Finance & Bankruptcy Blog

Alan H. Martin - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Martin is a Co-Practice Group Leader for Sheppard Mullin's Finance & Bankruptcy practice. He specializes in commercial finance law, corporate restructuring, asset disposition and acquisition, creditors' rights enforcement, commercial litigation and bankruptcy. His expertise includes extensive work in bankruptcy and state courts, as well as loan documentation. He has represented creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, landlords, equipment lessors and debtors and the schools subcommittee (with total claims of over $1.1 billion) in the County of Orange bankruptcy.

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Edward H. Tillinghast III - Partner - New York/Shanghai

Mr. Tillinghast is a Co-Practice Group Leader for Sheppard Mullin's Finance & Bankruptcy practice. He specializes in corporate reorganizations and restructurings, cross-border insolvencies, creditors’ rights litigation, distressed mergers and acquisitions, advising distressed asset investors on high-yield investments and insolvency-related securitization opinions.  He advises clients in many jurisdictions throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, Russia, South America and the United States.  He has represented creditors, debtors, institutional lenders, bondholder committees and distressed asset investors in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings, and distressed asset sales in many industries, including automotive, aviation, financial services, food and food products, gaming, health care, high technology, infrastructure projects, manufacturing, mining, new media, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, publishing, real estate, retail, sporting goods, sports teams, steel, telecommunications and utilities.

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Michael H. Ahrens - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Ahrens represents clients throughout the country in all types of insolvency proceedings, including confirmation of plans, rejection and assumption of leases and other executory contracts, and bankruptcy litigation. Mr. Ahrens represents secured creditors, debtors, creditors' committees, trustees and receivers. In addition, Mr. Ahrens has represented business clients in the purchase and sale of assets of troubled companies. Finally, he has substantial experience with loan workout problems of troubled companies, representing both financial institutions and borrowers.

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Richard W. Brunette, Jr. - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Brunette specializes in Creditors' Rights, commercial litigation and business bankruptcy representing creditors, trustees, and creditors committees. Mr. Brunette has extensive experience in creditors rights litigation and appellate work. He has broad experience in business and real estate workouts involving various industries, including hospitality, technology companies, retailing and agribusiness. He lectures frequently on commercial law and bankruptcy issues.

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Malani J. Cademartori - Partner - New York

 Ms. Cademartori regularly counsels both international and domestic clients in the areas of corporate reorganization and restructuring, domestic and cross -border insolvencies, creditors' rights, distressed acquisitions, insolvency-related securitization opinions, debtor-in-possession financing, and matters related to contract, lease and license issues in the insolvency and bankruptcy context. Ms. Cademartori has represented a wide array of entities in these areas, including major creditors, institutional lenders, bondholder committees, and both strategic and financial purchasers of distressed assets in bankruptcy cases and out-of-court restructuring, and covering various industries, including, among others, retail, telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, real estate, manufacturing, health care, aviation, trucking, and foreign infrastructure projects.

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Steven W. Cardoza - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Cardoza specializes in real property law, commercial law, secured and unsecured lending, equity investments and bankruptcy matters. His experience includes syndicated credits, senior and mezzanine debt financing, participating or "contingent" interest financing and loan originations for the commercial mortgaged-backed securities market. He has extensive experience representing banks, credit companies and other institutional investors negotiating and documenting secured transactions and equity investments in office buildings, retail centers, apartments, hotels and other income properties. In addition, Mr. Cardoza represents lenders and institutional investors in workouts, restructures and bankruptcies involving commercial mortgage loans and real estate investments.

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Kenneth J. Carl - Partner - Los Angeles/New York

Mr. Carl specializes in commercial law and focuses on lender (and borrower) representation in personal and real property secured transactions, loan workouts and bankruptcy. For the past 27 years, he has worked on business loans to entities in numerous industries. Mr. Carl also has extensive experience in bank regulatory matters and bank acquisition transactions.

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Simon K. Cheong - Partner - Beijing

Mr. Cheong has more than 17 years experience advising multinational companies and financial institutions on cross-border M&A and financing matters. In addition to his private practice experience, Simon served as Senior Counsel for the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation (IFC) in mainland China.

