The members of our Restructuring & Insolvency Section serve as trusted advisers to clients in out-of-court workouts, financial restructurings, and insolvency proceedings. Restructuring and insolvency matters can differ significantly and often require counsel to address a variety of legal and business issues. In order to provide consistent best of class service, we take advantage of our firm-wide legal capabilities by partnering the core insolvency team with subject matter experts that layer insolvency onto their existing practice.

Companies. We represent companies in out-of-court workouts, financial restructurings, and insolvency proceedings. We regularly partner with clients to establish achievable business objectives and assess different legal strategies to address the root causes of financial distress. We work with clients to restructure debt obligations and negotiate relief from vendors, customers, landlords and other creditors.

Debtors in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases. We represent chapter 11 debtors throughout the entire bankruptcy process. We work with companies to obtain bankruptcy financing, maintain essential personnel, shed burdensome contracts, terminate overmarket leases, re-negotiate or terminate collective bargaining agreements, address underfunded pension plans, manage claims, sell assets, and confirm plans of reorganization. The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 established for many companies with less than $7.5M of indebtedness a new Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Under Subchapter V, chapter 11 bankruptcy cases are both more affordable and more likely to result in a confirmed plan of reorganization.

Bank and Non-Bank Lenders. We represent bank and non-bank lenders in out-of-court workouts, financial restructurings, and insolvency proceedings. We evaluate loan documentation, analyze lien perfection and priority, and advise on how to maximize recovery. We counsel lenders on amendments, supplements and modifications to loan documents and partner with lenders to structure and close forbearance arrangements. We also conduct judicial and non-judicial foreclosures to liquidate real property and personal property assets.

Distressed Sales. We represent purchasers and sellers in bankruptcy sales, UCC Article 9 foreclosures, judicial foreclosures, and Chapter 128 Wisconsin receiver sales.

Officers and Directors. Individual officers and directors retain us to provide advice on state law fiduciary duties. We work with boards to make their meetings more productive, improve internal processes, and resolve deadlocks.

Unsecured Creditors. Trade creditors, landlords, service providers, and other unsecured creditors retain us to provide advice and guidance when a customer or tenant experiences financial distress. We analyze available remedies and assess different methods to improve contract compliance. We also represent unsecured creditors in insolvency proceedings, including filing proofs of claim, responding to claims objections, asserting administrative claims, advising on reclamation rights, assessing critical trade vendor motions and orders, advising on motions to assume, reject, and assume and assign executory contracts, real property leases and personal property leases, and analyzing treatment under a plan of reorganization.