NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 10, 2008) - Lawrence Gottlieb, Chair of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP's Bankruptcy & Restructuring Group, appeared recently before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law to inform key members of Congress about the impact of 2005 bankruptcy code changes on retailers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

With the recent changes among investment banks and the banking industry, Gottlieb was asked to speak about trends in retail restructuring in a committee hearing about whether Chapter 11 bankruptcies are working.

"The systemic decline of Chapter 11 reorganization has also invaded the retail sector, where 'hard assets' are no less prevalent today than they were in the 1990s, a time when many distressed retailers used the significant powers and protections of the Chapter 11 process to resuscitate their businesses," noted Gottlieb.

Gottlieb is one of three of Cooley's Bankruptcy & Restructuring Group partners listed in the top five unsecured creditor lawyers by The Deal, based on the number of active assignments as of August 27, 2008. Partners Jay R. Indyke and Cathy Hershcopf are also listed as top bankruptcy lawyers, based on the number of active assignments as of June 30, 2008.

Gottlieb serves as Chair of Cooley's Bankruptcy & Restructuring Group, which has received notable accolades recently for its representation in numerous bankruptcy proceedings. The Firm ranked #2 among top unsecured creditor law firms with 62 active cases by The Deal in a recently published quarterly bankruptcy league tables and was the seventh most active firm advising in bankruptcy proceedings that were active as of June 30, 2008.

Cooley currently has 188 active cases, including high-profile national retail bankruptcies Steve & Barry's, The Bombay Company, CompUSA, Hancock Fabrics, Lillian Vernon and The Sharper Image.

"This year has gotten progressively more active in terms of the volume of bankruptcy matters, although the majority of retail bankruptcies are still resulting in liquidation events," said Gottlieb. "We expect that the weak economy will continue to generate a significant amount of representations for our department."

In addition to a number of national retailer assignments, Cooley is representing the creditor's committees in regional retail bankruptcies for companies including Mervyns, Shoe Pavilion, Boscov's and Goody's.

About Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

Cooley Godward Kronish's 725 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The Firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including clean tech, technology, life sciences, real estate, financial services, retail and energy.

The Firm has full-service offices in major business and technology centers nationwide: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO, Washington, DC, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA.

For additional information on Cooley, please visit www.cooley.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Michael Larkin 212-479-6333 mlarkin@cooley.com