Weil OWNS Bankruptcy

Flickr pic: djevents

Hero-of-the-blog, Harvey Miller (pictured) got the star treatment this weekend from the Detroit Free Press.

Much of the information is old news to long-time readers who caught our earlier piece on Weil’s superstar: he built up the Weil bankruptcy practice from scratch, teaches at NYU and Columbia, etc.

But the really interesting information we got was a link to an unbelievable record for Weil Gotshal.  After the jump.

What’s so amazing? Weil Gotshal is claiming

with its handling of the GM bankruptcy filing, Weil Gotshal has now served as debtor counsel in the five largest bankruptcies in US business history as measured by company assets at the time of filing.

We couldn’t imagine any firm being on the five biggest M&A deals, or the five biggest IPOs ever, so we had to double check.

According to BankruptcyData.com, those bankruptcies are:

• Lehman Brothers 09/15/08 – $691,063 (Miller led)
• Washington Mutual 09/26/08 – $327,913 (Marcia Goldstein)
• WorldCom 07/21/02 – $103,914 (Miller)
• General Motors 06/01/09 - $91,047 (Miller (and Karotkin))
• Enron 12/02/01 - $65,503 (Miller)

They were just being modest, though. Miller was also on PG&E (#9), Texaco (#10), and Global Crossing (#14). Plus Goldstein snagged General Growth (#16) from Sidley earlier this year.

“He’s the dean of the American bankruptcy community,” John Pottow, a University of Michigan law professor, said. “When he talks, everyone listens whether you are a junior bankruptcy lawyer or you are on the board of directors at Lehman Brothers.”

Pottow was not surprised that GM picked Miller to lead the case. “Why did GM go to him? Because they probably said, ‘Who is the best bankruptcy lawyer in the United States of America?’”

Miller, 76, is known for his impeccable wardrobe — such as suspenders and white collars — and has a long history of mentoring bankruptcy lawyers.

Not so sure about the white collars (unless they’re on white shirts) as a fashion choice any more, though.

They also brought back an old quip about his personal life:

He once told the Wall Street Journal that he decided early in life to skip having children because it would only get in the way of his law practice.

“Children would have been an added pressure,” Miller reportedly said. “You have to have time to give them love, and I didn’t.”

Related posts:

1. Bankruptcy League Table Out – Weil Not #1
2. Weil Finally Getting Paid
3. Weil’s Lehman Bill $63.75 Million and Counting
4. How Much BigLaw Does a GM Bankruptcy Take?
5. No Car Bailout; Time for Weil to Get in Gear