Ballard Spahr LLP offers a combination of public and municipal bankruptcy expertise, especially in connection with major Chapter 9 cases, municipal recovery and high yield municipal bonds to provide an all round practice within the restructuring world. The firm has been active in representing the City of Chester, Pennsylvania in its Chapter 9 bankruptcy and the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy filing. Philadelphia-based William Rhodes  is the practice leader of the firm’s Municipal Recovery Initiative, and regularly represents issuers, broker-dealers and investors in all areas of public finance, while Minneapolis-situated William Wassweiler represents financial institutions serving as corporate trustees financial institutions serving as corporate trustees involving municipal and corporate bonds, as well as corporate trustees. Situated in Wilmington, litigation partner Tobey Daluz focuses on corporate restructuring, workouts and general bankruptcy litigation, whereas Megan McCarthy is noted for her focus on public finance matters, and Delaware-based Laurel Roglen is a key name and is experienced in bankruptcy-related litigation.

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Key clients

  • KBC Bank N.V.
  • AllianceBernstein L.P.
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
  • National Federation of Municipal Analysts
  • Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority
  • Wilmington Trust, National Association
  • UMB Bank, N.A.
  • Build America Mutual Assurance Company
  • U.S. Bank National Association
  • The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Morgan Stanley
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  • Computershare Trust Company

Work highlights

  • Representing an indenture trustee in connection with covenant defaults and financial distress by owner/operators of hundreds of multi-family housing units in locations spread across multiple jurisdictions, including asset sales, bondholder presentations and negotiation of forbearance agreements.
  • Served as bond counsel to the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA) in the structuring and successful closing of an innovative new financing program in which proceeds of one or more taxable bond offerings by PEDFA are made available (through a special purpose entity) to participating Pennsylvania municipalities for deposit into their municipal pension funds in exchange for a pledge and assignment of their annual, Commonwealth-funded municipal pension aid subsidy payments.
  • Represented the institutional investors in a high yield offering of unrated bond anticipation notes issued by the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) to fund past due amounts owed to a critical power generation equipment provider.

Lawyers

Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Tobey Daluz, William Rhodes, Matthew Summers

Other key lawyers

William Wassweiler, Megan McCarthy, Laurel Roglen