Bankruptcy Veteran H. Jeffrey Schwartz Joins McKool Smith

NEW YORK, March 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- McKool Smith, one of the nation's leading trial firms, has announced that veteran bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer H. Jeffrey Schwartz has joined the firm as a Principal in its New York office. Mr. Schwartz has more than 30 years of experience representing debtors, secured lenders, fiduciaries and official creditors' committees in major restructuring and reorganization matters.

"Jeffrey is a prominent figure in the New York and national bankruptcy bar," said McKool Smith's Managing Principal, David Sochia. "Our clients will benefit significantly from his many decades of experience in complex restructurings, Chapter 11 cases, and other insolvency proceedings. He also has a wealth of experience representing hedge funds, private equity firms, and other investors in distressed debt-related matters, an area where our clients have increased needs. Needless to say, we are very excited about Jeffrey's arrival to the firm."

"McKool Smith offers a very important and unique platform for my practice," said Mr. Schwartz. "The firm is highly regarded as one of the nation's preeminent trial firms and has long been considered an industry leader in offering innovative fee arrangements, particularly in contingency matters. McKool Smith also has a world-class insurance recovery practice, an area in which my clients have continuous needs. It's a trifecta of very strong value propositions that my clients will all benefit from. I look forward to growing my practice at the firm."

Throughout his career, Mr. Schwartz has led successful engagements on behalf of debtors such as the Bayou Funds LLC and PTC Steel Alliance, Inc., as well as official creditors' committees, including those formed in the bankruptcies of Corinthian Colleges, Inc.; Digital Domain Media Group, Inc.; Coda Automotive, Inc.; and Constar International, LLC. In the structured finance space, Mr. Schwartz has represented MBIA, Inc. in the Chapter 11 reorganization case of FGIC Corporation as well as various private equity and hedge funds in other major Chapter 11 cases.

Most recently, Mr. Schwartz served as lead counsel for the Chapter 7 trustee for ITT Education, Inc. in the prosecution of D&O claims and for the Official General Unsecured Creditors Committee of Corinthian Colleges, Inc., the largest for-profit post-secondary education provider to file for Chapter 11 reorganization.

Schwartz's arrival continues McKool Smith's strategic efforts to expand its New York office, which is currently the firm's largest office with 53 trial lawyers. Other recent additions include Christopher P. Johnson and Zachary W. Mazin, who joined the firm's financial litigation practice last year and focus on representing hedge funds and other institutional investors in a broad range of disputes against major financial institutions.  In 2016, 14 trial lawyers, including seven principals, led by insurance litigator Robin Cohen, joined the firm's New York office to launch its insurance recovery practice. The group has since expanded to include more than 35 lawyers across the firm's offices in New York, Texas, and California.

With more than 185 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America's leading trial firms. Since 2006, the firm has secured ten nine-figure jury verdicts and twelve eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal "Top 100 Verdicts" over the last ten years than any other law firm in the country. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as "one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade." McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, insurance recovery, bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.

For more information, please contact Brian Van Note at (415) 529-7812 or [email protected].

SOURCE McKool Smith