Howard Seife

Partner

Practice Description

Howard Seife, global chair of the Firm’s bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice, has represented clients in reorganizations, both domestically and internationally, of retail, technology, energy, insurance, real estate, leasing, textiles, manufacturing, telecommunications and media companies. He is a member of the Firm's Management Committee.

Mr. Seife was recognized in Chambers USA (2012) as "a market authority in Chapter 11 and cross-border restructuring matters" and "especially well versed in representing creditor committees."

Representative Matters

• Represents former Chief Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez (S.D.N.Y) in his capacity as the court-appointed examiner in the ResCap Chapter 11 case.
• Counseled the Chapter 11 creditors’ committee in Tribune, Spiegel, Inc./Eddie Bauer Inc.; Parmalat USA Corp.; Metromedia Fiber Network; New York Daily News (Maxwell Newspapers, Inc.); New York Post; and Pocket Communications.
• Counsel for Citigroup, as agent for the lender group, in the successful restructuring of Xerium Technologies (through a pre-packaged Chapter 11).
• Counsel for The Royal Bank of Scotland, as agent for the lender group, in the successful Chapter 11 reorganization of PRC, LLC.
• Represented the receiver appointed in the Russian bankruptcy proceedings of Yukos Oil Company in the first major test of Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
• Represented the ad hoc committee of swap counterparties in the restructuring of the monoline insurance company, ACA Financial Guaranty.
• Represented a number of the largest creditor banks and insurance companies in Enron Corporation’s Chapter 11 and some of the largest creditors and account holders in the Lehman Brothers and Refco Chapter 11s.
• Advised multiple companies in cross-border insolvency issues, including the European bank group in the Lernout & Hauspie/Dictaphone cases.
• Served as debtor’s counsel in the successful reorganization of ATC Group Services.
• Represented Sabena Airlines in its ancillary bankruptcy proceeding.
• Represented Ernst & Young as the Australian and Bermudian liquidators in the insurance insolvency of New Cap Reinsurance Corporation Ltd.
• Represents PricewaterhouseCoopers as provisional liquidators for Independent Insurance Company, Folksam International Insurance Company Ltd., and Black Sea & Baltic General Insurance Company Ltd.
• Represented KPMG as provisional liquidator for Manhattan Investment Fund and Belvedere Insurance.
• Represented the reinsurer Hopewell International in its groundbreaking ancillary bankruptcy where, after an eight-day trial, a U.S. court for the first time recognized and enforced the terms of a scheme of arrangement for a solvent company.

Honors

Mr. Seife, a leader in the innovative use of ancillary bankruptcy proceedings, was recognized by The Deal’s Bankruptcy Insider, as “the top-ranked U.S. lawyer to foreign debtors.” Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2012) found that "sources are unanimous in their praise of his 'calm, level-headed and intellectual demeanor,' traits which 'allow him to get diverse parties to reach a consensus and agreement.'"

Mr. Seife was also cited in New York Super Lawyers (2012) in the areas of bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights, The Legal 500 for corporate restructuring, Best Lawyers in America (2013) and was named one of the world's leading lawyers in Expert Guide: Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers (2012).

Activities and Affiliations

Mr. Seife is often invited to comment on bankruptcy issues on national media networks such as CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, and PBS and on National Public Radio and has been frequently quoted in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

• Member: International Insolvency Institute – an invitation-only organization of leading insolvency professionals, judges and academics
• Member of the Board of Directors of INSOL International (2007 - )
• Co-Chair, INSOL International, International Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Conference, São Paulo, 2013
• Co-Chair, INSOL International, International Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Conference, Cartagena, Colombia, 2012
• Panel Chair, ABI Annual Mid-Level Conference, "Use of Expert Witnesses in a Contested Chapter 11", 2012
• Co-Chair, INSOL International, International Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Conference, Buenos Aires, 2011
• Chair, INSOL International, International Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Conference, Mexico City, 2010
• Chair, Insurance Insolvency Meeting, Eighth World INSOL International Quadrennial Congress, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
• Chair, American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), International Insolvency Symposium, panel on new Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, London, 2006
• Program Chair, INSOL Annual Americas Conference, Scottsdale, 2006
• Chair, INSOL International’s Asian Conference, panel on cross-border insolvency, Beijing, 2002
• Chair, INSOL International, Technical Research Committee, 2003-2005
• Mediator for the Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, 1996-present
• Arbitrator for the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1985-present

Publications

Speeches and Events