O’Melveny & Myers announced that John J. Rapisarsdi and George A. Davis, former co-chairs of Cadwalader’s Global Financial Restructuring Department, and former Cadwalader partner Peter M. Friedman will be joining O’Melveny as partners in the firm’s Restructuring Practice. Widely recognized among the country’s most respected restructuring lawyers, Rapisardi, Davis, and Friedman have played key roles in some of the largest restructuring projects and most significant bankruptcies ever filed. Based in New York, Rapisardi and Davis will become Global Co-Practice Group Leaders of O’Melveny’s Restructuring Group, and Friedman will reside in the firm’s DC office. San Francisco-based O’Melveny partner Suzzanne Uhland will serve as US Practice Group Leader of the Restructuring Group.
“We are thrilled to welcome this preeminent team to the Firm,” said firm chair Bradley J. Butwin. “We have many clients in common, and John, George, and Peter’s arrival will increase our ability to serve these clients in restructuring projects, bankruptcies, distressed transactions, and related litigation. By combining their acclaimed practice with our West Coast, Asia, and Europe capabilities, we will have one of the premier global Restructuring Practices.”
The group’s arrival complements other key recent additions to O’Melveny’s New York transactions practice including Capital Markets co-head Michael Schiavone and leading finance, M&A, energy, infrastructure, and tax partners Richard Shutran, Junaid H. Chida, Arthur V. Hazlitt, Mark Caterini, and Dev R. Sen.
Rapisardi, Davis, and Friedman have built a thriving practice representing debtors and creditors from an array of industries including energy, sports, manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare, among others. Their clients have included financial institutions, private equity funds, hedge funds, troubled companies, and the US government. In the past few years alone, they handled a series of high-profile engagements, including shepherding a multinational chemical company through bankruptcy, playing a lead role in the restructurings of the nation’s largest energy companies, and representing the US Treasury Department and the Presidential Task Force in the Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcies. Collectively, they have received nearly every accolade in the bankruptcy area, including high marks from Chambers, Legal 500, and International Financial Law Review, and awards from publications including Corporate Counsel, Turnarounds & Workouts, and The Financial Times, among others.
Rapisardi, who was a member of Cadwalader’s Management Committee, has 30 years of domestic and international restructuring experience across a variety of industries. He recently was inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy, an honorary professional and educational association of tenured and highly regarded bankruptcy professionals. His work in the automotive sector advising the US government in the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler and his work on the Chapter 11 proceedings of petrochemical giant LyondellBasell attracted widespread media attention. Rapisardi graduated with a B.S. from Fordham University in 1979. He earned a J.D. from Pace Law School in 1982 and received an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 1985.
Davis has established a reputation as a leading restructuring attorney, having been involved in high-profile restructurings for more than 20 years, most recently in the energy sector with restructurings that include Dynegy, Edison Mission Energy, and AES Eastern Energy. Davis’s leadership of the Lyondell transaction resulted in many prestigious “deal of the year” distinctions. He also has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. Davis graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. from State University of New York – Binghamton in 1986. He earned a J.D. with distinction from Hofstra University School of Law in 1990.
Friedman, a nationally recognized bankruptcy litigator, represents major parties in high-stakes, complex financial restructurings. He also was an integral member of the US Treasury Department and Presidential Auto Task Force and Lyondell teams, handling the litigation-related proceedings in these matters. Friedman, who is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joel M. Flaum of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and worked in the White House Counsel’s Office and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs from 1994–1995. He received a B.A. with honors from Trinity College in 1994 and earned a J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in 1998.
“We are excited about joining such a collaborative group of lawyers and contributing to the growth of O’Melveny’s New York and global transactions capabilities,” said Rapisardi. Added Davis: “With an excellent team spanning both coasts, Asia, and Europe, we will be able to provide seamless service to clients.”
With approximately 800 lawyers in 16 offices worldwide, O’Melveny & Myers LLP helps industry leaders across a broad array of sectors manage the complex challenges of succeeding in the global economy.