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Dean A. Demetre - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Demetre joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in 1980 and became a partner in 1988. He specializes in real property law, commercial law, secured and unsecured lending and bankruptcy matters. His experience includes real property financing transactions, personal property and asset based lending transactions, highly leveraged transactions, participating loan/ "equity kicker" transactions, mezzanine financing, subscription facilities, participated and syndicated transactions, problem loan workouts and representation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings.

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Charles S. Donovan - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Donovan's practice focuses on international and domestic finance, leasing and related arbitration and litigation, with particular emphasis on transportation matters. He has extensive experience in negotiation of international agreements. He has lectured and written on topics relating to international law, ocean shipping, air and land transport, satellites, and cross-border leasing.

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Julie M. Ebert - Partner - San Francisco

Ms. Ebert's main area of emphasis is general commercial lending, including real estate and asset-based finance, workouts, and bankruptcy, with an emphasis on resort and hospitality transactions.

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Alan M. Feld - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Feld’s practice focuses on both international and domestic bankruptcy, business reorganizations and workouts involving complex collateral packages and multiple jurisdictions. He represents bondholders, lenders, servicers and other creditors in connection with bankruptcy and financial restructuring matters of all types. His experience includes a wide breadth of out of court restructurings as well as complex Chapter 11 proceedings. Mr. Feld's bankruptcy expertise includes cash collateral proceedings, DIP financings, section 363(f) asset sales, automatic stay litigation and plan litigation.

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Geraldine A. Freeman - Partner - San Francisco

Ms. Freeman specializes in finance, real estate, bankruptcy, workouts, and enforcement of creditors' rights and remedies.  Ms. Freeman represents a wide range of clients in all aspects of finance, real estate, bankruptcy and creditors' rights. Industries have included agriculture, alcoholic beverage, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, defense, health care and high technology products and services, automotive and the arts.

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Jenny P. Garner - Partner - San Francisco

 Ms. Park Garner specializes in commercial law, real estate, secured and unsecured lending transactions, workouts, bankruptcy, and enforcement of creditor's rights and remedies. She represents a wide range of clients in all aspects of finance, real estate, bankruptcy, and creditor's rights matters.

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Brent E. Horstman - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Horstman practices commercial law with a specialty in real and personal property secured financings and workouts, representing lenders, corporate borrowers, and private equity sponsors. In particular, Mr. Horstman has extensive experience negotiating merger and acquisition financings. Mr. Horstman has worked on transactions involving numerous industries, including a significant number of transactions in the hotel, gaming and leisure industry and the entertainment industry.

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Ori Katz - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Katz specializes in business bankruptcies and creditors' rights. He has represented debtors, individual creditors, creditors' committees, parties purchasing assets out of bankruptcy and parties involved in bankruptcy litigation. He has represented chapter 11 debtors in a wide range of industries, including real estate, retail, construction, biotech, telecommunications and internet businesses. He has also represented lenders in connection with loan workouts, restructurings and foreclosures.

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Seth (Byoung Soo) Kim - Partner - Seoul/New York

Mr. Kim specializes in entertainment law, commercial law, bankruptcy, bank regulatory matters, and bank acquisition transactions.  Mr. Kim counsels both international and domestic clients in the areas of corporate reorganization and restructuring, domestic and cross-border insolvencies, and creditors' rights.  Mr. Kim has represented a wide array of entities in these areas, including major creditors, institutional lenders, bondholder committees, and distressed asset investors and purchasers in bankruptcy cases.

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Charbel Lahoud - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Lahoud specializes in commercial law and focuses his practice on the documentation, negotiation and structuring of financial transactions. His experience includes representing lenders, agents, participants and borrowers in personal and real property secured syndicated loan transactions and asset-based loan transactions.

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Brent R. Liljestrom - Partner - Orange County

 Mr. Liljestrom's areas of specialization include all aspects of commercial lending, real property finance, real property purchase and sale transactions, loan workouts and restructurings. The primary emphasis of his practice is the representation of construction and permanent institutional lenders in real estate secured loan transactions, including those involving portfolios of multiple properties. He also has extensive experience representing institutional lenders as credit-enhancers and purchasers of both taxable and tax-exempt bonds, including affordable housing bonds and industrial revenue bonds.

