September 2022

Brown Rudnick EU bankruptcy leader jumps to Squire in five-lawyer London move

Signage is seen outside of the law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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(Reuters) – Squire Patton Boggs said Tuesday that it has hired a five-member bankruptcy team from Brown Rudnick in London that includes the firm’s European restructuring practice leader, Charlotte Møller.

The hires come as Squire Patton Boggs anticipates an increase in restructuring work amid “higher levels of stress across many industries,” its global restructuring and insolvency practice chair Stephen Lerner said in a statement.

This is at least the third group hire this year for Squire Patton Boggs in Europe, including the additions of a four-attorney white collar team and a six-member data privacy team.

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Møller advises on domestic and cross-border restructurings primarily in the shipping, airline, energy and natural resources industries, according to an archived Brown Rudnick bio.

She also represents clients on the enforcement of security over UK assets, particularly in the sale and purchase of non-performing loan portfolios, Squire Patton Boggs said.

Møller is joined in London by partner Monika Lorenzo-Perez, director Helena Clarke and senior associates Rebecca Terrace

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September 21, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Troubled Fones Cliffs property listed for bankruptcy sale

Nearly 1,000 acres of land at Virginia’s famous Fones Cliffs on the Rappahannock River will be put up for auction at a bankruptcy sale.

A listing by New York-based Auction Advisors puts the minimum bid for the property as $4.25 million in an auction to be held Nov. 3.  

The 977-acre undeveloped property, which is currently owned by Virginia True Corporation, has been embroiled in difficulties since 2017, when the company purchased the property for $12 million from long-time owners the Diatomite Corporation of America. 

Virginia True planned to develop a luxury golf course and resort on the property. In November 2017, however, Richmond County ordered the company to stop work after it cleared more than 13 acres of forested land near the cliffs without a permit. A lack of required stormwater controls at the site led to extensive erosion and landslides.

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality subsequently issued three notices of violation to Virginia True, and the lawsuit was later referred to the Office of the Attorney General. 

A document filed in bankruptcy court this August lists the company owing the state $200,000 related to “governmental enforcement action.” 

A four-mile stretch of striking white cliffs on the

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September 18, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Revlon executives to get up to $36M in bankruptcy bonuses

“In fact, the metrics imposed are indeed tall orders and serious challenges,” Jones said. “They will require the senior executive team to not only work hard, which I have no doubt they’re doing, but also work extremely effectively, probably creatively, and in ways I don’t even know.”

Bankruptcy bonuses are commonly ladled out by ailing companies to top management shortly before or soon after filing for Chapter 11 protection. In 2005 Congress amended the bankruptcy code and aimed to rein in “retention bonuses” doled out to executives simply for staying on the job. Companies responded by labeling payouts as “incentive bonuses” and tied them to financial goals that could benefit the reorganization.

But critics say the goals are typically easy to meet and amount to backdoor executive payout schemes at companies scrambling for every dollar.

Nonetheless, judges typically approve bankruptcy bonuses because they feel doing so will maximize value going forward, even if the bonus recipients are the same people who led the company into Chapter 11.

“It is a tricky thing to explain how and why you need your senior management team to stick around,” acknowledged Jones, who drew comfort from the fact all of Revlon’s creditors support its

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September 17, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Why You Should Become a Board-Certified Lawyer

The Florida Bar reports there over 93,000 lawyers eligible to practice law. Demand for legal services is on the rise as droves of out-of-state consumers and their businesses relocate to Florida. To meet this demand, law firms have aggressively been recruiting lawyers particularly in specialty areas such as real estate, construction and corporate law. In the wake of these developments, lawyers can best position themselves to achieve success by becoming a board-certified specialist.

Board certification is administered by eight national private organizations with eighteen certification programs accredited by the American Bar Association. These private certification programs include specialty areas in bankruptcy, criminal trial advocacy, patent litigation, and complex litigation. Many state bar associations also administer board certification programs. For example, Florida has the largest number of certification specialty areas, at 27, which range from marital and family law to criminal law, construction, real estate, and workers’ compensation. Board certification is Florida’s official, independent determination of a lawyer’s expertise to practice in a specialty area of law. As noted on its website, “It is the gold standard for Florida lawyers, representing a recognition by a lawyer’s peers that they have attained a level of professional expertise in their chosen field.”

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September 16, 2022 by ATTORNEY
September 2022
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