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Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 12:00-1:30 PM EDT
ABI's Strategies and Perspectives webinar series provides insights into strategies used by industry leaders on major complex bankruptcies. This second presentation in ABI's Strategies and Perspectives series will discuss the Boy Scouts of America chapter 11, a case that demonstrates the complexity and confluence of differing stakeholder positions. The panelists will discuss the intricacies of this case, including the goals of the debtor, the large group of plaintiffs and the insurers.
Catherine L. Steege
Partner and Co-Chair, Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice, Jenner & Block LLP
Catherine L. Steege is a partner with Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago and co-chairs the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice group. She focuses her practice on representing committees, debtors, contract counterparties, creditors, trustees and examiners in complex chapter 11 cases and related out-of-court restructurings and litigation. Ms. Steege has experience representing parties in complex fraudulent transfer and other insolvency related litigation, having obtained 10-figure judgments on behalf of litigation trusts and trustees, and having successfully defended parties facing significant claims. She also has experience representing retiree committees in both the commercial and governmental realms, working with the committees to retain health care and pension benefits for their constituents, and she counsels clients pre-bankruptcy with respect to restructuring their debts. She also has far-reaching appellate experience and has argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and in the First, Third, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits. Ms. Steege is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, and she taught bankruptcy law for 22 years at The University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School. She was listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation and Bankruptcy from 2007-21 and for 2024, in Chambers USA for Bankruptcy/Restructuring from 2008-23, and as in Illinois Super Lawyers from 2005-24. Ms. Steege received her B.S.J. in 1978 from Northwestern University and her J.D. in 1982 with honors from DePaul University.
Jessica C. Lauria
Partner, White & Case LLP
Jessica C. Lauria is a partner in White & Case LLP’s Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice in New York, where she represents clients in a wide variety of in-court and out-of-court restructuring matters. Her work includes providing advice on complex questions relating to governance in the corporate restructuring context, as well as, among other things, analysis, strategic advice and negotiation of all aspects of corporate restructurings, including debtor-in-possession financing arrangements, cash-collateral usage and exit financing facilities; formulation of legal and financial strategies for negotiating and implementing plans of reorganization; negotiating debt and equity documents for reorganized companies; strategic advice and negotiation of sale documents and pleadings in connection with § 363 and other complex asset sales; strategic planning for debt-restructuring alternatives and chapter 11 filings; preparing debtors for chapter 11 filings; and structuring exit strategies for chapter 11 proceedings. She also has extensive experience representing clients in connection with mass tort chapter 11 proceedings. Ms. Lauria is listed in The Deal’s “Top Women in Dealmaking for Restructuring” for 2021, Crain’s New York Business “Notable Women in Law” for 2021, The Best Lawyers in America for 2020 and 2021, Global Restructuring Review’s 40 under 40 list for 2016, Turnarounds & Workouts’ Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers for 2015, and Chambers USA for New York Bankruptcy/Restructuring as an “Up and Coming” lawyer. She is admitted to practice in Illinois and New York. Ms. Lauria received her B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Richard G. Mason
Senior Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Richard G. Mason is a senior partner with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York and the former chair of the firm’s Restructuring and Finance Department, a position he held for six years until January 2024. He is a trusted senior leader, advisor and advocate in distressed situations. Over the course of his 35-year career, Mr. Mason has had leading roles, and helped to drive consensus in many of the largest and most complex bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings in the U.S. and elsewhere, including, most recently, Delphi Corp., Kerzner International, Energy Future Holdings, Bristow Helicopters, Hawker Beechcraft, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, LATAM Airlines and Boy Scouts of America (BSA). In the BSA case, he chaired and represented the Ad Hoc Committee of Local Councils, which, under his leadership, galvanized the BSA’s more than 250 independent Local Councils to help create the largest settlement fund of its kind in U.S. history. In recognition of his key role in the settlement, the BSA announced the naming of the Richard G. Mason Fire Ring in a central gathering place at the BSA’s iconic Philmont Scout Ranch. A recognized leader in the restructuring field, Mr. Mason is the vice-chair of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, a co-author of Collier’s Bankruptcy Practice Guide and a speaker on insolvency subjects at prominent institutions around the world. He is listed as one of the leading restructuring lawyers in the U.S. in both Chambers USA’s Guide to America’s Leading Business Lawyers and the K&A Restructuring Register, and Who’s Who Legal recently named him a Global Elite Thought Leader in Restructurings & Insolvency. A Distinguished Eagle Scout, Mr. Mason is a former chair of the BSA’s Greater New York Councils, which serves thousands of young men and women in New York City; a 2022 recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the BSA’s highest volunteer recognition; and a member of the BSA’s National Executive Board and National Executive Committee. He also is a recent recipient of the American Jewish Committee’s National Human Relations Award and the 2022 honoree for Tina’s Wish, a leading foundation dedicated to the early detection of ovarian cancer. In addition, he co-founded the Mason Civic League, a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to providing educational, art and civic support in Hoboken, N.J., and beyond. Mr. Mason received his B.S. magna cum laude in economics in 1983 from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor fraternity, and his J.D. cum laude in 1987 from New York University, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and was on the staff of the Annual Survey of American Law.
