Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Early-in-the-Case § 363 Sales

Laura Appleby represents clients in all aspects of complex bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court restructurings and distressed transactions. She has experience representing bondholders, indenture trustees, financial institutions and other creditors in special situations. Every situation is unique, and Laura’s experience with a broad range of industries and entities enables her to guide clients through all aspects of the restructuring and insolvency process. Laura has provided advice with respect to corporations and other for-profit business organizations, nonprofit entities and municipalities.

In addition, Laura counsels clients with respect to issues surrounding municipal distress and insolvency.

Laura served a clerkship with the Honorable Victor J. Wolski, of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Prior to attending law school, she was a legislative assistant and director of correspondence for U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (Ret.).

Mr. Roeschenthaler is a business solutions lawyer, with a focus on financial restructuring, corporate turnarounds, distressed asset transactions, bankruptcy and insolvency law. He has a wide range of experience in the representation of the various stakeholders in financially distressed situations, including, but not limited to, corporate debtors, asset acquirers, equity holders, ad hoc and court-appointed committees, and individual creditors. His practice spans the United States.

Due to the nature of his practice, Mr. Roeschenthaler is called upon to problem solve within numerous industry sectors. He has significant experience within the following industries: mining (coal, natural gas and copper), manufacturing, metals, health care, education, hospitality, food and beverage, retail, commercial real estate, automotive and construction, and the breadth of his knowledge reaches well beyond these markets.

Stephen Lerner is global chair of the Squire Patton Boggs Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group. He has an extensive national and cross-border restructuring practice in which he represents debtors, distressed businesses, committees of unsecured creditors, secured and unsecured creditors, equity interest holders, boards of directors and acquirers of troubled businesses in Chapter 11 reorganization cases, Chapter 15 cross-border cases, Chapter 9 municipal restructurings and out-of-court restructurings throughout the United States, Europe and, most recently, in the United Arab Emirates, South America and India. Stephen is currently advising Blackjewel LLC, Hartshorne Mining Group and Ferrellgas in their complex restructuring efforts and recently completed the restructuring of Dana Gas PJSC, the largest regional private sector natural gas company in the Middle East, which was awarded the Middle East Restructuring of the Year in 2019 by the International Financial Law Review.

Stephen has led the representation of debtors or other leading parties in the Chapter 11 restructurings of AmFin Financial, Blackjewel LLC, Chrysler, EaglePicher, Energy & Exploration Partners, Enron, Ferrellgas, Lehman Brothers, Midway Gold, Optima Specialty Steel, Patriot Coal, Station Casinos, Veris Gold and WorldCom, among many others, and he represented the Court Appointed Expert in the City of Detroit’s historic Chapter 9 case. Stephen recently served as special counsel to the State of New Jersey in the out of court restructuring of Atlantic City and as lead restructuring advisor to Dana Gas PJSC, the largest independent gas company in the Middle East, in its US$700 million Islamic financing restructuring.

Stephen also led Squire Patton Boggs’ representation of the American College of Bankruptcy in filing an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the significant Stern related case of Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Peter H. Arkison, Trustee of the Estate of Bellingham Insurance Agency, Inc.

Hon. Kevin J. Carey is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, first appointed in 2005 and serving as Chief Judge from 2008-11.

He previously served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed on Jan. 25, 2001. Judge Carey serves on ABI’s Executive Committee as Vice President-Membership and is a past global chairman of the Turnaround Management Association. He is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and also serves as an associate editor for the American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

Judge Carey is the Third Circuit representative on the Administrative Office’s Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group and is a member of the Third Circuit Judicial Council’s Facilities and Security Committee. He is also a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy and Collier Forms Manual. Judge Carey is a part-time adjunct professor in the LL.M. in Bankruptcy program at St. John’s University School of Law in New York and at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. He began his legal career in 1979 as law clerk to Bankruptcy Judge Thomas M. Twardowski, then clerked for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Judge Carey received his B.A. in 1976 from Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. in 1979 from Villanova University School of Law.