Practice Areas

Bankruptcy & Reorganization

Howard Rice's Bankruptcy & Reorganization Group has a national reputation, with a highly regarded and wide-ranging practice.  We are virtually unique among large, full-service law firms in that we undertake substantial debtor, creditors' committee and Chapter 11 trustee representations, as well as the more typical direct representation of individual creditors.

Our representation of specific creditors in both the workout and bankruptcy context encompasses a wide range of parties involved in creditors' rights issues, including secured creditors, lessors, licensors, licensees, acquirers of assets from bankruptcy estates, and acquirers of entities in bankruptcy.  In such representations, Howard Rice attorneys work closely with investors, lenders, entrepreneurs and established businesses to help them understand the alternatives available to them when dealing with a financially distressed counter party, and to formulate and implement a cost-benefit justified strategy.  Where appropriate, we seek innovative approaches and solutions in the workout context, but we also always stand prepared to draw upon the substantial expertise of our large commercial litigation group in complex bankruptcy litigation.

Areas Of Focus

  • Chapter 11 debtors representations
  • Creditors' committees
  • Secured and unsecured creditors
  • Chapter 11 trustees
  • Special purpose receivers and custodians
  • Acquirers of entities in bankruptcy and/or assets from bankruptcy estates
  • Treatment of intellectual property rights in bankruptcy cases
  • Treatment of real property leases in bankruptcy cases
  • Complex bankruptcy-related litigation, including appeals
Representative Engagement

Among our high-profile representations, Howard Rice has served as lead bankruptcy counsel to Pacific Gas & Electric Company in the utility's much-publicized Chapter 11 case, which culminated in the successful implementation of a reorganization plan in spring 2004.  The PG&E Chapter 11 case, which was precipitated by the California energy crisis, was one of the largest bankruptcy cases in U.S. history and, by any measure, one of the most challenging and complex reorganizations ever undertaken.   Successful resolution of the case required careful consideration of the interplay between bankruptcy law, on the one hand, and nonbankruptcy federal and state regulatory law applicable to the Company on the other, and accordingly raised a wide range of novel reorganization issues.  Following lengthy contested confirmation proceedings, PG&E ultimately confirmed a plan that paid in full over $9 billion of allowed claims, restored the Company to investment grade credit status, and ensured the Company's continued operations.    

Representative Clients

  • Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company
  • Insurance Commissioner of the State of California
  • Pacific Gas & Electric Company
  • The Charles Schwab Corporation
  • The Wine Group

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