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Susheel Kirpalani is Chairperson of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group.  His practice concentrates on creditors' rights, bankruptcy litigation, and out-of-court restructurings.  He has broad experience in the resolution of bankruptcy and financial disputes in some of the most complex recent chapter 11 cases.  Susheel leads the Quinn Emanuel teams in most of their bankruptcy-related assignments, including in the Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, LyondellBasell, Idearc, SemGroup, Solutia, Delphi, Sentinel, and Refco representations.  He has been recognized by The Deal as one of eight attorneys “poised to become significant figures in the bars of cities ranging from Houston to Paris.”  He was also recognized by Law360 as one of the ten most admired bankruptcy attorneys in the country.  In 2010, Chambers USA ranked Susheel in Band One, describing him as “a terrific litigator – tough but always polite, and with a practical approach to problem solving and a great business sensibility.”  Susheel is a frequent lecturer and panelist across the country on topics relating to financial crisis litigation, distressed investing, and bankruptcy.  Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Mr. Kirpalani was the youngest lawyer ever elected partner at the law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.  

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., et al.
Special Counsel to Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Washington Mutual, Inc.
Special Litigation and Conflicts Counsel to Chapter 11 Debtors in Possession

Lyondell Chemical Company, Inc.
Counsel to Access Industries Holdings, Inc.

SemGroup, L.P., et al.
Counsel to Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Sentinel Group Management, Inc.
Counsel to Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Delphi Corporation, et al.
Counsel to Tranche C DIP Lenders

American Home Mortgage Corp., et al.
Special Litigation and Conflicts Counsel to Chapter 11 Debtors in Possession

Refco Litigation Trusts
Counsel to Refco Litigation Trust and Refco Private Actions Trust

Calpine Corporation, et al.
Counsel to Ad Hoc Committee of 3rd Lien CalGen Noteholders

Performance Transportation Systems, Inc., et al.
Counsel to Ad Hoc Committee of 2nd Lien Lenders

Le Natures, Inc.
Counsel to Initial and Secondary Market Lenders

Trident Resources Corp.
Counsel to Ad Hoc Committee of Preferred Stockholders

Enron Corp, et al.
Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

RCN Corp., et al.
Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Safety-Kleen Corp., et al.
Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

FLAG Telecom Holdings Ltd., et al.
Represented Bermuda Joint Provisional Liquidators in Chapter 11 cases

Mirant Corp., et al.
Represented largest creditor of Mirant Americas, Inc.

Silicon Graphics, Inc., et al.
Represented largest holder of notes issued by Cray Research, Inc.

Levitz Home Furnishings, Inc., et al.
Represented Ad Hoc Committee of Second-Lien Secured Noteholders

Teligent, Inc., et al.
Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

ICO Global Communications Ltd., et al.
Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in cross-border Chapter 11 cases and Provisional Liquidation proceedings

aai-Pharma, Inc., et al.
Represented Ad Hoc Committee of Senior Secured Noteholders

Dairy Mart Convenience Stores, Inc., et al.
Represented Chapter 11 Debtors in Possession

Cybergenics Corp.
Represented a consortium of lenders in fraudulent transfer litigation

The Loewen Group, Inc., et al.
Represented indenture trustee for junior subordinated notes, including as member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Idearc Inc., et al.
Special Counsel to Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

Representing initial and secondary market lenders and purchasers of notes of Le Nature's in litigation against Wachovia Securities for losses in connection with syndication of bank loans and market maker activity.

We represent the Refco Litigation Trust, as successor to the bankruptcy estate of Refco Inc. and its subsidiaries, and the Refco Private Actions Trust, as assignee of private causes of action held by customers of the defunct broker-dealer. The litigation vehicles were established pursuant to Refco's chapter 11 plan, which was confirmed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.  We serve as lead litigation counsel in actions seeking damages in excess of $2 billion for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting, and professional malpractice arising from accounting fraud against Refco's officers, directors, and professional advisors, including, among others, Grant Thornton LLP, Mayer Brown LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

We represent American Home Mortgage, as special litigation and conflicts counsel to the debtors in possession, in connection with evaluating and litigating the rights of the bankruptcy estate against the debtors' warehouse lenders and repo counterparties. 

Susheel was one of the partners in charge of the Refco Creditors’ Committee’s $1.3 billion action against BAWAG P.S.K., Austria’s fourth largest banking institution, and co-led the analysis and preparation of the New York fraudulent conveyance claims that resulted in an attachment of over $1 billion of BAWAG’s New York assets, and a settlement of more than $675 million (plus up to $200 million contingent on a sale of the defendant bank).  He was also the bankruptcy partner on the litigation team for the Creditors’ Committee’s $312 million preference litigation against SPhinX Managed Futures Fund, which was settled for $263 million in cash, plus the waiver of claims against Refco.  Susheel also represented the Refco Creditors’ Committee in appeals before the federal district court challenging the bankruptcy court’s approval of the SPhinX settlement.  In addition, with respect to Refco, Susheel was the Creditors’ Committee’s lead attorney in preparing, litigating, and confirming the global chapter 11 plan.

In the Enron bankruptcy, Susheel was the Creditors’ Committee’s lead attorney for more than 75 preference and fraudulent conveyance actions.  In the wake of Enron’s downfall, on behalf of the Creditors’ Committee, Susheel is involved in all of the bankruptcy estate’s employment-related litigation and, ultimately, the consensual resolution of severance claims of a class of more than 5,000 terminated Enron employees.  These  administrative liabilities were projected by Enron to be as high as $168 million, but as a result of litigation commenced by the Creditors’ Committee, these claims were resolved for less than $30 million, using a novel bankruptcy class settlement structure and estimation procedure for opt-out claimants.  Susheel also spearheaded the Creditors’ Committee’s investigation and fraudulent conveyance litigation efforts against former CEO, Kenneth Lay.  Susheel was also one of the principal drafters of Enron’s complex chapter 11 plan, and lead all confirmation litigation on behalf of the Creditors’ Committee.

In Mirant’s chapter 11 case, Susheel was the lead lawyer for the largest creditor of Mirant Americas, Inc.  Susheel’s efforts resulted in the expanded scope of the court-appointed examiner, and included mounting estate-wide opposition to substantive consolidation of the debtors’ bankruptcy estates.  Susheel’s efforts resulted in the consensual payment of the creditor’s claim in full, including post-bankruptcy interest.

In Dairy Mart's chapter 11 case, Susheel successfully argued a case of first impression relating to the treatment of letters of credit in bankruptcy before the bankruptcy court.  Susheel also successfully defended the lower court’s ruling in appeals before the district court and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

In Safety-Kleen's chapter 11 case, Susheel was the lead attorney (then an associate) representing the Creditors’ Committee in all matters.  Included among them was Safety-Kleen’s $225 million preference litigation against corporate parent Laidlaw, Inc. (which was administered in a separate bankruptcy), which resulted in a settlement (following court-ordered mediation) of $200 million.  Susheel also led the Creditors’ Committee’s investigation into the possible avoidance of over $1.3 billion in secured LBO financing under state law fraudulent conveyance theories, which investigation led to the negotiated waiver of more than $800 million in claims.

In Cybergenics, Susheel was the lead brief-writer (then an associate) in all appeals relating to the successful dismissal of fraudulent conveyance claims against the lenders in an LBO of the debtor.  Upon further appeals, including an en banc hearing by the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Susheel was subsequently asked to submit an amicus brief supporting the continued survival of derivative standing for statutory creditors’ committees following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Hartford Underwriters.