Cooley LLP has expertise in creditors' committee representations and mass tort proceedings. New York-based Cullen Drescher Speckhart heads the team, representing debtors, creditors, trustees and foreign representatives across technology, life sciences, retail, healthcare and opioid-related mass tort bankruptcy. Michael Klein in New York advises official creditors' committees in contested plan confirmation proceedings and bankruptcy litigation. Daniel Shamah in New York represents creditors and equity holders in contested restructuring proceedings. Chicago-based Eric Walker advises creditors' committees in healthcare restructurings, with a focus on non-profit senior living facility bankruptcies. Los Angeles-based Michael Neumeister handles debtor and lender representations in retail, entertainment and consumer product restructurings, while Washington DC-based Olya Antle advises on company-side representations in cross-border restructuring proceedings.
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Key clients
- Official Committee of Opioid Claimants – Endo International
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors – Whittaker Clark & Daniels
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors – Avon Products
- Ascena Retail Group
- Brii Biosciences Limited and Brii Biosciences Inc.
- Vine Alternative Investments Group, LLC
- BOLD Holdings, LLC
- Symbolic Capital Partners, Ltd.
- Johnson Health Tech
- Majority Equity Holders of TDC Leisure Holdings, LLC
- Lucira Health, Inc.
- Gamida Cell Ltd. and Gamida Cell Inc.
Work highlights
Advised the Official Committee of Opioid Claimants (OCC) in the Endo International bankruptcy proceedings resulting in a 40.2% increase in funding made available to the private opioid claimants on a significantly condensed timeline.
Advised the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors—comprising cancer victims—in the Whittaker Clark and Daniels (WCD) bankruptcy, wherein Cooley uncovered concealed liabilities tied to Berkshire Hathaway, driving an increase in settlement offer for cancer victims from $50 million to over $500 million and securing a Bankruptcy Court ruling rejecting the settlement as inadequate, forcing renewed mediation to pursue fair recovery for the victims.
Advised the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) of Avon Products after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid hundreds of lawsuits alleging its talc-based products were contaminated with asbestos. Following trial, the Bankruptcy Court approved a settlement wherein Avon’s parent company Natura agreed it would, among other things, contribute $34 million to the estate (plus other remnant assets of undetermined value), waive hundreds of millions in secured and unsecured claims against the estate, and establish a trust to monetize assets for the benefit of unsecured creditors.
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Cullen Drescher Speckhart
Other key lawyers
Michael Klein; Daniel Shamah; Eric Walker; Michael Neumeister; Olya Antle