Lessons from the PG&E Bankruptcy Case
Thursday, October 29, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
PG&E’s Chapter 11 case drew the active involvement of two official committees, multiple groups of key stakeholders, the California Governor’s Office, as well as a number of individual fire victims and local interest groups. PG&E confirmed its Chapter 11 plan in June 2020, with the support of a significant majority of its stakeholders. Panelists will discuss the key stakeholders in this case and the many unique issues faced in this bankruptcy, and how they were able to resolve key issues in the case that paved the way for the company’s reorganization.
1.0 CLE accredited in Delaware / 1.2 CPE in Business Law / 1.2 CEUs available
Prerequisites: none
Turnaround Management Association (TMA) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.
Panelists:
John Boken, AlixPartners, LLP (TMA Southern California)
David Botter, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Gregory Bray, Milbank LLP
Kim Morris, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Michael Neumeister (moderator) Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (TMA Southern California)
Paul Zumbro, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (TMA New York City)
About the Speakers:
John Boken, AlixPartners, LLP
John is a Managing Director with AlixPartners and has nearly 30 years of corporate turnaround and restructuring experience. He has led more than 80 projects in a variety of industries, including energy, logistics, homebuilding, industrial construction, health care, manufacturing, retail, and agriculture.
John has held senior management positions in numerous complex turnaround and restructuring cases, including serving as CEO, COO, CFO, and Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). His significant client engagements have included PG&E (Deputy CRO), SolarWorld Americas (CEO), Flying J (CRO), NRG Energy (President and COO), and TOUSA (CEO and CRO). Other assignments where John has served in a senior restructuring advisor capacity include: TIC, Mirant, Southern California Edison Company, Fleetwood Enterprises, and AgriBioTech.
John has been recognized within the restructuring industry for his successful leadership of the turnaround of NRG Energy (TMA Mega Company Turnaround of the Year) and the reorganization of Flying J (M&A Advisor Turnaround of the Year and Divestiture of the Year).
John holds a B.S. in commerce finance from the University of Santa Clara.
David Botter, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
David Botter advises on large, complex restructuring cases, both out of court and in chapter 11. He frequently handles multijurisdictional and cross-border matters for both distressed companies and major creditors, with an emphasis on creditors’ committees and bondholder committees. Mr. Botter also frequently advises institutional investors, hedge funds, debtors-in-possession, post-petition lenders and acquirors of distressed assets.
Chambers USA recognizes Mr. Botter as “a calming presence, cerebral and experienced.” His work extends across a variety of industries, including health care, retail, transportation and energy, among others.
Mr. Botter’s recent matters include Aeroméxico, FirstEnergy Solutions, Nordic Aviation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sears Holdings Corporation and Virgin Australia. Other seminal engagements include Nortel Networks, Adeptus Health Inc., Answers Corporation, Hercules Offshore and International Shipholding Corporation.
Gregory Bray, Milbank LLP
As a partner in the firm’s Financial Restructuring Group, Gregory Bray has a diverse national practice and extensive experience representing debtors and creditors in out-of-court workouts and reorganization cases in a wide variety of industries including education, defense, automotive, media, construction, retail, apparel, healthcare, oil and gas, telecommunications, project finance, energy, subprime lending and leasing, franchises, manufacturing and high technology. Mr. Bray plays a key role in his matters often representing the company or committees comprised of creditors that are the “fulcrum” holders of debt of the Company.
His clients include hedge funds, private equity funds, money center banks, financial institutions, lender syndicates comprised of first and second lien lenders, trustees and receivers, creditors’ committees and equity securities holders. He frequently advises funds making control investments in, and potential purchasers of, financially distressed companies, both in and out of court. He also advises lenders in the structuring and documentation of high risk loans and debtor-in-possession loans, and the board of directors of public companies in financial distress with respect to corporate governance and fiduciary duty issues. He has also advised the FDIC on certain policy and structuring matters with respect to Title II of the Dodd-Frank Reform Act.
Kim Morris, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Kim Morris focuses her practice on the representation of public and private corporations or board committees in connection with corporate compliance matters, regulatory investigation and enforcement actions, as well as in complex civil litigation. Kim has extensive experience in designing and conducting internal investigations relating to compliance breaches, securities and financial fraud, whistleblower allegations, employment matters, and regulatory and audit inquiries. She also regularly represents witnesses, subjects and targets in connection with grand jury investigations in both state and federal criminal matters. On the civil side, Kim advises clients in connection with complex commercial litigation including professional liability claims, civil fraud cases, and shareholder disputes. A diligent and efficient litigator, Kim works with her clients to navigate their issues, analyze ramifications, and find effective solutions that best fit the needs of her clients.
Michael Neumeister (moderator) Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Michael Neumeister is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the Business Restructuring & Reorganization Group and the Corporate Department.
Mr. Neumeister has a wide array of experience in representing clients in bankruptcy and restructuring matters in many different industries. His representations have included representing debtors and lenders in in-court and out-of-court restructurings, and buyers in large and small bankruptcy sales. Mr. Neumeister also has a broad range of experience litigating bankruptcy and other distressed debt issues in bankruptcy court, state court, and in courts of appeal.
Mr. Neumeister is currently a member of the Financial Lawyers Conference, the American Bankruptcy Institute, Turnaround Management Association, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Mr. Neumeister was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021 Ones to Watch in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He has also been named a “Rising Star” in the field of Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights by Super Lawyers Magazine since 2013.
Mr. Neumeister received his Juris Doctor in 2010 from the University of Southern California Law School, where he graduated as a member of the Order of the Coif and served as a Senior Content Editor for the Southern California Law Review. While in law school, Mr. Neumeister also held a judicial externship with the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in 2006 from the University of California, San Diego.
Paul Zumbro, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Paul H. Zumbro is Head of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP’s Financial Restructuring & Reorganization (FR&R) practice. Cravath represented PG&E as the debtors’ principal corporate, financing and litigation counsel, acting as lead counsel in the arrangement of PG&E’s $5.5 billion DIP financing and its $20+ billion debt and equity exit financing. Mr. Zumbro was also active in the wildfire litigation at the core of the Chapter 11 case, including the $25+ billion in aggregate wildfire claim settlements that formed the basis for PG&E’s successful emergence from Chapter 11.