McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Bankruptcy, and the ensuing litigation in a bankruptcy proceeding, presents a substantial threat to your business, whether you are a debtor seeking relief under the Bankruptcy Code or a creditor owed substantial sums. To help you navigate the complex issues and conflicts that routinely arise in bankruptcy litigation, and to minimize the risks arising from such litigation—including lawsuits brought by bankruptcy trustees, creditors’ and equity committees, contested confirmation hearings, valuation and allocation disputes, and fraudulent conveyance and preferences actions—you need skilled legal advisors.

Our team of highly experienced bankruptcy litigation lawyers works seamlessly with our restructuring & insolvency practice to provide you with innovative, comprehensive strategies to decrease your risk, and—when necessary—skillfully argue matters in any venue. We analyze your situation and present creative solutions for delivering quicker resolutions and higher returns, protecting your assets and investments and driving successful business operations. In order to successfully take on your complex, long-lasting disputes and align the results with your business strategy, we work across practices and borders to enlist our colleagues’ substantial knowledge in fields such as private equity, M&A, tax and real estate.

With a dedicated group of trial and restructuring lawyers operating out of our Wilmington, New York, Chicago and Dallas offices, we offer coverage in the most active bankruptcy-related jurisdictions in the world. Our practitioners have also handled cross-border litigation around the globe.

When your business operations are adversely impacted by federal, state or local government action in the United States, our team uses a unique skillset and decades of litigation experience to help you secure strategic relief. If needed, we sue governments on your behalf for laws they enact, regulations they promulgate and agency actions they undertake.

To benefit a wide variety of clients regulated by the government, including companies and trade associations across all industries and sectors, our team designs and brings legal challenges to actions taken by federal, state, and local governments and their subsidiary agencies.

Litigation is one of many tools we use to help you achieve your objectives: When you have a problem with the government, we analyze the issues, map out a strategy and explore whether litigation will be most effective for you. Partnering with our colleagues in health, tax, energy, transactions and other areas frequently affected by government action, we contest federal and state laws as unconstitutional or preempted, bring Administrative Procedure Act challenges to regulations, and challenge a variety of agency decisions. When appropriate, we are also adept at building media relations strategies to nurture your message in the public sphere.

With long experience in federal, state and local government lawsuits; a winning record; and encyclopedic knowledge of constitutional lawsuits, Section 1983 lawsuits and other frequent actions against the government, our team has a clear view of current law—and a strong vision for how we can use sound, creative legal reasoning to push it in other directions based on your needs. As a responsive, client-focused group, we bring strategic thinking, a deep understanding of administrative law, litigation skill and superior legal writing to your most novel problems.

In light of the elimination of, or extensions to, state statutes of limitations for both minor and adult survivors of sexual abuse, misconduct claims can put your organization—and its board and senior executives—in a difficult and uniquely vulnerable position. Beyond the typical workplace allegations of sexual harassment against an employer, these claims expose respected academic and cultural institutions, healthcare and social services providers, and religious organizations to significant financial and reputational harm. The public and your stakeholders (including donors, investors, current and prospective employees), as well as law enforcement and government regulators, are likely to scrutinize how your organization reacts and responds to such allegations. The implications can be far-reaching. An inadequate or improper response may negatively impact your organization’s operations, future government investigations or civil suits.

With decades of experience in advising institutional clients, our team is uniquely prepared to advise your organization throughout the lifecycle of these sensitive and often high-profile matters. We are equipped to review alleged claims, while uncovering information your organization needs to accurately determine possible wrongdoing, to proactively design an approach to evaluate risks before challenges or allegations come to light, and to respond swiftly to minimize damage if related investigations or litigation follow.

Our multi-disciplinary team—comprised of former state and federal prosecutors, best-in-class white-collar investigators and litigators—has handled such high-stakes claims both as defense counsel and prosecutors. Members of the team have extensive experience in every aspect of these complex matters. Additionally, our team frequently partners with specialized groups across the Firm, including corporate securities, employment and labor, healthcare, insurance coverage and nonprofit governance. We leverage this expertise to deliver forward-thinking advice, whether helping you properly structure compliance programs, draft appropriate policies, conduct board education and staff trainings, hold tough conversations at executive and leadership levels, investigate the merits of allegations, handle media inquiries or develop crisis management plans.

If the organization faces litigation, our deep bench of trial lawyers has a wealth of experience in addressing civil lawsuits resulting from these types of claims. Through it all, we can help you navigate quickly to appropriately address and remediate issues, create authentic cultural change where needed, and protect your organization’s brand and reputation.

To bring a calm, experienced perspective to these matters, from proactive compliance and trainings to the challenges of investigations and litigation, you can turn to our savvy, responsive and fast-moving team.

Our lawyers represent businesses, investors, and states in a broad range of settlement negotiations, mediations and arbitrations under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and several other arbitral bodies. The group also regularly prosecutes and defends against litigations related to domestic and international arbitration, including actions to compel arbitration, actions to enforce arbitral awards and actions for injunctive relief in aid of international arbitration. Our ADR team lawyers are located across two continents, and a number have served as arbitrators in AAA and international arbitrations.

Leveraging unsurpassed technical and commercial knowledge, our construction and engineering disputes team helps owners and developers address complex litigation involving large international energy and infrastructure projects around the globe. Clients turn to us to handle disputes arising in both traditional fossil fuel energy projects and renewable energy projects, including claims of delay, inefficiency and defects. We frequently represent clients in state and federal courts and arbitration forums throughout the world. Our team distinguishes itself through a unique combination of deep industry know-how and extensive international arbitration experience, providing clients with a unique blend of capabilities and proficiency.

Our litigators represent banks and other financial institutions in a variety of complex litigation matters, including consumer and securities class actions, securities fraud and derivative litigation. We also represent institutions and individual executives in disputes involving director and officer liability, lender liability, loan workouts and regulatory issues. We regularly conduct internal investigations on behalf of clients and provide vigorous representation in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), stock exchanges, and other self-regulatory organizations, as well as various state securities enforcement agencies.

Our dedicated hospitality team includes litigators with experience in all aspects of our clients’ businesses, including acquisitions, development and financing; labor, immigration, employment and employee benefits; construction and real estate; data privacy; operations, management and service contracts; portfolio management; and tax. We have advised many of the world’s leading hospitality brands and developers, in the United States and globally.

As professional service providers ourselves, we understand the costs associated with allegations of professional misconduct or malpractice. We represent lawyers, accountants, and others on the full range of professional responsibility matters, including defense of malpractice claims, securities class actions, regulatory and ethics investigations, partnership disputes, insurance coverage issues, RICO claims, audit and tax controversies, white-collar criminal defense, and other litigation. Drawing on our in-depth understanding of professional ethics and our strong courtroom skills, we have successfully represented some of the largest global professional services firms in sensitive and high-stakes cases, and in proceedings before the SEC, PCAOB, and other regulatory bodies.