Ryan Blaine Bennett
Professional Profile
Ryan Blaine Bennett is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis' Restructuring Group. Mr. Bennett focuses his practice on protecting and advancing the financial interests of corporate debtors and secured and unsecured creditors in the various transactional and litigation-related aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship. Mr. Bennett also frequently represents both strategic and financial investors with respect to purchasing and investing in distressed businesses both in and out of court.
On the transactional side, Mr. Bennett has a broad range of experience, including advising clients with respect to distressed mergers and acquisitions, negotiating asset-based lending agreements, structuring out of court workouts, DIP financing, and drafting and implementing Chapter 11 plans of reorganization.
Mr. Bennett's related litigation experience includes aggressively defending his clients' various interests in numerous contested matters involving Chapter 11 plan confirmation, preference actions, fraudulent transfers, involuntary Chapter 11 proceedings, executory contract rejection and assumption disputes, and several complex matters involving high-risk litigation tactics of oppositional creditors' and bondholders' committees.
Representative Matters
Automotive:
DURA Automotive Systems, Inc. - Representing DURA Automotive, an international tier 1 automotive supplier, and forty-one of its domestic and Canadian subsidiaries, in connection with their highly consensual and successful Chapter 11 reorganization cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Among his responsibilities, Mr. Bennett managed the day-to-day administration of the Chapter 11 process, and represented DURA in all aspects of its complex multi-billion dollar restructuring.
Tower Automotive, Inc. - Representing Tower Automotive, a leading tier 1 automotive supplier, in connection with its successful Chapter 11 reorganization case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Among his responsibilities on this case, Mr. Bennett was principally charged with maintaining and ensuring the integrity of Tower's supply chain. In this context, he frequently negotiated trade and pricing agreements with Tower's vendors and customers, developed business and litigation tactics to counter stop shipment threats by sole-source vendors, and obtained court approval of several commercial initiatives designed to improve Tower's North American business model.
MPI International, Inc. - Representing MPI International, a global and specialized automotive supplier, as the largest unsecured creditor and chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Sturgis Iron & Metal Co., Inc., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Atlantic Equity Partners, L.P. (AEP) - Representing AEP in its capacity as prepetition secured lender and proposed Chapter 11 plan sponsor in the Chapter 11 cases of BHM Technologies Holdings, Inc. et al., pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.
In addition to the above-listed public matters, Mr. Bennett has also actively participated on both debtor and creditor sides in several out of court workouts, restructurings, and consensual wind-downs of various "tier 1" and "tier 2" automotive suppliers.
International:
Japan Airlines Corporation (JAL) - Representing Japan Airlines Corporation, Asia's largest air carrier with a fleet of more than 270 aircraft, as international restructuring counsel advising JAL on all aspects of the restructuring of its global operations and representing it in connection with Chapter 15 cases pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. JAL, headquartered in Tokyo, maintained $28 billion in debt at the time of its filing and operates over 900 daily flights from over 60 airports in Japan and provides international flight services to 11 million international passengers in 34 countries each year.
Betcorp Ltd. - Representing the Australian liquidating trustee of Betcorp Ltd., a former Internet gaming company, in filing its petition for recognition under the newly-established Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. Betcorp's petition was highly contested, but the Bankruptcy Court ultimately ruled in Mr. Bennett's client's favor, recognizing the Australian liquidation as a "foreign main proceeding" under Chapter 15. The Court issued and published a 27-page opinion on the ruling, which has been frequently cited in subsequent bankruptcy court opinions and publications. See In re Betcorp Ltd., 400 B.R. 266 (Bankr. D. Nev. 2009).
Cover-All Holding Corp.
- Representing Cover-All Holding Corp. and its ten Canadian and U.S. subsidiaries, as the once leading global manufacturers of pre-engineered building structures, in successfully obtaining an order pursuant to Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code recognizing the Cover-All debtors' pending case under the Canadian Creditors Companies Arrangement Act (CCAA) as a foreign main proceeding. The Cover-All companies were the first foreign debtors to obtain chapter 15 recognition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.Industrial (Non-Automotive):
NRG Energy, Inc. - Representing NRG Energy, a multi-billion dollar international energy services conglomerate, in connection with its Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Within this "mega-case", Mr. Bennett was the attorney primarily responsible for negotiating and obtaining court approval of his client's sale of certain non-core assets, including the $80.4 million sale of electrical turbines to a Chinese power company and the $160 million sale of a 520 mega-watt generating power facility to an Oklahoma-based energy provider. Mr. Bennett's role included, among other things, (i) advising as to the marketing and auction process; (ii) negotiating and drafting the necessary pleadings and purchase agreements; and (iii) negotiating cash collateral agreements with his client's prepetition secured lenders.
Atwood Mobile Products, Inc. - Representing Atwood, a prominent manufacturer of components for the recreational and specialty vehicle industry, with respect to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, and subsequent $160 million going-concern sale to Insight Equity, pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.
