Rachel Ehrlich Albanese is experienced in representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, equity holders and purchasers. Ms. Albanese handles a wide range of restructuring matters, including cases under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, out-of-court workouts, cross-border insolvency proceedings and assignments for the benefit of creditors.
Ms. Albanese’s recent engagements include—
- the ad hoc committee of second lien noteholders in In re Eastman Kodak Company
- the debtor in In re ShengdaTech, Inc.
- the largest pre-petition secured lender in In re Gulfstream International Group, Inc.
- a committee comprised of 100% of the noteholders in In re Rubicon US REIT, Inc.
- an ad hoc committee of noteholders in In re Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
- the purchaser of the sex.com domain name in In re Escom, LLC
- the pre- and post-petition secured lender in In re Ronson Corporation
- the debtor in In re Recycled Paper Greetings, Inc.
- the foreign representative in In re Kaupthing Bank hf.
- the largest unsecured creditor in In re Circuit City.
* Certain of the above matters were handled by Ms. Albanese prior to her joining Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
In July 2011, Ms. Albanese was awarded a BNA Insights Award for her article, “Chapter11.Com: New Life for the Failed Retailer,” published in the August 19, 2010 issue of BNA’s Bankruptcy Law Reporter. Only five articles out of over 1,000 entries received this award. Ms. Albanese also was selected by The M&A Advisor to receive a 2011 Turnaround Award for Winning Deal Team – Professional Services Sector, for her work in the Ronson chapter 11 case.
Before joining Akin Gump, Ms. Albanese was counsel at a large international law firm in New York City from 2009-2011 and prior to that was an associate at another international law firm specializing in bankruptcy. Ms. Albanese clerked for the Honorable John W. Bissell, C.J., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, from 2001-2003.
Ms. Albanese received her B.A. cum laude and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was editor in chief of Penn Law's Journal of International Economic Law. She is a member of the New York and New Jersey Bars and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey.
Written Works
- Author, “Chaper11.com: New Life for the Failed Retailer,” BNA's Bankruptcy Law Reporter, August 19, 2010
- Co-author, “Court-Appointed Expert on Valuation Can Help Speed up Complicated Cases,” Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review, p. 14-15, June 7, 2008
- Author, “Assignment of Claims Does Not Prevent Equitable Subordination Attack,” Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, Vol. 2 No. 1, June 2006
Lectures
- Presenter, The Nuts and Bolts of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, National Business Institute, April 15, 2010
- Panelist, Rights Offerings: The Ultimate Value Test, VALCON: Liquidity, LBOs, Risk and Restructurings, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, January 15, 2008