Representing Creditors & Acquirers

ADVICE AND REPRESENTATION FOR ACQUIRERS 

The current shake-up in Silicon Valley has created opportunities for companies to acquire technology and assets from troubled businesses. The firm has represented acquirers in transactions with insolvent companies, Chapter 11 debtors and bankruptcy trustees, often working with the acquirer’s general counsel to identify the unique opportunities and potential pitfalls associated with purchasing assets from insolvent companies. The firm’s sensitivity to intellectual property issues has proven essential to successful high-tech acquisitions.

STRATEGIC TRANSACTIONAL ADVICE FOR CREDITORS  

Insolvency and the bankruptcy laws can fundamentally alter rights under a lease, a license and other contracts, and the prospect of an insolvency is always present in long term contracts, especially with high technology companies. The firm offers counsel and advice to clients engaged in contract formation and documentation, so that the possibility of a future insolvency can be addressed and countered at the outset. For example, technology licenses give rise to unique insolvency issues, and both licensors and licensees are well served by addressing those issues at the outset in their license negotiations.  An example of the firm’s approach to the issue is Mr. St. James' presentation to the American Chemical Society,  "Intellectual Property in Bankruptcy: Negotiating and Drafting Issues for Licensees and Licensors."

The firm recently counseled a developer who was to build a single-tenant campus based on a long-term lease commitment from a dot.com company: by identifying the issues which would arise and the remedies the landlord might seek if its tenant became insolvent at various points during the course of the transaction, the firm assisted the client and its general counsel in obtaining key protections in the lease negotiations.

PRACTICAL REPRESENTATION FOR CREDITORS AND COMMITTEES  

The firm regularly represents creditors and creditors committees in bankruptcy cases. In each case, the firm assists its client in identifying an objective and then focuses its representation on implementing that objective in as efficient and effective a manner possible, avoiding the tendency to become immersed in secondary aspects of the bankruptcy case.

BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION 

The firm has effectively engaged in all aspects of bankruptcy litigation, and effectively uses litigation as an aspect of an overall business strategy. The firm’s reputation for tenacious and effective bankruptcy litigation enhances the prospects for early settlement.