J&L Specialty Steel, Inc. - Representing J&L Specialty Steel, a leading North American manufacturer of flat rolled stainless steel, in its successful out of court restructuring and ultimate acquisition by Allegheny Ludlum Corporation.
W.R. Grace & Co. - Representing W.R. Grace, an international chemical supply conglomerate, in connection with preparing and negotiating its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
National Equipment Services, Inc. - Representing National Equipment Services (n/k/a NES Rentals), a national equipment leasing corporation, in all aspects of its Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Polymer Group, Inc. - Representing Polymer Group, a large industrial manufacturer, in all aspects of its ongoing restructuring efforts both prior to, and within the context of, a Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina.
Bank One, N.A. - Representing Bank One's interests as a secured creditor in obtaining adequate protection from debtor HAR Technologies, Inc., for the continued use and subsequent section 363 sale of his client's collateral, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Real Estate Development & Hospitality:
Clark Realty Capital
Global Hyatt Corporation - Representing Hyatt in connection with its interests as a significant creditor and contract counterparty of the Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Starwood Capital Group - Representing Starwood Capital in connection with analysis and potential acquisitions of distressed properties.
Telecommunications and Internet:
Motorola, Inc. - Representing Motorola in preserving the integrity of its supply chain, including with respect to Motorola's distressed supplier and provider of semiconductor chip assemblies, Spansion, Inc., in Spansion's chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Cable & Wireless (USA), Inc. - Representing Cable & Wireless, a leading Internet services provider, in drafting, negotiating, and confirming its Chapter 11 plan of liquidation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Rogers Communications, Inc. - Representing Rogers Communications, a leading North American cable service provider, in protecting its interests as a creditor and cooperative high-speed Internet provider in the Excite@Home bankruptcy case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. Concurrently, Mr. Bennett also represented his client's Chief Executive Officer in such officer's capacity as a former Director of Excite@Home.
Commercial Capital Corporation - Representing Commercial Capital as a significant noteholder in connection with an assignment for the benefit of creditors of a defunct dot.com corporation.
Retail:
Boyds Collection, Ltd. - Representing Boyds, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of hand-crafted collectibles and gift products, in drafting, negotiating, and confirming its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.
Quality Stores, Inc. - Representing Quality Stores, a large retail chain, as a debtor in its Chapter 11 liquidation proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Memberships & Affiliations
American Bankruptcy Institute
Turnaround Management Association
Kirkland & Ellis Recruiting Committee, (Member, 2006 to Present) (Co-Chair, Summer Program, 2009)
Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation, Associate Board Member
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation
Notre Dame Alumni Association, Order of St. Thomas More
Notre Dame Law School, Alumni Admissions Advisor
Michigan State University Alumni Association, President's ClubOther Distinctions
Public Interest Law Initiative Fellow (Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation)-Summer 2000.Publications
Prof. John Ayer, Michael Bernstein, Jonathan Friedland and Ryan Blaine Bennett, Chapter 11 "101" - Professional Retention and Compensation, AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE JOURNAL (February 2005).
Jonathan P. Friedland and Ryan Blaine Bennett, Turning Off the Lights: Safely Shutting Down an Insolvent Subsidiary, THE CORPORATE COUNSELOR, Volume 19, No. 4a (September/October 2004).
Prof. John Ayer, Michael Bernstein, Jonathan Friedland and Ryan Blaine Bennett, Chapter 11 "101" - What Every Unsecured Creditor Should Know About Chapter 11, AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INSTITUTE JOURNAL (June 2004).
Assistant Editor, Norton Bankruptcy Law & Practice: Use, Sale or Lease of Property Under 11 U.S.C. § 363 (West Group 2004).
Assistant Editor, Norton Bankruptcy Law & Practice: Use, Sale or Lease of Property Under 11 U.S.C. § 363 (West Group 2003).Ryan Blaine Bennett, Safeguards of the Republic: The Professional Responsibility of the American Lawyer to Preserve the Republic Through Law-Related Education, 14 NOTRE DAME JOURNAL OF LAW, ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY 651 (2000).
Seminars
Professional Compensation In the Context of Chapter 11, presented at the KIRKLAND INSTITUTE OF RESTRUCTURING TRAINING, July 26, 2006.
Understanding Practice Groups in Large U.S. Law Firms, co-paneled with Lane Winter Vanderslice (Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw), presented at the Notre Dame Law School, September 10, 2004.
Sections 1113 and 1114 of the Bankruptcy Code: Terminating or Modifying Collective Bargaining Agreements, Pension Plans and Retiree Benefits, presented at the KIRKLAND INSTITUTE OF RESTRUCTURING TRAINING, January 26, 2004.Prior Experience
General Motors Corporation, Oldsmobile Division (1996-1997)
ADP Dealer Services - General Motors University of Automotive Management (1995-1996)Courts
United States Supreme Court (2004)
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2001)
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2002)
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2000)
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (2003)
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (2001)
