The Continued Impact of COVID-19 on the Distressed Real Estate Market

Elizabeth B. Vandesteeg, CIPP is a partner in the Financial Services & Restructuring Group at Levenfeld Pearlstein in Chicago, where she focuses on identifying risk exposure and mitigating liability for clients, with a concentration in the areas of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, commercial litigation, and data security and privacy. She represents secured creditors, debtors, unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, landlords and shareholders in bankruptcy courts throughout U.S., as well as clients in civil litigation in federal and state courts. Her passion is helping clients identify and resolve potential problems related to creditors’ rights, troubled businesses, bankruptcy and workouts, and business disputes.

Ms. Vandesteeg advises clients on cybersecurity and privacy compliance and regulatory issues. She also guides clients in developing and implementing information security programs that are reasonable and appropriate for their specific business needs and risks, as well as advising them in responding to data breaches, and was instrumental in launching the ABI Journal’s Cyber U column.

Previously, Ms. Vandesteeg was with Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP, where she was a partner and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and her J.D. from Boston College.

George Klidonas is a partner in the Restructuring & Special Situation Group of Latham & Watkins LLP in New York, where he focuses his practice on in-court and out-of-court corporate restructurings. His practice involves representing companies (including portfolio, privately held and public companies), equity owners and sponsors, and committees and distressed investors (including hedge funds and private-equity funds) in acquisitions, out-of-court restructurings and chapter 11 cases.

Mr. Klidonas also advises boards of directors, board committees and senior management of financially troubled companies on a range of issues, including fiduciary duties and corporate governance. Recent examples of restructurings that he was involved with include American Energy - Permian Basin, LLC, APC Automotive, FULLBEAUTY Brands Holdings Corp., Lonestar Resources US Inc., Mallinckrodt plc, One Call Corp., Sungard AS Capital, Inc., Superior Energy Services, Inc. and Windstream Holdings, Inc.

Mr. Klidonas regularly speaks on legal and financial topics for leading organizations, including CNBC, the Turnaround Management Association, Wharton Restructuring and Distressed Investing Conference and ABI. He also regularly speaks at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Mr. Klidonas previously worked on secondment at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in its Special Situations Group. In this role, he advised the investment team on existing portfolio investments as well as new investments. He also supported the KKR team with distressed investments/transactions and new investment opportunities, including rescue financing, debtor-in-possession and exit financing, recapitalizations, equity investments, distressed trades and other opportunistic investments.

Mr. Klidonas received his undergraduate degree from Fordham University, his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his LL.M. in restructuring from St. John’s University School of Law.

Janine has extensive experience representing clients in many different industries, including subprime mortgages, manufacturing, retail, media and entertainment, wholesale/distribution, and specialty chemicals.

Through her representations of the Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors of some of the nation’s largest subprime mortgage bankruptcies, including New Century TRS Holdings, Inc. and ResMAE Mortgage Corp, Janine has developed significant experience both in financial products and complex debt structures. Her bankruptcy litigation experience spans from the defense and prosecution of avoidance actions to complex plan appeal issues.

Janine is a member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), the international nonprofit dedicated to corporate renewal and the turnaround industry. She has previously served as Chair, President and General Counsel of the TMA New York City Chapter.

Janine is active in the recruitment and successful development of attorneys in the Firm's New York office. She has served as Hahn & Hessen's Hiring Partner since 2016.

Janine received her B.S. in 1998 from Fordham University and her J.D. cum laude in 2002 from Brooklyn Law School.

Evan B. Blum is a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal in New York, where he provides financial advisory, interim-management and turnaround consulting services. He has more than 20 years of experience representing domestic and international clients on restructuring matters, including assignments in and out of court.

Mr. Blum is experienced in both the operational and financial aspects of restructurings and has managed liquidity and business plan issues. He has assessed organizational restructurings as well as negotiated complex balance-sheet restructurings, and has advised boards on strategic alternatives.

Mr. Blum represented the debtor in the AmTrust bankruptcy, the holding company of a $16 billon bank. His engagements include representing the debtor in the U.S. Coal and Gas Mart bankruptcies. He also served as CRO of several companies during his career, where he was responsible for global operational restructurings, and has served as financial advisor to numerous middle-market companies.

Mr. Blum has been an advisor to many lenders relating to businessplan assessments and balance-sheet recapitalizations throughout a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, construction, retail, media and telecom. He has also served as financial advisor to unsecured creditors’ committees and as liquidating trustee, where he has wound down companies.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Blum served as a principal with GlassRatner, where he was responsible for originating and managing operational and financial restructuring assignments. Previously, he was a managing member of Triax Capital Advisors, a restructuring advisory firm.

Mr. Blum was formerly a senior vice president at Communications Equity Associates and a director with Merrill Lynch. He has published articles and participated as a speaker on panels related to a variety of restructuring topics. He was also a lecturer at Pace Business School on restructuring issues.

Mr. Blum is a member of ABI and the Turnaround Management Association. He received his B.A. from Cornell University, where he received the Arts & Sciences Dean’s Award, and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School with a concentration in finance and international business, where he graduated with Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

Eve H. Karasik is a Partner at Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill in Los Angeles, California. She focuses her national practice on corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, including representation of Chapter 11 debtors, unsecured creditor and equity committees, trustees, secured and unsecured creditors, and parties involved in bankruptcy litigation and appeals.

Her prior debtor engagements include Imperial Capital Bancorp, Inc. (San Diego, CA), Utah 7000, LLC (Salt Lake City, UT), Falcon Products, Inc. (St. Louis, MO), Clark Retail Group (Chicago, IL), and U.S. Aggregates, Inc. (Reno, NV). Creditor and equity committee cases include Circus and Eldorado Joint Venture (Reno, NV), Riviera Holdings Corporation (Las Vegas, NV), Eurofresh, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ), USA Capital First Trust Deed Fund (Las Vegas, NV), Aladdin Gaming, Inc. (Las Vegas, NV), and Amerco (Reno, NV).

Ms. Karasik served as Trustee's counsel in SIPA liquidations (W.S. Clearing, Inc.) (Los Angeles, CA), Examiner's counsel in Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings, LLC (Miami, FL), and counsel to Bankruptcy Code Section 524(g) Settlement Trust (Reno, NV). Ms. Karasik received the Century City Bankruptcy Attorney of the Year (2015) and the Turnaround Management Association "2007 Large Company Transaction of the Year" award.

Ms. Karasik serves as a board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, and is a member of several other professional organizations.