Abid Qureshi

Partner

Areas of Focus

Abid Qureshi

Partner

aqureshi@akingump.com

Areas of Focus

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Biography
  • Advises on the full range of complex financial restructuring litigation in bankruptcy and appellate courts.
  • Leads litigation teams in hotly contested proceedings, including First Energy Solutions Corp.; Momentive Performance Materials, Inc.; Avaya Inc.; and Seadrill Limited.
  • Represents debtors, creditors, bondholders, hedge funds, institutional investors, and ad hoc and official creditors’ committees.

Abid Qureshi is the partner in charge of the firm’s New York office. He is a dedicated financial restructuring litigator, giving him comprehensive experience in virtually every issue that arises in the course of a complex restructuring. Abid has litigated the most complex, cutting-edge issues in the highest-profile chapter 11 cases, and he also has extensive experience in cross-border insolvencies and chapter 15 proceedings.

Abid’s recent litigations include:

  • Contested plan confirmation proceedings
  • Valuation disputes
  • Cram-down disputes
  • Make-whole and no-call claims
  • Fraudulent transfer and preference
  • Breaches of fiduciary duty
  • Fraudulent transfer claims
  • Asset sales
  • Valuation proceedings.

Abid is a frequent speaker at major financial restructuring and distressed investments industry events.

Representative Work
  • Diamond Sports: Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Diamond Sports Group and its affiliates, which operates regional sports broadcast networks for more than 40 teams across MLB, the NHL and the NBA, involving more than $8 billion in liabilities.
  • Revlon: Counsel to an ad hoc group of secured term loan lenders in the chapter 11 cases of Revlon and its affiliates, a personal care and cosmetics company that sells its products in approximately 150 countries, involving $3.5 billion in liabilities.
  • Intelsat: Counsel to an ad hoc group of creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Intelsat and its affiliates, one of the largest satellite services providers in the world, involving $14.7 billion in liabilities. Restructuring of the Year - Over $10B (M&A Advisor)
  • Aeroméxico: Counsel to an ad hoc group of senior noteholders in the chapter 11 cases of Aeroméxico and its affiliates, Mexico’s flagship airline, involving $2 billion in liabilities. Cross-border Restructuring of the Year - Over $1B (M&A Advisor)
  • Brazos Electric Power Cooperative: Counsel to Tri-County Electric in the chapter 11 case of Brazos, an electrical generation and transmission cooperative, involving $2.1 billion in liabilities. Successful Restructurings of the Year (Turnarounds & Workouts)
  • GWG: Counsel to the Official Committee of Bondholders in the chapter 11 cases of GWG Holdings and its affiliates, a financial services firm that invests in secondary life insurance assets and sells life insurance-backed bonds, involving over $2 billion in liabilities.
  • Just Energy: Counsel to the prepetition lenders and DIP lenders in the CCAA and chapter 15 cases of Just Energy and its affiliates, a leading North American distributor of electricity and natural gas, involving more than $440 million in liabilities.
  • Sears: Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Sears and its affiliates, once the largest retailer in the world, involving $5.6 billion in liabilities. Restructuring and Insolvency Deal of the Year (IFLR1000)
  • Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E): Counsel to the ad hoc committee of senior unsecured noteholders in the chapter 11 cases of PG&E and its affiliates, the largest energy utility in the U.S., involving over $30 billion in liabilities. To date, this is the seventh-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Innovation Award (New York Law Journal)
  • Travelport: Counsel to an ad hoc group of secured term loan lenders of Travelport Worldwide, a provider of distribution, technology and payment solutions for the travel and tourism industry, in an out-of-court recapitalization.
  • Frontier Communications: Counsel to an ad hoc group of unsecured noteholders in the chapter 11 cases of Frontier Communications and its affiliates, an American telecommunications company, involving $17 billion in liabilities. Telecommunications Services Deal of the Year (M&A Advisor)
  • Chesapeake Energy: Counsel to Franklin Advisors in the chapter 11 cases of Chesapeake Energy and its affiliates, the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., involving $9 billion in liabilities. Successful Restructurings of the Year (Turnarounds & Workouts)

"He is an impressive bankruptcy litigator; he is a fantastically intelligent and sharp individual."
Chambers USA, 2021

Languages
  • German

Education
  • LL.M., London School of Economics and Political Science, with merit, 1996

  • J.D., University of Toronto, 1994

  • B.A., University of British Columbia, with highest honors, 1991

Bar Admissions
  • New York

  • Solicitor, England and Wales

Recognitions
  • “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer,” Turnarounds & Workouts, 2022.
  • Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2023.
  • “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer,” Turnarounds & Workouts, 2019.
  • The Legal 500 US, recommended in Finance-Corporate Restructuring, 2016 to 2018, and Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate, 2019 to 2023.
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy Litigation, 2012 to 2018.
  • Benchmark Litigation, United States Bankruptcy Litigation Star, 2013 to 2017, and New York Litigation Star, 2013 to 2017.
  • IFLR1000 United States, Notable Practitioner, Restructuring and Insolvency, 2019.
Affiliations and Public Service
  • President, United Nations Association of New York
  • Liaison, Lawyers Without Borders
Speeches and Publications
  • Speaker, “State of Distressed Debt,” Bloomberg Intelligence FICC Focus, Podcast, February 2024.
  • Panelist, “Taking Assets, Killing Contracts and Burning Rights,” Barclay’s Distressed and Special Situations Conference, New York, April 2019.
  • Panelist, “Effective Use of Non-Debtor Third Party Releases,” National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Las Vegas, October 2017.
  • Panelist, “Making Appeals More Appealing: When and How to Appeal,” ABI Winter Leadership Conference, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, December 2016.
  • Panelist, “Case Study: Energy Futures Holdings,” M&A Advisors’ 2016 Distressed Investing Summit, Palm Beach, January 2016.
  • Panelist, “Energy Future Holdings Update,” 22ndAnnual Distressed Investing Conference, New York, November 2015.
  • Panelist, “Cross-Border Sales: Emerging Issues in a Novel Landscape,” University of Texas School of Law’s 34thAnnual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, Austin, November 2015.
  • Moderator, “Ethics: Before it’s Over Should We Talk (or not)?,” American College of Investment Counsels’ 2014 Spring Investment Forum, Chicago, April 2014.
  • Panelist, “Valuation Game Theory: Constituents’ Tactics and Perspectives,” American Bankruptcy Institute’s VALCON 2014, Las Vegas, February 2014.

Insights and Achievements

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