Workshop Focuses on Salvaging Investments Gone Sour

Summary:

As restructuring becomes a more important area of legal work, Kirkland & Ellis has hosted workshops to teach private equity firms the ins and outs of corporate restructuring.  Jack Levin, a senior partner at Kirkland, assumes the role of a venture capitalist and presents a dramatization of a corporate rescue mission with several colleagues in front of a roomful of clients.

Mr. Levin said that his goal is to “ask the very question that’s on their mind and when they hear the answer and the evaluation they say, ‘Ah, now I understand why.’”

While the performance offers a glimpse into the cloudy restructuring world it couldn’t capture the entire onerous process, participants say.  “In practice, frequently there are a lot more problems and they tend to conflict with each other, so it’s a lot more delicate,” said Greer L Phillips, a partner in the Kirkland & Ellis tax group.  “The better prepared both we and they are, the easier it will be when under deal pressure.”