JD Journal » Chrysler

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:47:10 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, July 14th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

DLA Piper was ranked first by deal volume in global mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2010…

A Cadwalader partner earned M&A Advisor Honor…

Reed Smith added four partners to its energy group…

Brownstein added two new partners to its practice…

The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a preliminary vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan…

The Gibson law firm introduced a BP claims service…

Former U.S. Senator and HUD secretary Mel Martinez left DLA Piper for JP Morgan Chase & Co…

Cadwalader Partner Earns M&A Advisor Honor

joshua — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:56:01 +0000

Peter Friedman, a partner in the financial restructuring department of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, has been named one of the “40 Under 40″ by The M&A Advisor. He will be recognized at an awards ceremony on July 26 in Los Angeles that will celebrate 40 leading corporate, M&A, financing and turnaround professionals who have made significant accomplishments before their fortieth year.

Winners were chosen from a pool of international nominees by an independent judging panel of distinguished business leaders.

Friedman was recognized for his role as a senior member of Cadwalader’s team in its successful representation of the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Presidential Task Force on the Automobile Industry in the historic Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcies. He was also instrumental in advising petrochemical giant LyondellBassell in its recent international restructuring.

“Peter is an outstanding lawyer who has been involved in some of the most challenging and highly publicized bankruptcy matters of the past year,” stated Christopher White, Chairman of the firm. ”We are proud of his achievements and congratulate him on this honor.”

M&A Advisor facilitates connections and recognizes the achievement of top performers in the M&A, turnaround and financing industries through its events and awards galas, M&A Alerts newsletter, and online communities.

Tipster: Miller Canfield Lays Off 16 Lawyers, 9 Staff [Update]

Erik Even — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:40:06 +0000

A JDJournal tipster informs us that the Detroit headquarters of Miller Canfield has let go 25 people, which includes approximately 16 lawyers, including partners.

The cuts targeted a group that did work for Chrysler.

If you know anything about layoffs at Miller Canfield, please — send us a confidential tip!

Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone was established in Detroit in 1852 and has offices in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, New York, Canada, Poland, Mexico and China.

UPDATE:

Another tipster says: “I was one of three paralegals and three staff members laid off or asked to retire from Miller Canfield’s Chrysler Group on or about December 1, 2008. To the best of my knowledge, the rest were laid off last week.”

Thanks to all our tipsters!

Rumor: 30 Chrysler Attorneys Accept Buyouts

Erik Even — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:07:16 +0000

The same day that Italy’s Fiat announced it may acquire a stake in Chrysler LLC, 30 out of 40 in-house Chrysler attorneys have accepted took a buyout package in the corporate transactional department, located in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

If you know anything about this story, please send us a tip.

We’ll keep updating this post as the story develops.

Automakers Retain Counsel to Mull Bankruptcy Options [Update]

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:06:27 +0000

General Motors has hired Harvey Miller of the New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges to help the beleagured auto giant consider its bankruptcy options, should the US Senate be unable to pass an industry bailout package. Miller created and developed the firm’s Business Finance & Restructuring department.

Others involved in the matter include restructuring veterans Jay Alix of Jay Alix & Associates, the nation’s largest turnaround & crisis management firm; William Repko of boutique investment bank Evercore Partners; and Arthur Newman of financial advisory firm the Blackstone Group.

Meanwhile, Chrysler has retained Cleveland law firm Jones Day as its bankruptcy counsel. Jones Day handled the reorganization of car & truck parts supplier Dana Holding, and represented the official committee of retired employees for Tower Automotive’s bankruptcy. It also advised International Automotive Components in the acquisition of some businesses from bankrupt auto interiors supplier Collins & Aikman.

UPDATE

From WSJ Law Blog:

GM CEO Rick Wagoner has reportedly been reluctant to publicly embrace bankruptcy, fearing that it would scare off potential buyers. In addition, the cost of financing a Chapter 11 filing would be enormously expensive and difficult given tight credit markets.

Dewey LeBoeuf’s Martin Bienenstock, who worked on the Enron bankruptcy, has also been tapped to advise GM.