Lauren Diss
Overview
Experience
Representative Matters
SunPower Corporation — Representation of SunPower Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (“SunPower”) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. SunPower is a leading provider of residential solar energy solutions throughout North America, having fitted over half a million homes with its solar energy systems. At the time of the Chapter 11 filing, the SunPower enterprise had over $2 billion of total indebtedness. Prior to filing its Chapter 11 cases, SunPower entered into a stalking horse purchase agreement that contemplates a going-concern sale of its key businesses.
Prima® Wawona — Representation of Prima® Wawona and certain of its affiliates (“Prima®”), which was, at the time, the largest stone fruit producer in the United States, in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Prima®, then the largest producer of stone fruit (i.e., peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots) in the United States, entered Chapter 11 in October 2023 to address its approximately $1 billion total debt load. Pursuant to Prima®’s confirmed Chapter 11 plan, Prima® consummated an equitization transaction that transitioned ownership of Prima®’s real estate owning entity to its “PropCo” secured lenders and the ownership of its operating assets to a liquidating trust for the benefit of its “OpCo” secured lenders, and effectuated a global settlement among Prima®’s lenders, creditors and former equity stakeholders.
Yellow Corporation — Representation of Yellow Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (“Yellow”) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. With its family of brands, including YRC, Reddaway, Holland, and Yellow Logistics, Yellow was a storied trucking and logistics company with a 100-year history and one of the largest less-than-truckload networks in North America. Yellow entered Chapter 11 with approximately $1.2 billion in prepetition funded debt. Yellow secured a $1.525 billion stalking horse bidder for its owned real estate assets and, through its Chapter 11 cases, will conduct a marketing and sale process for some or all of its real estate and rolling stock assets, followed by an orderly liquidation of any remaining assets.
Benefytt Technologies, Inc. — Representation of Benefytt Technologies, Inc. and certain of its affiliates (“Benefytt”) in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Benefytt markets and sells Medicare and private health insurance products to individuals, policy administration platforms to insurance carriers, and technology systems to insurance agents. The widely-supported restructuring support agreement (“RSA”) contemplated restructuring approximately $606 million in funded debt. Benefytt consummated the transactions set forth in the RSA and emerged from Chapter 11 on an expedited timeline.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. — Representation of Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. and 73 of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Bed Bath & Beyond is the largest home goods retailer in the United States, offering everything from bed linens to cookware to home organization, baby care, and more. Bed Bath & Beyond operates hundreds of stores and employs approximately 14,000 people across North America. Through its Chapter 11 case, Bed Bath & Beyond will conduct an orderly and value-maximizing wind down of its business, while simultaneously marketing a sale of all or part of the business. Prior to the Chapter 11 filing, advised Bed Bath & Beyond on a series of complex transactions, including an underwritten public offering for up to $1 billion in proceeds and a concurrent significant amendment of its credit agreement to decelerate the debt, waive certain defaults, and upsize the FILO facility by $100 million.
SiO2 Medical Products, Inc. — Representation of SiO2 Medical Products, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. SiO2 is a material life sciences company that holds 245 patents, including its flagship technology that combines the best of glass and polymers without the drawbacks of either. SiO2 filed for Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement supported by 100% of its first lien lenders. The restructuring support agreement contemplates a $60 million new-money postpetition financing facility and equitization of the first lien lender’s DIP claims and first lien claims in exchange for 100% of the equity of the reorganized company, subject to a marketing process seeking higher and better proposals. The proposed restructuring will reduce the Company’s secured debt by nearly $250 million.
Pipeline Health System, LLC — Representation of Pipeline Health System, LLC and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Pipeline Health operates seven “safety net” hospitals, three health clinics and three medical group centers across California, Texas and Illinois, including Weiss Memorial Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center in Chicago. Pipeline’s hospitals operate in historically underserved communities, and a significant percentage of its patients rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental programs for health coverage. Pipeline Health came into the Chapter 11 proceedings with a plan of reorganization seeking to restructure over $600 million of financing obligations.
Talen Energy Supply, LLC — Representation of an ad hoc group of unsecured noteholders (the “Ad Hoc Group”) in the Chapter 11 cases of Talen Energy Supply, LLC and its affiliated debtors (“Talen”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Talen is one of the largest competitive power generation companies in North America, with a generation portfolio consisting of 18 facilities that are collectively capable of producing approximately 13,000 megawatts of power. Talen filed for Chapter 11 relief on May 9, 2022 to restructure its approximately $4.5 billion of funded debt obligations. On May 17, 2023, Talen successfully consummated its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization and emerged from Chapter 11, following a $1.4 billion new-money recapitalization led by the Ad Hoc Group, whereby Talen’s balance sheet was deleveraged by approximately $2.7 billion and the Ad Hoc Group emerged as the new majority equity owners of reorganized Talen.
Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. — Representation of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (“BTC”) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, BTC was one of the nation’s largest independently owned ocean-going petroleum barge companies operating within the Jones Act market, possessing a fleet of 24 barges and 25 tugs that provided oil and petroleum product transportation services. During their Chapter 11 cases, BTC obtained over $100 million of new capital through a series of court-approved transactions and consummated two simultaneous value-maximizing sale transactions for substantially all of their assets that allowed their state of the art fleet to continue operating in the Jones Act market.
Seadrill Limited (Second Restructuring) — Representation of Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents. Seadrill's Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings of 2021, equitized approximately $4.9 billion of secured debt across twelve silos and facilitated a capital investment of $350 million, enabling Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units.
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Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2021Illinois
Education
- University of Michigan Law SchoolJ.D.2020
Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review
Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation – General Motors Scholar Award
- Michigan State UniversityB.A.with Honors2017Academic Scholars Program