Three Senior Financial Restructuring Lawyers Join DLA Piper
George South, Frank Pepler and Bennett Silverberg Bolster Coast-to-Coast Practice
New York) March 4, 2010 – DLA Piper announced today that George B. South III, Frank Pepler and Bennett Silverberg have joined the firm’s Restructuring practice. South and Silverberg will be based in New York – DLA Piper’s largest US office with more than 200 lawyers – while Pepler will be based in San Francisco. South and Pepler are joining the firm as partners, and Silverberg joins as Of Counsel.
“This group represents a major investment in our Restructuring group, which we have been strategically building for the past several years,” said Roger Meltzer, Global Chair of DLA Piper’s Corporate and Finance group. “We are still emerging from the most serious global recession in recent memory, and the demand for sophisticated restructuring advice is greater than it has ever been. This team adds critical skill sets and capacity to take on additional matters coast-to-coast.”
“George, Frank and Ben are all accomplished restructuring lawyers who share a keen business sense and an entrepreneurial drive,” said H. Jeffrey Schwartz, Chair of DLA Piper’s Restructuring practice who joined the firm in May 2009. “This dynamic group fills out our national restructuring team, giving us added capabilities in key areas and markets. We are thrilled to have all three of them on the team.”
About George B. South III
George South’s practice includes both in- and out-of-court restructurings and the rehabilitation of financially distressed businesses and municipalities. He regularly represents corporate debtors, creditors’ committees, bondholders’ committees, bond insurers, debtor-in-possession lenders, investment partnerships that buy and sell distressed securities, businesses and third parties seeking to invest in and/or acquire the assets and businesses of financially troubled companies, as well as liquidating trustees under chapter 11 plans. South has represented or is currently representing creditors’ committees, significant creditors, bond insurers and third-party purchasers in connection with numerous chapter 11 cases, out-of-court restructurings and/or chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy issues. He has also represented major investors in the securities of financially distressed companies and has provided corporate finance, strategic planning and debtor-creditor advice to a number of corporate and institutional clients.
South is a contributing author of one of the leading bankruptcy treatises in the United States, Collier on Bankruptcy. In addition, he has participated as a speaker in numerous forums on a variety of issues including tax, energy and telecommunication issues in bankruptcy.
Prior to joining DLA Piper, South was a partner with King & Spalding in New York. He also previously was a partner with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York. He received his J.D., with distinction, from Hofstra University School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of the Hofstra Law Review, and his B.A. from Hofstra University.
About Frank Pepler
Frank Pepler joins DLA Piper from Pepler Mastromonaco, a boutique firm he co-founded in San Francisco in 2005 focusing on institutional lender clients. A prominent insolvency practitioner, Frank represents banks, secured creditors and lessors in origination, restructuring and workout matters as well as in litigation. A significant part of his work is matters governed by the Uniform Commercial Code, both in California and as adopted in other states. He was an active participant in the drafting process of Revised Article 9 at both the national level and in California, where he served as the co-chair of the California State Bar Uniform Commercial Code Committee when Revised Article 9 was adopted in 1999. He taught Secured Transactions as an adjunct professor of law from 1998 to 2002.
Pepler received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was the Executive Editor of the Hastings Law Journal, and his B.A. from the University of Colorado with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa.
About Bennett Silverberg
Bennett Silverberg joins DLA Piper in New York as of counsel in the firm’s Restructuring group. Mr. Silverberg joins DLA Piper from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP where he was a senior associate. He has significant experience in representing debtors and creditors in chapter 11 reorganization cases and out-of-court restructurings. His engagements have ranged across a wide array of industries, including automotive, food, manufacturing, real estate, lending, technology and telecommunications. Mr. Silverberg’s chapter 11 debtor representations include: CIT Group, Inc., Hayes-Lemmerz International, Inc., Blue Bird Bus Company, Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., Russell-Stanley Holdings, Inc., Refco, Inc., Radio Unica Communications, Corp., VF Brands, Inc. (a/k/a Vlasic and Swanson Foods), RCN Corp. and American Banknote Corp.
Mr. Silverberg received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and his undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York and in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
About DLA Piper’s Restructuring Group
DLA Piper’s Restructuring group is well positioned to meet the ever-increasing needs of major companies and financial institutions. With more than 200 lawyers globally, the group provides comprehensive restructuring services to clients both in and out of court. DLA Piper’s lawyers work with clients to develop strategies to respond to financial distress, restructure debt obligations or obtain corporate control. Throughout the current financial crisis, the group has been heavily involved in dozens of major restructuring matters, including significant engagements related to the Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual chapter 11 cases.
About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper has 3,500 lawyers in 29 countries and 67 offices throughout the US, UK, Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.
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CONTACTS:
Jason Costa, Media Relations, DLA Piper, 212.776.3739
Joven Cabanday, Media Relations, GreenTarget, 646.695.2883
