Bankruptcy/restructuring practices in Los Angeles Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in hearing info about the best BK groups out in LA. I've looked at Chambers and other sources, but would love to hear opinions or anecdotes from TLSers. Particularly, does anyone know which groups are more transactional in nature? I understand BK is a hybrid, but I'm looking to get more experience on the transactional side of it. I know Kirkland is a powerhouse, but I'm not sure if you can even do restructuring work out of their LA office.

[Pokemon]

Pachulski?

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the response. I have read about Pachulski and it seems like a great boutique. Does anyone have specific info about Kirkland LA? My sense is that Kirkland's practice leans heavily transactional and I'd be interested in knowing whether there is any restructuring work out of LA (i.e. remote).

[MrT]

It appears the answer is no

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in hearing info about the best BK groups out in LA. I've looked at Chambers and other sources, but would love to hear opinions or anecdotes from TLSers. Particularly, does anyone know which groups are more transactional in nature? I understand BK is a hybrid, but I'm looking to get more experience on the transactional side of it. I know Kirkland is a powerhouse, but I'm not sure if you can even do restructuring work out of their LA office.

There is little to no restructuring work being done in Los Angeles.

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in hearing info about the best BK groups out in LA. I've looked at Chambers and other sources, but would love to hear opinions or anecdotes from TLSers. Particularly, does anyone know which groups are more transactional in nature? I understand BK is a hybrid, but I'm looking to get more experience on the transactional side of it. I know Kirkland is a powerhouse, but I'm not sure if you can even do restructuring work out of their LA office.

There is little to no restructuring work being done in Los Angeles.

That's true that there is little being done in LA. I'm at Milbank and we have a very small group that does it, but otherwise it is mostly done in New York.

[Anonymous User]

OP here, this is all super helpful

And just to point out, you can't always tell whether any work is being done in a particular office just by looking at firm websites. Lots of people interact and work remotely nowadays, so it's very much context-specific. So again, much appreciated to the specific responses about KE and Milbank

[MrT]

OP here, this is all super helpful

And just to point out, you can't always tell whether any work is being done in a particular office just by looking at firm websites. Lots of people interact and work remotely nowadays, so it's very much context-specific. So again, much appreciated to the specific responses about KE and Milbank

I'm not sure what you mean... The firm lists where the attorney is based. That attorney may do work in other states and cities but is still based in that office. Does Kirkland do BK work in LA when a client asks them to? Sure, but that's staffed by NY/Chicago attorneys. I'm sure the LA based partner is also staffed on the NY/Delaware BKs that the firm gets.

Regardless, if you're looking to practice in Big BK in LA, you're going to have a hard time. These top-flight firms aren't going to hire you to work remotely. Whoever told you that that was thing was lying to you.

[Anonymous User]

OP here, this is all super helpful

And just to point out, you can't always tell whether any work is being done in a particular office just by looking at firm websites. Lots of people interact and work remotely nowadays, so it's very much context-specific. So again, much appreciated to the specific responses about KE and Milbank

I work in the restructuring field and searched specifically in LA for a while. KE, Jones Day, Latham, Skadden, Milbank, etc. - all of the major players - none of them are hiring people to do restructuring work in Los Angeles because there are no restructurings that happen on that side of the country. It's unfortunate, but you're going to have an exceptionally difficult time finding a restructuring job in LA.

[Anonymous User]

Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern is a well respected bk/restructuring boutique located in LA (Century City), though they are small, so not sure if they hire frequently.

[Anonymous User]

If you really want to do restructuring and be based in LA, you are brushing off Pachulski way too quickly. They are all over the country on committee cases right now. Jeff Pomeranz and Rich Pachulski are great to learn from. I don't work there but I've dealt with a lot of their attorneys.

[ghostoftraynor]

^TCR

Outside of Pachulski, I'm not aware of anyone really doing significant bankruptcy work in LA. Offices will probably have a few partners, maybe some midlevels, but for new hires opportunities are going to be non-existent.

Bankruptcy largely revolves around banks (in New York), and Delaware corporations, so the practice is extremely East Coast focused. It's not that there aren't california-based firms going bankrupt, but they are probably filing in Delaware/NY, and negotiating with creditors based in NY. A lot of calls kick off before 9 am, so you'd have to expect being ready to go at 5-6am every day. Practically speaking, the time difference really hurts the feasibility of huge west coast operations.