Kobre & Kim serves as special litigation counsel in some of the most significant and complex restructuring and bankruptcy matters worldwide. The firm regularly represents debtors, creditors, special board committees, litigation trusts, and both ad hoc and official creditor committees.
We are recognized for our aggressive and strategic advocacy in complex Chapter 11 proceedings, which often involve intricate financial structures and competing stakeholder interests by Chambers & Partners, Benchmark Litigation, Global Restructuring Review, and The Legal 500.
Kobre & Kim’s conflict-free model enables the firm to be adverse to most institutions, leading special board committees to frequently engage us to advise them and conduct independent investigations on their behalf where credibility, objectivity, and discretion are paramount.
Our integrated team, comprising experienced restructuring lawyers, civil litigators, and former U.S. federal prosecutors, takes a holistic approach to investigating potential claims and liabilities on behalf of corporate boards, independent directors, and special committees. Having represented debtors, creditor committees, and activist distressed debt investors in many of the highest stakes Chapter 11 cases, we bring a nuanced understanding of the competing interests and dynamics that shape complex restructurings. We are particularly well-suited to address the emerging landscape in today’s financial restructurings, which require true and unfettered independence on the part of those advising special committees and disinterested directors.
Our experience includes:
Representing the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Sunnova Energy International Inc. (“Sunnova”) in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings for Sunnova and several related affiliates. The firm played a leading role in investigating claims arising from a pre-bankruptcy loan facility provided by a leading global investment firm, the release of which was a key issue in the Chapter 11 proceedings.
Special Counsel for Rite Aid Corporation in representing the disinterested directors of Rite Aid in connection with the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the District of New Jersey.
Served as an independent investigator for the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico. After a comprehensive review of the factors contributing to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis, Kobre & Kim published an approximately 600-page public report containing policy recommendations to restore Puerto Rico’s access to the capital markets and potential causes of action for consideration by relevant stakeholders.
Representation of the Special Committee of Independent Directors of GenesisCare Finance, the financing arm of the largest provider of cancer treatment centers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Spain, in conducting an independent investigation into both U.S. and non-U.S. transactions in connection with the company’s Chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Texas.
Served as counsel to the transaction committee of CBI Parent, an affiliate of leading medical apparel provider Careismatic Brands LLC in conducting a comprehensive investigation in connection with CBI's Chapter 11 case in the District of New Jersey.
Representation of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of a private company as special counsel to investigate and advise on civil and criminal antitrust issues related to a restructuring transaction involving the client.
Representation of the Special Committee of Independent Directors of an information technology company in a pre-bankruptcy investigation to evaluate potential claims that might add value to the estate for fraudulent transfer, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and equitable subordination, amongst others.
Kobre & Kim represents credit funds, ad hoc creditor groups, corporate issuers, private equity sponsors, and other parties in liability management litigation, both within and outside Chapter 11 cases. We have also been called upon to litigate contentious priming fights and other intercreditor disputes in Chapter 11 cases that require the ability to be adverse to financial institutions and non-bank lenders.
Our experience includes:
Representation of prominent Dutch retailer, Hunkemöller, and its primary investor, Redwood Capital Management, LLC, in multi-jurisdictional litigation arising from the company’s out-court-restructuring transactions.
Representation of funds managed by BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management, and Golden Gate Capital in the highly publicized Wesco/Incora bankruptcy before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, successfully challenging at the trial court level a liability management transaction undertaken by funds managed by Platinum, SilverPoint, PIMCO, and Carlyle in connection with the company’s secured bonds.
Representation of Revlon’s senior secured lender group in Citibank N.A.’s adversary proceeding in the Revlon Chapter 11 case, which arose out of Citibank’s mistaken $900 million wire transfer.
Representation of certain majority, senior secured lenders of TriMark, a national foodservice company, in defending against claims brought in New York Supreme Court arising from a contested “uptier” transaction involving the company’s secured loans.
Representation of private equity sponsors of Travelport in expedited litigation in New York Supreme Court arising from a contested “drop down” transaction involving the company’s secured loans.
Kobre & Kim represents stakeholders across the bankruptcy landscape, including debtors, creditor committees, individual creditors, litigation trusts, and company executives, in disputes arising from insolvency proceedings. Often, we serve as special litigation counsel in Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 matters. In cases involving fraud, misconduct, or asset concealment, our team deploys cross-border strategies that combine insolvency tools with asset recovery and judgment enforcement capabilities. This integrated approach enables us to pursue and monetize high-value claims against principals and stakeholders on behalf of trustees, fiduciaries, and other insolvency representatives.
Our experience includes:
Representation of Steward Health Care System LLC and its affiliated Chapter 11 debtors in an adversary proceeding seeking the recovery of approximately $1.4 billion from former insiders and other third parties, including the company’s former CEO (Ralph de la Torre) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a publicly-traded healthcare services company.
Representation of Marble Ridge Master Fund LP in the Neiman Marcus Chapter 11 proceedings, against claims for breach of fiduciary duty and equitable subordination based on allegations of bid-rigging for assets in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Representation of Mainstream Renewable Power in an expedited trial before the Chapter 11 bankruptcy court concerning efforts by mezzanine lenders to seize control of companies supplying the Chilean renewable energy grid. The case involved competing restructuring proceedings in both Texas and Chile.
Representation of a Chapter 11 litigation trust in various adversary proceedings to clawback fraudulent transfers and seek the turnover of assets. Kobre & Kim’s team litigated multiple claims to successful trial conclusions, and successfully defended the litigation trust in appellate proceedings filed by our adversary in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Acting as counsel to a Litigation Trust formed in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Aegean Marine Petroleum Network. Kobre & Kim is representing the trust in developing and executing strategies to recover the value associated with the removal of assets, as well as the damages caused to its stakeholders by the fraud committed by a European UHNWI and their affiliates.
Representation of EFG Bank, a leading Switzerland-based private bank, and a number of its affiliates in multiple cases seeking approximately US $377 million arising from the infamous Madoff Ponzi scheme—the largest Ponzi scheme in history. To date, the cases have resulted in numerous precedential decisions, including ones from the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
Representation of the unsecured creditors committee in the SunEdison Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, in adversary proceedings against first- and second-lien noteholders. The claims involved disallowance of over US $150 million in unmatured interest claimed by the secured creditors and fraudulent transfer theories, among others.