Since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, an unprecedented number of large, complex corporate restructurings have been filed in bankruptcy courts in Texas – especially in the Southern District of Texas.
On Friday, December 4, Jackson Walker partner Matthew Cavenaugh joined Chief Bankruptcy Judge David Jones for a CLE webcast hosted by The Texas Lawbook discussing corporate bankruptcy trends and developments in the Southern District of Texas. Fellow panelists included John Higgins (Porter Hedges) and moderator Travis Torrence (Shell). Jackson Walker and Porter Hedges served as co-sponsors of the webcast.
During the discussion, Matt shared insights about his representation of debtors in the retail-related bankruptcy cases filed amid the pandemic.
“The timing was moved up because of the pandemic,” he said. “We’ve had a couple REITs [real estate investment trusts] file in the Southern District, and that is new. On Monday night, we had a foreclosure-induced bankruptcy.”
Regarding oil and gas-related bankruptcies, Matt noted that he has not seen a large number of midstream restructurings. One case he and Jackson Walker is involved in is the December 1 bankruptcy filing of London-based Seadrill Partners. The Firm serves as co-counsel alongside Kirkland & Ellis.
Read more about the panel discussion on The Texas Lawbook. For additional insights about bankruptcy cases filed during the pandemic, view the following articles:
