Paul Hastings’ ‘Bankruptcy Group of the Year’ Profiled by Law360

Law360 recently profiled Paul Hastings LLP’s Financial Restructuring Group, naming it a 2024 Bankruptcy Practice Group of the Year for its work on major cases, including representing the unsecured creditors’ committee in WeWork, the ad hoc group of convertible noteholders in Core Scientific, the unsecured creditors’ committee in FTX and the crossholder group in Diamond Sports Group, securing billions in creditor recoveries and navigating complex restructuring challenges.

Co-chair of the Financial Restructuring group Kris Hansen told Law360 that, in the FTX case, “Customer claims … are projected to receive between 129% and 143% of their claim amounts.” He also emphasized the swift resolution of the bankruptcy, highlighting that the company exited Chapter 11 within six months, a relatively short period of time for such cases. The team’s focus on preserving clients’ business relationships alongside financial recovery was pivotal for its representation of the unsecured creditors’ committee in WeWork's Chapter 11. "What was most valuable to them [unsecured creditors] was a go-forward, operating business that they could have relationships with and hopefully have renewed leases with," said Hansen.

Diamond Sports, now operating as FanDuel Sports Network, was a pivotal matter that changed how sports entertainment is consumed in the United States. Representing the crossholder group, co-chair Jayme Goldstein said of the Diamond Sports Group restructuring, "The most significant success is the fact that there will be an entity going forward." The group reduced the company's debt from $9 billion to $200 million

The Financial Restructuring group includes 116 attorneys across the U.S. and Europe. In just three years, the group has grown by 670%, from just 15 lawyers in 2022. The group plans to expand by an additional 10 to 15 lawyers.

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams across 17 practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations.