Debtor Experience
Related ProfessionalsOverview
Kirkland is the leader in the market for restructuring counsel. - Chambers USA, 2022Kirkland has an elite, national debtors' practice, having successfully guided companies — both large and small — through the restructuring process. Our key focus is to create practical, value-added solutions to difficult situations. We realize that every client brings to the table its own issues and concerns. Recognizing that, we do not take a "cookie-cutter" approach to our debtor-practice. The successes we have gained for our clients stem not only from the intelligence and creativity of our attorneys, but also from our attorneys' ability to work directly with a debtor's management team to understand and become intimately familiar with a company's particular business and the impact the current financial and legal issues are having on the business.
We strive to ensure that our clients achieve their goals in any restructuring. In certain instances, this may require helping clients obtain a deleveraging of their capital structure that enhances already strong operations. In other cases, we have assisted clients in achieving longer-term operational turnarounds. In each representation, we focus on developing effective and creative solutions to address our clients' capital structure concerns and operational complexities.
Our ability to achieve successful outcomes for our clients stems largely from the depth of experience of our restructuring attorneys. Kirkland's restructuring attorneys have represented debtors in every phase of the restructuring process. In assisting our clients, we often draw on and benefit from the experience of Kirkland's attorneys in a wide range of practice areas. When hiring Kirkland's Restructuring Group, our clients hire more than just restructuring attorneys. They hire a firm of lawyers, many of whom spend the substantial majority of their time handling restructuring matters with focuses including corporate, litigation, employment, securities, tax, environmental and real estate. This broad range of experience has enabled us to achieve unparalleled success for our clients.
Experience
Prepackaged & Prearranged Restructurings
In a traditional stand-alone Chapter 11 restructuring — sometimes called a "free fall" case — the debtor often enters bankruptcy in response to a significant liquidity event but does not yet have restructuring arrangements in place with its major stakeholders. Over the course of the case, the debtor engages its various stakeholders and, using the tools of Chapter 11, restructures its operations and balance sheet.
In contrast, in a "prearranged" bankruptcy, the debtor enters Chapter 11 after negotiating the terms of a restructuring with its major stakeholders. Often, the debtor and certain stakeholders will have entered into a "lock-up" or "plan-support" agreement setting forth the salient terms of the restructuring. Once the debtor has obtained the support of its major stakeholders, it then will enter Chapter 11 and move fairly quickly to have the bankruptcy court approve the restructuring, as contained in the debtor's plan of reorganization.
A variant of the prearranged bankruptcy is the "prepackaged" bankruptcy, in which, before filing for bankruptcy, the debtor has negotiated, documented, and disclosed to creditors a plan of reorganization, and those creditors have voted in favor of the plan. Because much of the work has been completed ahead of the filing, a prepackaged Chapter 11 case can be completed in a much shorter time frame than a typical prearranged or traditional free-fall Chapter 11 case, thereby minimizing administrative costs and reducing much of the uncertainty of the bankruptcy process.
Kirkland's Restructuring Group has considerable experience and is well-versed in guiding companies through prearranged and prepackaged restructurings. Kirkland's attorneys understand how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of the prearranged/prepackaged process.
In contrast, in a "prearranged" bankruptcy, the debtor enters Chapter 11 after negotiating the terms of a restructuring with its major stakeholders. Often, the debtor and certain stakeholders will have entered into a "lock-up" or "plan-support" agreement setting forth the salient terms of the restructuring. Once the debtor has obtained the support of its major stakeholders, it then will enter Chapter 11 and move fairly quickly to have the bankruptcy court approve the restructuring, as contained in the debtor's plan of reorganization.
A variant of the prearranged bankruptcy is the "prepackaged" bankruptcy, in which, before filing for bankruptcy, the debtor has negotiated, documented, and disclosed to creditors a plan of reorganization, and those creditors have voted in favor of the plan. Because much of the work has been completed ahead of the filing, a prepackaged Chapter 11 case can be completed in a much shorter time frame than a typical prearranged or traditional free-fall Chapter 11 case, thereby minimizing administrative costs and reducing much of the uncertainty of the bankruptcy process.
Kirkland's Restructuring Group has considerable experience and is well-versed in guiding companies through prearranged and prepackaged restructurings. Kirkland's attorneys understand how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of the prearranged/prepackaged process.
Debtor Counsel of the Year
The Deal, 2022
Named #1 Firm in the World in Restructuring Seven Years in a Row
Global Restructuring Review’s GRR 30 Rankings, 2017–2023
#1 in Out-of-Court Restructurings
The Deal, 2023