Two Of Biglaw’s Best Contribute To Massive Spike In Commercial Bankruptcy Filings

// While many were busy celebrating their loved ones in February, attorneys at two of the country’s most prestigious law firms were busy with… bankruptcy filings.

According to a new report from Epiq Bankruptcy and the American Bankruptcy Institute, commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings increased by 118% in February 2024 over February 2023, and by 77% over January 2024’s filings. Which law firms were behind the colossal increase?

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

That would be Weil Gotshal and Kirkland & Ellis, which started and ended the month with major cases. The American Lawyer has the details:

Sponsored How AI Is Transforming The Legal Profession A survey of professionals reveals their expectations and challenges for the future of work. From Thomson Reuters  

At the beginning of the month, Miami-based primary care provider Cano Health filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $1.2 billion in assets and roughly $1.5 billion in liabilities.

Represented by Weil, Cano went public in a 2020 SPAC deal valued at $4.4 billion. Weil advised Cano on corporate matters and shareholder activist issues before the company hit financial turmoil, court records indicate, at which point Weil began advising Cano on restructuring matters. The firm received around $9 million from Cano during the 90 days before the filing and maintained a credit balance of $4.2 million at the time of filing. …

At the end of the month, Kirkland filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on behalf of 241 companies under the jointly administered bankruptcy of Thrasio Holdings, a third-party seller on Amazon. Thrasio filed with between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets and $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities.

Together, the firms took on about 300 of last month’s Chapter 11 filings in jointly administered bankruptcies. Congratulations to Weil and Kirkland on all of their success.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

Kirkland, Weil Contribute to 118% Uptick in Commercial Chapter 11 Filings [American Lawyer]

Sponsored Sponsored CloudLex - Purposefully Built To Help Plaintiff Personal Injury Firms Build, Manage, And Grow Their Business From CloudLex   Sponsored Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. From LexisNexis   Sponsored How AI Is Transforming The Legal Profession A survey of professionals reveals their expectations and challenges for the future of work. From Thomson Reuters   Sponsored Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. From LexisNexis  

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); }); Sponsored Sponsored Integrating Generative AI Into A Lawyer’s Workflow Legal AI is transforming law practice by enabling faster drafting, said panelists at a recent WSJ event for law firm managing partners. Firms adopting these… From LexisNexis   Sponsored The Secrets Of Small Firm Success Read on for some specific, actionable ways to ensure clients continue to come in the door. From Above The Law   Topics

Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal