DALLAS – Haynes and Boone, LLP has bolstered its bankruptcy and business reorganization practice by adding ten lawyers to the group over the last 20 months. “Our group is busy now, and we’re expecting a very active 2009,” said Steve Pezanosky, who heads the firm’s Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization Section.
Most of the new lawyers are lateral hires from other firms, including Peter Ruggero and Ian Bolton, who have joined the firm’s Houston office. In addition, the firm further strengthened its restructuring practice by transferring associate David Liebenstein from the firm’s Corporate Section in New York and Erik Martin from the Business Planning and Tax Section in Fort Worth.
With 38 full-time attorneys and several more splitting time in other practice groups, Haynes and Boone has developed one of the largest stables of bankruptcy talent in the country. The attorneys, spread across seven of the firm’s ten offices, are fielding calls from a wide array of clients affected by the turmoil in international capital markets.
Last month, for example, Haynes and Boone filed a lawsuit on behalf of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens against a unit of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for $59.9 million in damages stemming from derivatives deals that were aborted after Lehman filed bankruptcy.
“We’ve long recognized that our practice structures must be fluid to make the best of bad economic times,” said the firm’s managing partner, Terry Conner. “We’re positioned well geographically to absorb more work throughout our ten offices from New York to Mexico City.”
As part of the geographic positioning, the firm late last year announced the transfer of senior bankruptcy partner Lenny Parkins from Houston to New York as part of its long-term expansion strategy.
The Haynes and Boone, LLP Bankruptcy Practice is ranked No. 1 in Texas by Chambers USA, and has developed a truly national scope over the past several years. The way has been paved through a series of high-profile out-of-court restructurings and Chapter 11 matters throughout the country, including leading the representation of debtors or various major creditor constituencies in the cases of Wellman, Inc.; Lehman Brothers Holdings; Adelphia Communications Corporation; WCI Communities, Inc.; JHT Holdings, Inc.; SemGroup; American LaFrance, LLC; ATA Airlines; Marcal Paper Mills, Inc.; ASARCO, LLC; Tekoil & Gas Corporation; Heartland Enterprises and Bombay Corporation.
Haynes and Boone, LLP is an international corporate law firm with offices in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., Mexico City and Moscow, providing a full spectrum of legal services. With more than 500 attorneys, Haynes and Boone is ranked among the largest law firms in the United States by The National Law Journal. The firm has been recognized as one of the “Best Corporate Law Firms in America” (Corporate Board Member Magazine, 2001-2008), as one of The Best 20 Law Firms for Overall Diversity (Vault, 2009), a Top 25 Law Firm for Hispanic Americans (MultiCultural Law Magazine, 2008), and a Top 100 Law Firm for Women (Women 3.0, 2008).
