On the Move

In a separate announcement, the firm has also established a Structured Resolution Group. Assembled from members of its structured finance, bankruptcy & corporate restructuring and distressed debt practices, this interdisciplinary team will analyze the issues surrounding the subprime market collapse in an effort to help clients identify and execute on arbitrage and repackaging strategies. The new group will make its services available to underwriters and structuring agents, proprietary trading desks, hedge funds, and private investment funds that are positioned on either the buy or sell side of the subprime/ SIV/CDO crisis.

Perkins Coie announced that David Neff has joined the firm as a partner in its Bankruptcy & Workouts practice and will practice in the Chicago office. Neff joins the firm from DLA Piper, where he represented debtors, lenders, individual creditors and creditors committees in all types of bankruptcies. Neff has particular experience in bankruptcies in real estate and has represented major parties in more than 30 hotel bankruptcy cases and many out-of-court restructurings. In addition, he often represents landlords in major retail bankruptcies. Neff is a past president of the Chicago Bar Association Bankruptcies and Reorganization Committee.

Reed Smith LLP announced the addition of 55 attorneys from the 120-member firm of Anderson Kill & Olick PC. Twenty-five partners, three counsel and 27 associates, along with numerous legal support personnel have joined Reed Smith's offices in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago in what has been described as an 'amicable departure.' The attorneys will primarily become part of three practice groups at Reed Smith: Insurance Recovery, Bankruptcy & Restructuring and Commercial Litigation. The largest group of attorneys will join Reed Smith's New York office, but the firm is also adding two partners and seven associates to its Philadelphia office; and another two partners and one associate to its Chicago office. The New York office will now have a significant creditor-side bankruptcy practice with an emphasis on creditor committee work to complement the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring group, which firmwide has 45 attorneys. Of particular note are two additions to the Bankruptcy Group: Jeffrey L. Glatzer, the former firm-wide president and chief executive officer of Anderson Kill, and J. Andrew Rahl, Jr. an executive committee member.

As for Anderson Kill, the firm will continue to have a strong bankruptcy practice. The firm had terminated merger discussions with Reed Smith 'because of conflicts of interest issues,' said Robert Horkovich, an Executive Committee member. According to the firm, 'the substantial majority of shareholders decided that such a move was not best for Anderson Kill or its clients.' The firm will continue to have offices in New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Washington, DC, and Greenwich, CT. The four-attorney Chicago office, however, will be closing.

Foley & Lardner LLP announced that Harold L. Kaplan and Mark F. Hebbeln are joining the firm's Chicago office as partners in the Business Reorganizations Practice. Their practices have a primary focus on the representation of indenture trustees and bondholders. Both Kaplan and Hebbeln join the firm from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Kaplan will lead Foley's Corporate Trust and Bondholders Rights practice. He recently served as co-chair of Drinker Biddle's Corporate Restructuring practice group and head of its Corporate Trust and Bondholder Rights practice group. He previously served as chairman of Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP, playing an instrumental role in the firm's merger with Drinker Biddle & Reath in 2007. Hebbeln will also serve as a member of the firm's Corporate Trust and Bondholders Rights practice. He has represented indenture trustees and bondholder interests in national bankruptcy cases and in health care reorganizations, insolvencies and other proceedings. He currently serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association's Trust Indenture Act Annotation Project.

Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP has elected Andreas P. Andromalos, Jeremy B. Coffey, Lisa M. Kresge and Steven B. Smith to partnership. Andromalos practices in the firm's Commercial Finance Group. He has been responsible for structuring and documenting a number of large syndicated financings for financial institutions. He has also restructured a significant amount of distressed debt and counseled clients on a variety of workout related issues. Coffey practices in the firm's Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group and has represented a variety of creditors committees, equity committees, debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, asset acquirers and trustees. Kresge is also a member of the firm's Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group. Her practice involves all aspects of the bankruptcy and post-bankruptcy process, including claim objections, plan confirmation disputes, cash collateral and debtor-in-possession financing proposals, and fraudulent transfer and preference litigation. Smith concentrates his practice in the area of corporate restructuring and creditor's rights. He has represented official committees, hedge funds, asset and claims purchasers, tort and trade claimants and other parties-in-interest in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.

In a separate announcement, the firm has also established a Structured Resolution Group. Assembled from members of its structured finance, bankruptcy & corporate restructuring and distressed debt practices, this interdisciplinary team will analyze the issues surrounding the subprime market collapse in an effort to help clients identify and execute on arbitrage and repackaging strategies. The new group will make its services available to underwriters and structuring agents, proprietary trading desks, hedge funds, and private investment funds that are positioned on either the buy or sell side of the subprime/ SIV/CDO crisis.

Perkins Coie announced that David Neff has joined the firm as a partner in its Bankruptcy & Workouts practice and will practice in the Chicago office. Neff joins the firm from DLA Piper, where he represented debtors, lenders, individual creditors and creditors committees in all types of bankruptcies. Neff has particular experience in bankruptcies in real estate and has represented major parties in more than 30 hotel bankruptcy cases and many out-of-court restructurings. In addition, he often represents landlords in major retail bankruptcies. Neff is a past president of the Chicago Bar Association Bankruptcies and Reorganization Committee.

Reed Smith LLP announced the addition of 55 attorneys from the 120-member firm of Anderson Kill & Olick PC. Twenty-five partners, three counsel and 27 associates, along with numerous legal support personnel have joined Reed Smith's offices in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago in what has been described as an 'amicable departure.' The attorneys will primarily become part of three practice groups at Reed Smith: Insurance Recovery, Bankruptcy & Restructuring and Commercial Litigation. The largest group of attorneys will join Reed Smith's New York office, but the firm is also adding two partners and seven associates to its Philadelphia office; and another two partners and one associate to its Chicago office. The New York office will now have a significant creditor-side bankruptcy practice with an emphasis on creditor committee work to complement the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring group, which firmwide has 45 attorneys. Of particular note are two additions to the Bankruptcy Group: Jeffrey L. Glatzer, the former firm-wide president and chief executive officer of Anderson Kill, and J. Andrew Rahl, Jr. an executive committee member.

As for Anderson Kill, the firm will continue to have a strong bankruptcy practice. The firm had terminated merger discussions with Reed Smith 'because of conflicts of interest issues,' said Robert Horkovich, an Executive Committee member. According to the firm, 'the substantial majority of shareholders decided that such a move was not best for Anderson Kill or its clients.' The firm will continue to have offices in New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Washington, DC, and Greenwich, CT. The four-attorney Chicago office, however, will be closing.