Problem Solvers: Dealmakers of the Year

Our inaugural honorable mentions go to 12 dealmakers who handled a range of intriguing and innovative transactions. From 11-figure pharmaceutical mergers to small public finance transactions, these lawyers found creative ways around big roadblocks.

James Sprayregen

Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago and New York

When government regulators seize a bank, its holding company is typically doomed to a painful liquidation. But not Corus Bankshares Inc. Sprayregen, the company's counsel, convinced Corus's creditors that they could receive more value if they opted for a restructuring instead. "We used a lot of elbow grease pulling together information to demonstrate to the creditors committee that it made sense to reorganize," Sprayregen says.

That effort paid off. Just a little more than a year after the Illinois bank holding company tumbled into Chapter 11, it's back on its feet as a real estate investment firm. Also unusual about the restructuring: Creditors were given stakes in a pending $257 million suit Corus filed against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. If successful, the suit could help kick-start Corus's operations and return additional value to creditors.

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