructuring (BFR) practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, responsible for the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring practice area, took second half leadership among all law firms in the closely watched bankruptcy arena.
The SemGroup filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, involving approximately $3.1 billion of debt, brought Chapter 11 filings by the Weil Gotshal BFR group to a total of four since the beginning of June, carrying aggregate debt exceeding $6.1 billion, and $7.1 billion for all of 2008. The cases, for clients in a broad spectrum of industries ranging from retail to energy to land development, come on top of existing robust momentum in the BFR group's creditor and distressed investing representations. According to court records, Weil Gotshal has filed more Chapter 11 proceedings in this period than any other U.S. law firm.
Said Marcia Goldstein, chair of the BFR practice, "As the go-to choice for complex debtor matters, we see more debtor representations than any other firm, including for companies seeking out of court solutions. The latest upsurge in momentum simply confirms our market leadership." In the recent period, the BFR group has handled the high-profile filings for Steve & Barry's, the leading clothing retailer; LandSource, a major land developer based in California; and Vertis Communications, a provider of advertising and direct marketing services. As the first ever coordinated dual prepack and merger, Vertis is considered especially notable among leading bankruptcy practitioners as a landmark innovation in maximizing recovery for all stakeholders, as well as for the unique structure of the deal.
Earlier this year, the firm had already filed for, among others, the specialty retailer and household name The Sharper Image; and Charys Holding Company, a provider of infrastructure program management and contracting services. Continued Goldstein, "The underlying reasons our practice is selected time after time are the same as they've always been -- the best quality in the industry, coupled with our work approach which preserves maximum value for all constituencies who are party to these highly complex situations through the speed and efficiency we bring to the process." As one example of the efficacy of the BFR group's approach, she cited the filing for PRC, the Florida-based customer service outsourcer -- which emerged from Chapter 11 in June only 5 months after it filed.
Perennially ranked as the number one bankruptcy practice by the legal industry's most authoritative sources, Weil Gotshal's BFR practice operates globally and has handled the largest bankruptcy cases in history, including Enron and WorldCom, as well as Parmalat, Global Crossing and Eurotunnel. The group has been beefing up its already formidable European ranks over the past quarter, most recently with the addition in the London office of Tony Horspool, the noted UK insolvency lawyer.
In fact, the firm as a whole has proven a magnet for illustrious lateral-in transfers of late, most recently with the arrival in the London office of Peter King, one of the most highly decorated UK M&A practitioners; Joseph Basile, a hedge fund specialist, in the firm's Boston office; and Mark Davis, Ronald Pabis and Brian Ferguson, a highly regarded patent litigation team, in the Washington, D.C. office.
On the growth trend in Chapter 11 filings, Goldstein added, "We're operating at full throttle, the pipeline is gushing and Weil Gotshal's BFR group is in its accustomed leadership position. All systems are 'go'."
Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com), an international law firm of over 1,300 lawyers, including approximately 300 partners, is headquartered in New York, with offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Budapest, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Miami, Munich, Paris, Prague, Providence, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Warsaw, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington.
Rubenstein Associates
Rhonda Walker
212-843-8338
rwalker@rubenstein.com