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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE NEXT CHAPTER - Evan Miller, a director at Bayard in Wilmington, Delaware, who specializes in corporate bankruptcy, said the early days of the pandemic resulted in "hands-down the busiest stretch" his career. But, as Law.com's Ellen Bardash reports, that may have just been a warm-up: with the country opening up and an end to COVID-19 in sight, Miller predicts another uptick of Chapter 11 filings is likely in the upcoming months. The X factor in all this, according to Miller, is whether more pandemic aid will be coming from the government as we head further into the year. "That's an unknown, and it's probably the biggest variable in all of this,"  he said. "Certainly, if companies have the option to utilize relatively 'cheap' funding from the government, then that will help prolong their ability to avoid having to rely upon bankruptcy. Will that happen again? Is there anything else to come, as far as that goes? That's a trickle-down effect, from both the company's standpoint as well as the lenders' that would be lending to those companies, as well."

E.Y. NOT? - Remember back in grade school when you'd get in trouble and make the excuse that all your friends were doing the same thing and your mom would say stuff like, "If all your friends formed alliances with Big Law firms would you do it too?" Then she'd ground you from Sega Genesis for a week? EY seems to have taken that tough lesson to heart because it's the last remaining holdout among the Big Four accounting firms that has yet to seal a partnership with a large law firm. And, as Law.com's Dan Packel reports, that could prove to be a wise strategy. If EY is indeed eyeing a potential alliance, perhaps it's just biding its time and taking notes on the strategies of its competitors. For example, KPMG's new partnership with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, announced last week, shows the benefit of teaming with a law firm whose services are complementary to, rather than competitive with, your own. Meanwhile, Epstein Becker & Green's May 2019 pairing with Deloitte holds lessons in the challenges and rewards of a comparatively small U.S. law firm figuring our how to integrate its offerings with a gargantuan, multinational accounting firm.

REAL DEAL - Real estate firm Black Creek Group has agreed to sell its U.S real estate advisory and distribution business to Ares Management Corporation in a deal guided by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Latham & Watkins. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction, announced May 20, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. Denver-based Black Creek was advised by a Simpson Thacher team was led by partners David Blass, Andrew Blau, Elizabeth Cooper, Lori Lesser, Russell Light, Matt Rogers and Tom Wuchenich. Los Angeles-based Ares was advised by Latham & Watkins. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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