Issues in Cross-Border Insolvencies/Admiralty and Shipping

Albert M. Togut is the senior member of Togut, Segal & Segal, LLP in New York, where he pioneered the use of conflicts counsel in mega-cases, and co-chaired ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11.

Throughout his more than 40 years of practice, he has been involved in some of the largest and highest-profile chapter 11 cases, including General Motors, Chrysler Motors, American Airlines, Kodak, Relativity Media, A&P, Charter Communications (Charter Investment Inc.), Ambac Financial, Rockefeller Center, Enron Corp., Delphi Corp., Collins & Aikman, Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Centers, Tronox International, Loehman’s, AbitibiBowater, Inc. (BCFC), Frontier Airlines, Tower Automobile, Daewoo International (America) Corp., Loews Cineplex, Olympia & York World Financial Center and NRG Energy. He represented the retired employees committee in Nortel and has represented the creditors and went on to be trustee of the Finley Kumble, Shea & Gould, Bower & Gardner and Berger Steingut lawfirms. He was also lead counsel to Dewey & Lebeouf in its chapter 11 case, and was the trustee for Refco LLC, which, at $4 billion, is the largest chapter 7 case in the history of bankruptcy.

Mr. Togut is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a Fellow of the International Insolvency Institute, a former vice president of ABI and past chair of its New York City Bankruptcy Conference, and a member of the International Bar Association and INSOL He is also an advisory board member of the LL.M. in Bankruptcy program at St. John’s University School of Law and a past president of the Bankruptcy Lawyers Bar Association of New York, and he served on ABI’s fee-study commission, which studied professional fees in chapter 11 business bankruptcy cases.

He received the New York Institute of Credit Leadership Award in 2011 and the 2008 Prof. Lawrence P. King award. In addition, he was named a New York Super Lawyer for 2007-15, named as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers” in New York, and chosen as a “Leading Lawyer” by Chambers USA.

Mr. Togut received his B.S. from New York University in 1971 and his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 1974.

Kieran E. Siddall is a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright in Vancouver, where he practices in the area of commercial litigation with a focus on insolvency law. He has argued cases before all levels of court in British Columbia and before various arbitral and administrative tribunals.

Mr. Siddall provides advice to financial institutions, creditors, debtors, trustees, receivers, monitors and other affected parties in all aspects of insolvency law, including debt-recovery proceedings, foreclosures, liquidations, receiverships, bankruptcies, and debt-restructuring and reorganizations. Mr. Siddall has also acted as counsel in disputes involving contracts, economic torts, real estate, companies and partnerships, and civil fraud.

He received his law degree from Cambridge University; following an appointment as a judicial assistant to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, he practiced in London for several years prior to returning to Vancouver.

Andrew Rosenblatt is a partner in the financial restructuring and insolvency group in the international law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright in New York. His practice involves all aspects of the bankruptcy and restructuring process while representing agent banks and lenders in out-of-court restructurings, secured and unsecured creditors in chapter 11 cases, and buyers in sales and other asset dispositions both inside and outside formal bankruptcy proceedings.

A primary focus of Mr. Rosenblatt’s practice is representing foreign representatives and other parties in chapter 15 cross-border ancillary cases. He recently represented the BVI provisional liquidators of OAS Finance Ltd. in its hotly contested chapter 15 case in U.S. bankruptcy court. He has also obtained ancillary recognition in the U.S. for many other foreign proceedings, including for the Australian company A.B.C. Learning Centres, Hellas Telecommunications, Octaviar Administration and the BVI joint liquidators of Pioneer Freight Futures Company Ltd.

Mr. Rosenblatt has written on bankruptcy and international insolvency issues and recently led panels in Bermuda and the BVI discussing chapter 15 for attorneys and insolvency professionals.

He received his B.S. in 1994 from Binghamton University and his J.D. in 1997 from Hofstra University School of Law, where he was a member of the Hofstra Law Review.

James L. Bromley is a partner with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York and provides restructuring and litigation advice to debtors, creditors, sponsors, strategic investors and government actors. Over the course of his career, he has worked in the financial services, telecommunications, shipping, automotive, manufacturing, energy, mining, aviation and retail industries, among others.

Mr. Bromley has played a leading role in many of the world’s most high-profile distressed situations, including representing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Securities Exchange Commission in the failure of Lehman Brothers, the United Auto Workers in the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler and Daewoo, and the U.S. Nortel entities in two of the most complex international insolvencies. He also has substantial first-chair trial experience before state, federal and international courts, including in the groundbreaking Nortel allocation trial before courts in Delaware and Ontario, recently named “Global Dispute of the Year” by The American Lawyer. Moreover, he is committed to his pro bono work, including serving as co-lead counsel with the Southern Poverty Law Center in a four-week jury trial obtaining unanimous verdicts that the practice of conversion therapy violates New Jersey’s consumer fraud statute. Recognized by the business and legal press, including The American Lawyer, which named him a “Dealmaker of the Year”; Benchmark Litigation, which named him “Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year”; and Chambers USA, which has named him a leading insolvency practitioner for over 10 years running, Mr. Bromley also has taught cross-border restructuring at Harvard Law School and speaks frequently on restructuring topics.

He received his B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Boston University in 1986 and his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1989, were he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Hon. John K. Sherwood is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey in Newark, appointed in June 2015. In private practice, he had more than 25 years of experience in bankruptcy and debtor/creditor matters, including related litigation. Some of his noteworthy engagements were Ocean Place Development Resort (counsel to debtor), MagnaChip Semiconductor Finance Co. (counsel to creditors’ committee), Quebecor World (USA) Inc. (litigation counsel), Le Nature’s Inc. (counsel to creditors’ committee) and the City of Detroit (counsel to union).

Judge Sherwood was president of the New Jersey Bankruptcy Lawyers Foundation from 2008-13 and an active member of ABI and the Turnaround Management Association. He was selected by Chambers USA from 2013- 14 as one of America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and he was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (2012-15) for his work in bankruptcy and in Super Lawyers (2006, 2009-14), where he was featured in the bankruptcy section and corporate counsel edition.

Judge Sherwood received his undergraduate degree from James Madison University in 1983 and his J.D. in 1986 from Seton Hall University School of Law.