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Aaron J. Malo - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Malo's practice focuses on creditors' rights issues. He primarily represents lending institutions, financial services corporations, equipment lessors, landlords, and other creditors. Mr. Malo has extensive experience in all aspects of bankruptcy and workout proceedings. He has also served as lead trial counsel for significant jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. Mr. Malo teaches bankruptcy law at Golden Gate University's Orange County campus and frequently writes on creditors' rights matters.

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J. Barrett Marum - Partner - San Diego

Mr. Marum practices in the areas of bankruptcy law and commercial litigation. He has experience representing parties involved in complex insolvency proceedings, including representing creditors and other parties in pre-bankruptcy litigation, workout negotiations and bankruptcy proceedings. Mr. Marum also has a wide variety of experience representing plaintiffs, defendants and court-appointed receivers in disputes in state and federal court, including claims involving breach of contract, real property, unfair business practices, business torts, federal banking laws and regulations and borrower litigation against lenders.

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Kyle J. Mathews - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Mathews specializes in the area of workouts, restructuring and commercial lending, mainly representing financial institutions. His practice includes: problem loan workouts, restructurings, foreclosures and bankruptcies; sales and liquidations of assets; single lender and syndicated senior secured financing, acquisition and working capital loans.

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David J. McCarty - Partner - Los Angeles/Orange County

Mr. McCarty specializes in bankruptcy, insolvency, creditors' rights and commercial law. He has represented a wide variety of constituencies in bankruptcy and troubled debt matters, including secured creditors, lessors, credit enhancers, indenture trustees, Chapter 11 and 7 trustees, debtors-in-possession, creditors' committees, and acquiring parties and their lenders.

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Steven C. Nock - Partner - Orange County

Mr. Nock is a real estate attorney specializing in commercial leasing, commercial purchase and sale transactions and real-estate secured loan transactions and workouts. Mr. Nock has extensive experience with all types of commercial leases, including high-rise office leases, large build-to-suit warehouse leases, retail anchor and shop leases and industrial building leases.

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Joel R. Ohlgren - Of Counsel - Santa Barbara

Mr. Ohlgren's areas of practice are bankruptcy, creditors' rights, complex bankruptcy litigation, international insolvency issues and commercial law. He has represented various interests in a wide range of industries, including agriculture (growers, packers and distributors), building and construction, real estate, healthcare, petroleum and energy, shipping companies, hotel and hospitality, retail, wholesale and manufacturing businesses.

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Mark T. Okuma - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Okuma represents a broad range of domestic and foreign institutional and private clients in connection with many types of real estate, including commercial, industrial, office, multi-family, residential tract, condominium, hotel, resort, casino, golf course, and mixed-use projects.

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Todd L. Padnos - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Padnos has represented clients in bankruptcy, business reorganization, workout, restructuring, commercial litigation and insurance regulatory litigation matters. His bankruptcy/business reorganization practice has involved the representation of debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors' committees, trustees, indenture trustees, lessors, and purchasers of assets in a variety of matters throughout the country. His commercial litigation practice has involved both the prosecution and defense of claims involving lender liability, fraudulent conveyance, fraud, securities fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. His insurance regulatory litigation practice has involved the representation of insurance companies in ratemaking, market conduct and regulatory enforcement proceedings.

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Kenneth A. Peterson, Jr. - Partner - Chicago

Mr. Peterson concentrates his practice on corporate and municipal finance. He provides representation to lenders, investors, borrowers and guarantors in connection with U.S. denominated and multi-currency senior, mezzanine and subordinated corporate financing transactions. These financings have included secured and unsecured debt, and single lender, syndicated and club transactions consisting of term and revolving credit facilities, asset-based debt financings, construction credit facilities, financings primarily secured with intellectual property, venture capital transactions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, high yield debt offerings, cross-border and domestic private placements of debt, securitized debt offerings, international vendor financings, convertible debt transactions, debtor-in-possession financings and workout and restructuring of distressed debt transactions.

