Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Lara Sheikh is a Senior Legal Editor for the bankruptcy service of Practical Law, a Thomson Reuters company and the leading provider of on-line practical legal know-how for lawyers. Lara served on the board of IWIRC NY from 2016 through 2017 as co-chair of Substantive Events and serves on the IWIRC at the Shore planning committee.

Before joining Practical Law, Lara practiced bankruptcy law at the New York City bankruptcy boutique firm, Togut, Segal & Segal LLP, where she was a senior associate for seven years. Previously, she was an associate and senior associate in the restructuring and insolvency group at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP in New York. Lara served a two-year term as judicial law clerk to then Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and Mount Holyoke College.

Jim Mazza represents debtors, creditors, asset purchasers and private equity investors in corporate restructuring transactions, both in and out-of-court, involving clients’ interests across the globe.

Mr. Mazza’s experience extends to a wide variety of industries, including automotive, airlines, energy, financial services, health care, gaming, real estate and retail. He also regularly advises companies’ management and boards of directors regarding fiduciary duty issues in financially distressed situations.

Prior to joining Skadden in 2012, his major representative matters included handling major Chapter 11 cases for Visteon Corporation (auto supplier), A&P (grocer), Calpine Corporation (power producer) and UAL Corporation (parent of United Airlines).

In 2014, Mr. Mazza was recognized as one of the nation’s “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers” by Turnaround and Workouts, which annually recognizes 12 individuals nationwide under the age of 40 for their individual accomplishments in corporate restructuring.

Brendan M. Gage is an associate in the Finance and Restructuring practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Chicago office. His practice involves the representation of debtors, creditors, lenders, investors, and acquirers of assets in a broad range of restructuring matters, including chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, bankruptcy-related acquisitions, debt restructurings, and out-of-court insolvency matters.

Before joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Gage was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Audrey R. Evans at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.

Mr. Gage received his LL.M. in Bankruptcy and his J.D. degree from St. John’s University School of Law. During law school he was an Articles and Notes Editor for the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review.

Ken Pasquale maintains a diverse bankruptcy and litigation practice, focused upon representing institutional creditors in reorganization proceedings and complex litigation matters. One of Ken’s strengths is the creation and execution of effective litigation strategies that have a decisive impact on the overall restructuring. He has led litigation teams in a variety of high-profile bankruptcy matters, recently including Caesars and Avaya. Ken often evaluates pending or prospective litigation for clients considering investment opportunities.

Ken has also represented pharmaceutical, medical product, motor vehicle and welding-product manufacturers in product liability actions, experience that has proven invaluable in many of his creditor representations. He is a frequent author and lecturer on bankruptcy litigation and related topics.

Ken’s pro bono service includes the representation of tenants in a rent-controlled building whose landlord filed for bankruptcy to avoid liability and sanctions for permitting dangerous building code violations to exist in the building. Ken secured an order removing the landlord from control of the building and appointment of a trustee to make the necessary repairs.