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Law360 (September 2, 2020, 4:40 PM EDT) -- Cozen O'Connor has added eight restructuring and insolvency attorneys previously at Fox Rothschild LLP as members to its offices in Chicago and Delaware as it prepares for a potential wave of bankruptcies tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brian L. Shaw, Robert M. Fishman, Ira Bodenstein, David R. Doyle, Allen J. Guon, Mark L. Radtke and Peter J. Roberts will work in Cozen's bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring practice out of the firm's Chicago office, and Thomas Horan will work out of its Wilmington, Delaware, office, according to the firm's announcement on Tuesday.
Cozen made the additions as it expects to see restructuring and bankruptcy activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic "like we have never seen before," Mark E. Felger, the practice's co-chair, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"These attorneys bring to us strong backgrounds in all areas of the restructuring and insolvency spectrum that will help us to significantly expand both our practice and our capabilities," Felger said.
Fishman and Shaw had been co-chairs of Fox Rothschild's financial restructuring and bankruptcy department, according to Cozen. Shaw concentrates his practice on bankruptcy and financial restructuring. A former chair of the Chicago Bar Association's bankruptcy and reorganization section, Shaw has worked with debtors, creditors and other types of parties in a broad range of proceedings, according to the firm.
Shaw told Law360 on Wednesday that recent filings suggest that having a legal presence in places such as New York, Wilmington, Houston and Richmond, Virginia will be important for firms representing clients in bankruptcy matters, locales that Cozen already has covered.
"Our client base is best served if we can actively and fully participate in all of those jurisdictions," Shaw said. "We want to be able to act for our own clients without needing local counsel. We want to be an able and effective local counsel for other firms that do not have offices in those jurisdictions."
Fishman has been president, chairman and vice president of education for the American Bankruptcy Institute, according to the firm. He focuses on representing trustees, equity committees, secured and unsecured creditors and other types of parties in a broad range of insolvency proceedings, according to Cozen.
"When you combine our attorneys with those already at Cozen O'Connor, I believe we have a team capable of handling most any case or client," Fishman told Law360 on Wednesday. "We want Cozen O'Connor to be a 'go to' firm in the insolvency community. I think we have assembled a team that qualifies Cozen O'Connor to be that firm."
Horan is vice president of communications and information technology for the American Bankruptcy Institute, according to the firm. He concentrates on bankruptcy litigation and financial restructuring, representing debtors and official unsecured creditors' committees in Chapter 11 proceedings, among other types of clients, according to Cozen.
Bodenstein was the U.S. trustee for Region 11, which includes Wisconsin and the Northern District of Illinois, from 1998 through 2006, according to Cozen. He is experienced in Chapter 11 reorganization cases and counsels clients on how to timely file the cases and on the rights of secured and unsecured creditors, according to the firm.
Doyle works with clients such as secured lenders and receivers in commercial foreclosure and eviction proceedings, with middle-market debtors in possession matters, and with receivers, according to Cozen.
Guon represents assignees in out-of-court liquidations, court-appointed fiduciaries, and federal and state court receivers, according to Cozen. He also advises a broad range of clients in Chapter 7 liquidations, Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court workouts, according to the firm.
Radtke focuses on creditors' rights, bankruptcy and reorganization, according to the firm. His clients come from industries such as real estate, automotive, manufacturing, retail and trucking, according to Cozen.
Roberts represents clients dealing with many types of commercial insolvency, including receiverships, assignments for the benefit of creditors, UCC Article 9 sales, and bankruptcies, according to Cozen. He litigates cases in state and federal courts, deals with asset sales in distressed situations, and develops and carries out reorganization plans, according to the firm.
John T. Carroll III, co-chair of Cozen's bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring practice, said in a statement on Tuesday that while business cycles regularly experience downturns that affect individual market sectors, the current downturn is affecting virtually all sectors of the economy.
"The anticipated dysfunction across all market sectors caused by the global pandemic will require lawyers who are practical, creative and skilled in negotiating restructuring plans and workouts," Carroll said. "I am confident that our clients will be well served by the skillsets of the top-notch bankruptcy practitioners who are joining us."
--Editing by Peter Rozovsky.
Update: This article has been updated to include comments by Shaw and Fishman.
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