Corporate & Business Transactions Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights & Workout

We represent trade creditors who are seeking protection of their rights both in and out of bankruptcy court. We represent:

• Buyers purchasing assets at bankruptcy court sales or through out-of-court proceedings, including secured party sales.
• Secured creditors seeking to enforce their rights under their security documents.
• Landlords addressing rejection of, or assumption and assignment of, leases in bankruptcy court.
• Creditors defending preference and fraudulent transfer actions.
• Construction companies navigating the intersection of bankruptcy, surety law, and other construction-specific issues.
• Vendors in connection with retail bankruptcies, with a focus on secured transactions and Article 9 issues.

Our work often goes beyond the bankruptcy court. For example:

• We represent both borrowers and lenders in out-of-court restructurings. This often involves negotiating intricate workout transactions.
• We frequently assist clients in structuring complex transactions to securitize loans for “bankruptcy remote” purposes.
• We structure settlements to ensure the maximum protection for our clients.
• We facilitate secured-party sales of distressed assets.

• We represented a real estate investor in the successful acquisition of a portfolio comprised of convenience stores and gas stations from a bankruptcy estate. The project involved a unique and challenging mix of complex issues, including environmental, bankruptcy, leasing, licensing, title, conveyancing, and contract law. Hinckley Allen real estate attorneys led the transaction and coordinated with the firm’s bankruptcy, government affairs, licensing, corporate, and environmental attorneys.
• We represented a major national bank in the $60 million sale of a tower office building that housed its corporate headquarters. The transaction provided for a lease back of its office space, including preservation of critical rights to expand or reduce the leased premises, building naming rights, and numerous customized provisions designed to ensure that its corporate headquarters would operate substantially similar to its operation when it owned the property outright. The transaction benefitted the client by increasing its cash position by tens of millions of dollars while preserving its lead tenant status in the building.
• We defended participant banks in a Chapter 7 adversary proceeding seeking in excess of $100 million in damages in connection with alleged fraudulent loans to fund petrochemical and petroleum business.
• We represented a regional bank in a diverse range of Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy court proceedings, state court foreclosure actions, and out-of-state workouts generally involving manufacturing companies, real estate developers, construction companies, and related industries. We counseled the client in creditor rights issues in Chapter 11 reorganization plans, asset liquidation, and loan restructurings, as well as litigation concerning lender liability, fraudulent transfers, and bank fraud.
• We acted as chief workout and restructuring counsel to a heavy civil construction company with over $1 billion in annual revenues and acted as special counsel in the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
• We have extensive experience representing purchasers in asset sales under § 363 of the Bankruptcy Code with respect to a wide variety of assets, including commercial real estate, shopping mall leases, asphalt plants, hotels, and manufacturing businesses.