ANDREWS MYERS Adds Bankruptcy Shareholder to Team
Veteran Bankruptcy Trial Lawyer Joins Practice Group | Team Offers Restructuring and Bankruptcy Options During COVID-19 Crisis
HOUSTON, TX – March 23, 2020 - Andrews Myers has announced the hiring of restructuring lawyer, Edward (Ed) L. Ripley, as a shareholder to join its restructuring and bankruptcy & creditors’ rights team. Ed has over 30 years of restructuring experience and has been involved in some of the largest bankruptcy cases in Texas and around the U.S., and is joining the firm after 13 years at King & Spalding. He started his career at the renowned bankruptcy boutique, Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay.
Based in Houston throughout his professional career, Ed has extensive experience in the energy space, as well as in the real estate, construction, hospitality and retail areas, representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, contract-counterparties and entities looking at distressed acquisition. He’s also well known to many attorneys throughout the nation, having spent ten years as an assistant to and adjunct professor at the University of Houston College Of Law, teaching Chapter 11 Business Bankruptcy.
"I am very excited to start on a new chapter in my career, working with an established team of well-regarded bankruptcy lawyers and litigators, and I’m looking forward to joining the Andrews Myers firm as it continues its strategic growth, furthering our services and reach both in-state and on a national basis," Ripley stated.
Ed Ripley brings more than three decades of experience representing and advising business clients in out-of-court workouts and Chapter 11 proceedings. With a focus on corporate and bankruptcy restructuring and litigation, his extensive energy experience will be a tremendous asset to Andrews Myers’ energy practice group.
Ripley joins established bankruptcy lawyers and shareholders Josh Judd and Lisa Norman on the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights team – further strengthening the burgeoning practice group. Growing its bench of trial lawyers is a key component of the firm’s strategic plan, designed to further its status as a full-service business law firm with the resources and team to make an impact in multiple litigation areas across the State of Texas.
“Ed’s reputation and attitude fits well with our collaborative, team-driven approach and his addition to our team will help us grow our bankruptcy core competency, one of the primary growth goals set forth in our firm’s three-year strategic plan. It is an unprecedented and challenging time for all businesses, so offering our clients the counsel of nationally renowned and Board Certified attorneys in our bankruptcy & creditors’ rights group is definitely a strength,” commented Tim Ross, Hiring Shareholder at Andrews Myers.
For the full press release click here. For more information on Ed Ripley click here.
COVID-19: Bankruptcy & Restructuring Options
by Josh Judd & Lisa Norman The COVID-19 pandemic is causing extreme disruptions in business operations and immediately impacting revenues in most industries. Business closures, social distancing, and quarantine orders are all aimed at flattening the curve of the pandemic but are equally causing an immediate global economic crash. Businesses attempting to weather this storm face a unique set of challenges and many need immediate financial relief from creditors who all want to be paid now.
Whether through a bankruptcy proceeding or out of court agreement, any “fix” to the ongoing economic crisis should be tailored to preserve jobs and operations, and maximize value to all impacted stakeholders. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is tailored to provide a single forum and to encourage a global resolution of claims and liabilities, through collective negotiations with creditors, customers and contractual counterparties. Although a consensual resolution is the goal, not all of the creditors must agree to a court-approved plan of reorganization that will ultimately be binding on all parties.
Perhaps the most powerful benefit of filing bankruptcy is the imposition of the automatic stay, which automatically stops substantially all collection activities and legal proceedings against a company and its property. From the debtor’s prospective, this provides a breathing spell to address business problems and negotiate a plan of reorganization. A debtor will have the exclusive right to file a plan of reorganization within 120 days of filing its bankruptcy case. From the creditor’s perspective, it prevents the “race to the courthouse” or exercise of self-help remedies to the detriment of other creditors.
Companies are usually driven into bankruptcy because of a shortage of cash. Ensuring the availability of cash is one of the most important aspects of chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy code is designed to encourage creditors to lend to debtors in bankruptcy. Emergency debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing is usually considered within the first few days of filing bankruptcy so that a debtor can obtain the necessary funding to continue operations, including paying employees, taxes and insurance. Lenders in bankruptcy are typically afforded extraordinary protections and incentives for providing financing, and depending on the circumstances, are provided releases and other protections that mitigate risks for a lender.
An additional solution in bankruptcy is the ability to sell assets. The bankruptcy court has the power to approve the sale of assets free and clear of liens and competing claims, which may otherwise prevent a sale outside of chapter 11. Buyers also have the ability to assume favorable leases or executory contracts, or choose to have those contracts rejected without any further liability to the buyer. Another benefit of filing a chapter 11 bankruptcy is the ability of debtors to evaluate executory contracts (contracts with ongoing obligations) and leases, and then decide whether to reject or assume those agreements. Keeping beneficial contracts and rejecting unfavorable contracts can significantly assist in the reorganization of a financially distressed company.
The COVID-19 crisis will have a significant negative impact on many businesses. However, that does not mean that companies should be forced out of business. To that end, the filing of a chapter 11 bankruptcy does not mark the end of a company’s operations, rather it should be viewed as a second chance to reemerge as a profitable business.
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About Andrews Myers
Founded in 1990, Andrews Myers is a Texas-based business law firm with more than 50 attorneys, and offices located in Houston and Austin. Firm attorneys counsel on transactions, disputes and all business related issues, with a keen focus on the primary practice areas of construction, trials, real estate, corporate, energy, employment, finance and bankruptcy-creditors' rights. The firm plays an integral role on a wide range of projects, providing timely and cost-effective solutions to the most complex problems facing entrepreneurs and industry leaders throughout the state. For more information please visit www.andrewsmyers.com.
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