Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy on May 7. Eight days later, J.C. Penney petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Even before they filed, the two DFW retailers had paid legal and financial advisors $30 million to prepare the case. And those fees were only the start. The Texas Lawbook has details.
Bankruptcy Experts: Middle Market’s ‘Day of Reckoning is Coming’
Corporate bankruptcies in Texas shattered all records during the first 11 months of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic and struggles in the oil patch sent an historic number of large, multibillion-dollar companies rushing to federal court to restructure. All that changed in December, as Chapter 11 business bankruptcies plummeted more than 60% from November.
But bankruptcy experts see a second blitz of bankruptcies – this time filed by middle market and smaller companies, which will be much more difficult to restructure – hitting the Texas courts in Q2 and Q3 2021.
DBJ: Adeptus Health’s Flawed Business Model, COVID-19 Contributed to Bankruptcy, Expert Says
The Irving-based operator of First Choice ER, the oldest and largest freestanding emergency-room network in the country, faces a rocky road to liquidation. Bill Hethcock of the Dallas Business Journal has the story.
DBJ: Tuesday Morning Emerges from Chapter 11
The Dallas-based home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy last May. Haynes and Boone guided the company, which is emerging with additional liquidity that will support its ongoing operations and strategic initiatives.
Latham, Hunton AK, Porter Hedges, Simpson Take Roles in Superior Energy Bankruptcy
Within a few hours of Superior Energy Services filing for bankruptcy Monday in the Southern District of Texas, the court docket was filled with notices of appearance by at least five law firms and five financial advisors. The Texas Lawbook has the names.
Bankruptcy Experts: More Pain and Uncertainty Coming
As Texas ends 2020 with a record number of business bankruptcies, four legal experts, including SDTX Chief Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, say there is much more carnage to come, especially in the world of real estate, retail and midstream energy, according to a panel of leading corporate bankruptcy and restructuring experts. At an exclusive CLE Friday, the panelists predicted that business restructuring cases are going to get increasingly difficult to resolve in a positive manner and that many companies seeking to reorganize will be forced to liquidate instead. The Texas Lawbook has exclusive details.
Kirkland, Jackson Walker Lead Seadrill Partners in Ch. 11, Houston Retailer Francesca’s Files in Delaware
A Houston boutique retailer and a London oil rig operator filed for Chapter 11 last week. Francesca’s hired no Texas lawyers, while Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection in SDTX and multiple law firms in Texas are involved.
The Texas Lawbook Lawyer of the Year: SDTX Chief Bankruptcy Judge David Jones
Most lawyers in Texas simply tried to survive 2020. A small handful thrived. One lawyer – a judge – has had a year for the ages. David Jones, Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Southern District of Texas, is a disruptor of law and business. No judge in the U.S. in 2020 has had more impact on corporate boardrooms, C-suites and tens of thousands of day laborers as Judge Jones. Citing the extraordinary, commonsense reforms for complex corporate bankruptcies implemented by Judge Jones and the impact they have had on the practice of law in Texas, The Texas Lawbook is naming David R. Jones as the 2020 Lawyer of the Year.
(Photo: Houston Chronicle)