Leading Bankruptcy Partner Seth J. Kleinman Joins Morrison & Foerster
03/29/2022
Leading Bankruptcy Partner Seth J. Kleinman Joins Morrison & Foerster
Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce the arrival of Seth J. Kleinman as a partner in the firm’s Business Restructuring & Insolvency Group (BRIG). He will have a dual presence in New York and Chicago. Kleinman joins from another prominent global firm and brings close to two decades of corporate restructuring, bankruptcy, and insolvency experience to Morrison & Foerster.
Kleinman’s practice focuses on advising ad hoc lender groups in high-stakes restructurings, with a particular focus on syndicated lenders, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), direct lenders, high-yield funds, institutional asset managers, and opportunistic funds. He also has extensive experience advising private equity sponsors, boards of directors, and companies experiencing financial or operational distress. Kleinman has worked across a wide range of industries, including industrials, retail, automotive, aerospace/defense, agriculture, financial services, manufacturing, media and entertainment, oil and gas, energy, mining and minerals, transportation, healthcare, and tax-exempt entities, among others.
“Seth brings a versatile practice and an impressive roster of clients and relationships to the firm. Seth has exceptionally strong experience working with par and distressed investors, CLOs, and high-yield funds, both in and out of chapter 11, and will bolster our existing ad hoc creditor work, while further expanding our robust restructuring capabilities and bench,” said Jennifer Marines, global co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group. “Seth’s ad hoc committee representations, combined with his experience advising private equity sponsors, distressed companies, and hedge funds seeking to invest in distressed debt opportunities, make him a great strategic fit for both the BRIG team and the firm.”
Some of Kleinman’s representative matters include: advising an ad hoc group of first lien term lenders and debtor-in-possession lenders to Libbey Inc., one of the world’s largest table glass and stemware manufacturers, with respect to the company’s successful in-court restructuring of over $400 million in first lien debt; advising an ad hoc group of senior term lenders to PetSmart, Inc., the largest specialty pet retailer in North America, with respect to the company’s spin-off of Chewy.com and related district court litigation; advising an ad hoc group of first lien lenders to Cumulus Media, Inc. in the lenders’ successful opposition to the company’s planned exchange offer and in the company’s subsequent chapter 11 case, which resulted in the first lien lenders acquiring over 85 percent of the equity in the reorganized entity; and representing Borden Dairy in its highly contested chapter 11 cases, which resulted in a successful sale of the company.
“Morrison & Foerster’s exceptional Business Restructuring & Insolvency team, strong corporate, capital markets and leveraged lending platforms, and the firm’s collaborative culture were all major draws for me,” said Kleinman. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to help our clients navigate their most complex restructuring and bankruptcy-related business challenges and expanding my practice in New York while also establishing an important presence for the practice and firm in the Chicago and Midwest markets.”
Kleinman received his J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and his B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Eugene Wedoff, Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, Kleinman worked as an analyst at Cornerstone Research, where he analyzed financial data, debt structures, and industry trends for expert reports, depositions, and trial testimony. He is admitted to practice in New York and Illinois.
Leading Bankruptcy Partner Seth J. Kleinman Joins Morrison & Foerster
Kleinman’s practice focuses on advising ad hoc lender groups in high-stakes restructurings, with a particular focus on syndicated lenders, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), direct lenders, high-yield funds, institutional asset managers, and opportunistic funds. He also has extensive experience advising private equity sponsors, boards of directors, and companies experiencing financial or operational distress. Kleinman has worked across a wide range of industries, including industrials, retail, automotive, aerospace/defense, agriculture, financial services, manufacturing, media and entertainment, oil and gas, energy, mining and minerals, transportation, healthcare, and tax-exempt entities, among others.
“Seth brings a versatile practice and an impressive roster of clients and relationships to the firm. Seth has exceptionally strong experience working with par and distressed investors, CLOs, and high-yield funds, both in and out of chapter 11, and will bolster our existing ad hoc creditor work, while further expanding our robust restructuring capabilities and bench,” said Jennifer Marines, global co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Business Restructuring + Insolvency Group. “Seth’s ad hoc committee representations, combined with his experience advising private equity sponsors, distressed companies, and hedge funds seeking to invest in distressed debt opportunities, make him a great strategic fit for both the BRIG team and the firm.”
Some of Kleinman’s representative matters include: advising an ad hoc group of first lien term lenders and debtor-in-possession lenders to Libbey Inc., one of the world’s largest table glass and stemware manufacturers, with respect to the company’s successful in-court restructuring of over $400 million in first lien debt; advising an ad hoc group of senior term lenders to PetSmart, Inc., the largest specialty pet retailer in North America, with respect to the company’s spin-off of Chewy.com and related district court litigation; advising an ad hoc group of first lien lenders to Cumulus Media, