Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Commercial Litigation Bankruptcy, Restructuring, & Creditor Rights Timber Law

Shareholder

Jimmy L. Paul has over 30 years of substantial experience representing clients in complex business litigation, in a broad scope of subjects.  Mr. Paul's approach to litigation is to develop on the front end of the case: (a) an understanding of the client's business goals, and (b) an understanding of the strengths, the weaknesses, and the unknowns in the case.  He looks to the end of each case and works backward with the client to develop a strategy which identifies optimum settlement points during the course of the litigation, while simultaneously proceeding in an organized, efficient way to prepare the case for trial.  He approaches each case on the assumption it will be tried and approaches settlements against the backdrop of what he expects to occur at trial, combined with an understanding of leverage and the appreciation for the business dynamics in the case.

In bankruptcy matters, Jimmy L. Paul's primary experience has been in representing Debtors in business reorganization cases.  He works with clients prior to bankruptcy to effect a reorganization outside Chapter 11, when possible.  Mr. Paul's approach to pre-bankruptcy workouts is to measure available remedies to the client outside bankruptcy against what can be accomplished through a Chapter 11 reorganization of the debtor. Once this is understood by the client, he works with the client to propose a pre-bankruptcy workout plan that affords the creditors at least as favorable treatments as they could receive in Chapter 11, without the expense, delay and negative effects of Chapter 11 on the client's on-going business interests.  If the lender group misunderstands its leverage, or is approaching the matter focused on near term, single creditor interests, Chapter 11 will usually be required to give structure to the negotiations.  Once in Chapter 11, Mr. Paul attempts to keep the momentum with the Debtor and focus the case directly on a reorganization strategy which can be confirmed by the bankruptcy court over the objection of non-consenting classes of creditors.

Emory University, 1966

University of Georgia School of Law, 1970