GM/Successor Liability Sale Issues: What Now?

A. Lee Hogewood, III is a partner in the Raleigh, N.C., office of K&L Gates LLP and concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on representing creditors in litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. He litigates in all North Carolina state and federal courts, including bankruptcy court, and handles a wide variety of business disputes including commercial and corporate contract disputes, real estate disputes and matters involving fraud, misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. He also has significant experience defending commercial and consumer lenders in litigation in federal, state and bankruptcy court in a wide variety of lenderliability actions.

Mr. Hogewood maintains an active appellate practice successfully representing clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and North Carolina Court of Appeals. In addition, he regularly advises clients regarding the resolution of financial disputes through consensual out-of-court restructurings and also represents purchasers of assets in ? 363 sales. Mr. Hogewood chaired the North Carolina Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section from 2009-10 and continues to be active in it.

He received his A.B. cum laude in 1987 from Harvard College and his J.D. cum laude in 1990 from Wake Forest University, where he served as a managing editor of the Wake Forest Law Review.

Hon. Clifton R. Jessup is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Alabama in Decatur, appointed on March 2, 2015.

He was formerly a principal shareholder in the Dallas office of the international law firm of Greenburg Traurig, LLP where he concentrated his practice in business reorganization and bankruptcy. During his more than 35 years of bankruptcy-related practice before taking the bench, Judge Jessup represented secured creditors, unsecured creditors, committees, equity-holders, debtors and trustees in federal bankruptcy cases in more than 37 states and Puerto Rico. He also represented purchasers of assets in bankruptcy cases, and served as examiner and mediator in many cases.

Judge Jessup received his J.D. in 1978 from the University of Michigan.

Henry Jaffe is a partner in the Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Wilmington office.

Mr. Jaffe represents various types of clients in bankruptcy matters, including debtors, trustees, creditors’ committees, as well as secured, unsecured and administrative claimants. He has defended and prosecuted numerous avoidance actions in various jurisdictions throughout the country and assisted creditors with various issues including the assumption and renegotiation of complex executory contracts and leases. Mr. Jaffe has also been counsel for receivers in federal and state receivership actions and has advised clients on receiverships.

Mr. Jaffe is a frequent author and lecturer on various bankruptcy subjects. Since 2003, he has authored or co-authored the article covering recent case developments under section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code (preferences) for Norton’s Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law. He also has published feature articles in Law 360 and authored the chapter on Delaware state court receiverships in the treatise Strategic Alternatives For and Against Distressed Businesses.

He has lectured on bankruptcy topics and authored materials for the American Conference of Bankruptcy Judge’s annual meeting, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Construction Law Subcommittee and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He has been a regular author and lecturer for continuing legal education provider, The Knowledge Group – lecturing on various issues of interest to creditors and parties in bankruptcy cases. He also has prepared extensive bankruptcy materials for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference. Mr. Jaffe is a bench member of the Delaware Bankruptcy Inn of Court, for which he has appeared as a panelist and authored materials.

Rudy J. Cerone is the co-chair of the firm's Creditors’ Rights, Financial Restructuring, and Bankruptcy practice. A graduate of the University of California at San Diego (B.A., summa cum laude) and Boston College Law School (J.D., cum laude), he has more than three decades of experience in business bankruptcies and commercial litigation, and over a decade of experience in complex consumer cases.

Rudy represents secured lenders in workouts, bankruptcy proceedings, and collateral recovery. He successfully defends creditors against lender liability claims, class actions, and sanctions proceedings.

Rudy is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and is certified as a Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the American Board of Certification and by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. He is a long-time member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He currently serves as a Commissioner on the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy and as a Co-Chair of the Caribbean Insolvency Symposium.

Rudy is an author and frequent lecturer on both business and complex consumer bankruptcy issues.