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Terrence V. Ponsford - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Ponsford started his career as a trial lawyer. For approximately twenty-five years, he has practiced in the creditors' rights area representing, creditors, creditors' committees and debtors. He represented the FDIC as Receiver of United States National Bank in San Diego, California, between 1973 and 1983. Upon his return to San Francisco, he continued to practice in the bankruptcy and workout area. He has represented clients in all areas of insolvency and bankruptcy litigation. Additionally, Mr. Ponsford has worked extensively with clients in troubled real estate and commercial ventures, representing both purchasers and sellers of distressed property, banks and borrowers in workout situations, and generally giving advice to distressed entities. He has taught extensively regarding California secured real property law.

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Richard C. Pugh, Jr. - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Pugh specializes in commercial finance and debt restructuring, representing both lenders and corporate borrowers. His practice includes documenting and closing debt financing transactions such as syndicated senior credit facilities, asset based loans, acquisition financing, mezzanine financing, debtor-in-possession financing and Chapter 11 exit financing.

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Russell L. Reid, Jr. - Partner - London/New York

Mr. Reid's practice focuses on the areas of creditors' rights, bankruptcy, and corporate reorganization and refinance, with particular emphasis on default administration for trustees and servicers of securitized mortgagee trusts.  On behalf of debtors, creditors, committees, indenture trustees and loan servicers, he has developed and negotiated disclosure materials and plans of reorganization, and has prosecuted and defended litigation involving the automatic stay, cash collateral, debtor-in-possession financing, plan confirmation and claim disposition.

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D. Ronald Ryland - Partner - Chicago

Mr. Ryland has been a business litigator and bankruptcy lawyer for over forty years, with a substantial focus on the representation of financial institutions and other creditors. He specializes in the defense of class actions and other litigation and the representation of creditors in workouts and bankruptcies. He has tried cases before the federal district, state and bankruptcy courts throughout California and regularly represents clients in arbitrations and other dispute resolution proceedings.

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Steven B. Sacks - Partner - San Francisco

Mr. Sacks is an experienced business trial lawyer with expertise in products liability, insurance coverage disputes, officer and director liability, creditors' rights issues, and breach of contract disputes. Recently, he successfully tried two cases to verdict before juries and received a favorable decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversing a judgment of over $5 million. In addition to his trial and appellate skills, Mr. Sacks has also resolved many cases through arbitration, appraisal and mediation proceedings.

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Edward F. Schiff - Partner - Washington D.C./New York

Mr. Schiff is a highly experienced, innovative business attorney who has been in practice for over thirty years. He assists publicly and privately held companies structure and manage complex transactions; advises entrepreneurs and investors on raising and investing capital; and aids in development of creative and effective financing techniques. Mr. Schiff handles acquisitions and divestitures, equity and debt restructurings, leveraged buy-outs, joint ventures and strategic partnerships for clients ranging from emerging businesses and commercial banks, to venture capital firms and institutional lenders.

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Carren B. Shulman - Partner - New York

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Christine L. Swanick - Partner - New York

Ms. Swanick concentrates her practice in the area of commercial financing and other credit transactions, including commercial loans, syndicated credit facilities and note and bond financings, especially in the area of tribal-related financing projects. Additionally, Ms. Swanick advises on restructuring of tribal debt. She also represents tribes and entities doing business with tribes in contractual, gaming, regulatory and economic development matters. Her work puts her in regular contact with federal decision-makers, including attorneys at the National Indian Gaming Commission.

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Robert E. Williams - Partner - Los Angeles

Mr. Williams' practice has included work in almost all areas of real estate practice. In recent years, his practice has focused upon representation of lenders, including domestic and foreign banks, insurance companies and other financiers. His work has included documentation of construction loans, permanent loans, "mini perms," unsecured and "borrowing base" credit facilities, and negotiation of real estate loan "workouts."

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William R. Wyatt - Partner - New York/San Francisco

Mr. Wyatt specializes in commercial law, real and personal property secured loan documentation, workouts and bankruptcy. Mr. Wyatt has litigation experience in both bankruptcy and state courts. He has been involved in documenting real estate secured lines of credit, construction loans, and credit enhancement for tax-exempt bond and certificate of participation transactions, aircraft leasing and lending, ship financing, rail car and other types of equipment financing transactions. He has documented both leveraged and non-leveraged leases for both aircraft and rail and facility spaces for both manufacturing and medical facilities including synthetic leases. Mr. Wyatt has also advised on swaps and other derivatives issues and transactions.

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