Herrick, Feinstein Lures Restructuring Partner From Jenner & Block
New Herrick partner Robert D. Gordon spoke with The American Lawyer about his move to the firm’s thriving Restructuring & Finance Litigation Department, his industry experience and why restructuring practices anticipate a busy 2024.
The article notes that Robert arrived at Herrick as high interest rates and rising costs of fuel, labor and materials put an increasing number of large companies in financial distress, he said in an interview, pointing to the recent Chapter 11 filings of Rite-Aid and WeWork as predictors of a strong year ahead for restructuring practices.
“This year, people expected things would pick up and they sort of have, but the numbers are a little deceiving. A lot of cases are very straightforward and not generating a lot of work,” Robert said. “I think everyone thinks that 2024 is going to be a more active year.”
The article highlights that Robert's practice focuses on representing companies, independent directors, committees of independent directors, ad hoc and official creditor committees, individual creditors and purchasers of distressed assets in workouts and bankruptcies across a variety of industries. He has also developed a niche in representing retiree committees in public bankruptcies, having advised the city of Detroit and commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In the ongoing bankruptcy of the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, the retiree committee voted to keep Robert on as its adviser as he moved to Herrick.
Herrick’s “robust” financial litigation practice made the firm attractive to Gordon, he said, as well as the firm’s breadth of clients in disciplines like real estate.
“With continuing high interest rates, I think that’s expected to affect the real estate industry and other business sectors,” Robert said. “Certainly the strong focus on the real estate sector at Herrick is very attractive to me.”
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