Ira Dizengoff Selected Among Am Law Dealmakers of the Year
Contact:
(New York) – Akin Gump financial restructuring partner Ira Dizengoff has been featured by The American Lawyer in its “Dealmakers of the Year” issue for the firm’s role in advising the official committee of unsecured creditors of Sears Holdings Corporation in the iconic retailer’s $5 billion chapter 11 cases.
Led by Mr. Dizengoff, an interdisciplinary team of Akin Gump lawyers advocated for liquidation on behalf of the committee and engaged in a highly contentious three-day trial against former chairman and CEO Edward S. Lampert and his hedge fund (collectively, “ESL”) regarding the sale of substantially all of Sears’s asset to ESL.
While the sale was approved, Mr. Dizengoff successfully blocked ESL from receiving a full release and, instead, negotiated a partial release—preserving the creditor’s primary causes of actions against ESL for a litigation trust, along with $25 million in cash.
Mr. Dizengoff said of the victory, “It was like a giant chess match wrapped in a jigsaw puzzle. Nobody is ever happy, but they’re happy enough.”
Earlier this year, Law360 recognized the firm among its Bankruptcy Practice Groups of the Year, highlighting the group’s work in the Sears chapter 11 cases in its recognition profile (click here to read more).
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
# # #