Arik Preis
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Arik Preis is a partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in New York and concentrates his practice on corporate restructurings in chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings. He has 20 years of experience advising on restructurings across all industries, with a particular focus on retail and energy. Mr. Preis represents informal and official committees of creditors, debtors, individual creditors, rights-offering backstoppers, and lenders in in-court and out-of-court restructurings. He has also represented lenders and administrative agents in connection with non-restructuring-related loans, including leveraged loan transactions, mezzanine financings and more traditional loans. Mr. Preis’s work extends to the representation of creditors in the analysis of all types of debt documents and capital structures. He was recognized in Chambers USA from Bankruptcy/Restructuring from 2016-23 and in IFLR1000 US for Restructuring in 2019. Mr. Preis received his B.A. with honors in 1997 from Wesleyan University and his J.D. in 2020 from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Tancred Schiavoni
Partner and Co-Chair of Insurance Practice, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Tancred Schiavoni is a partner with O’Melveny & Myers LLP in New York and co-chairs the firm’s Insurance Practice, representing insurance and reinsurance companies in a variety of disputes, including bad faith claims and environmental coverage litigation. He has represented carriers in cases in a number of states, including New Jersey, New York and New Hampshire. Mr. Schiavoni also has conducted and assisted in mediations and provided coverage advice to clients to assist them in avoiding disputes without the need for litigation. He participated at trial in the defense of a major environmental coverage action involving multiple parties and claims for coverage exceeding US$500 million. He also was involved in the trial of another major multiparty coverage dispute involving coverage claims in a dozen states and Canada. Mr. Schiavoni has been recognized as a Local Litigation Star and National Practice Area Star for Insurance by Benchmark Litigation (2020-24), ranked by Chambers USAin the New York and Nationwide “Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Insurer” categories (2012, 2014-23), listed in The Legal 500 US as a Leading Lawyer (2013-19) and Hall of Fame (2018, 2020-23) for Insurance, named National Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation: The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys(2013), and named Client Choice 2013 in the New York Insurance & Reinsurance category by International Law Office and Lexology. In addition, he is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and received Law360’s 2012 MVP award in Insurance honoring achievements in major litigation that have set a new standard for accomplishment. Mr. Schiavoni is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Connecticut and the Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of New York; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Ninth and Federal Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his B.S. in 1984 and his J.D. in 1988 from Georgetown University, where he was a member of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.
Joseph L. Steinfeld Jr.
Co-Managing Partner, ASK LLP
Joseph L. Steinfeld Jr. is a co-managing partner with ASK LLP in St. Paul, Minn., and has more than 40 years of litigation and appellate experience. He serves a broad client base and is involved in the nation’s most significant bankruptcy and mass tort cases, and he is responsible for managing and growing the ASK LLP team to handle mass tort cases including Purdue and Boy Scouts. Prior to joining ASK LLP, Mr. Steinfeld practiced transportation and commercial law in Washington, D.C., amid major industry changes, which led to him shifting into bankruptcy law. Now a nationally recognized bankruptcy and mass tort attorney, he has argued hundreds of cases at district and bankruptcy courts, nearly all U.S. courts of appeals, and at the U.S. Supreme Court, where he argued the case of Reiter v. Cooper, 507 U.S. 258 (1993). Mr. Steinfeld is admitted to bars of Virginia, the District of Columbia and Minnesota. He is a Lifetime Member of ABI and a member of the New York Institute of Credit and the Turnaround Management Association. Mr. Steinfeld received his B.A magna cum laude in 1976 from the University of Pennsylvania, and his J.D. in 1979 with high honors from George Washington University Law School.
ABI's Strategies and Perspectives webinar series provides insights into strategies used by industry leaders on major complex bankruptcies. This live Zoom webinar will be approximately 90 minutes long and include a 30-minute Q&A session.
This webinar is complimentary. CLE and CPE are not available for this webinar.
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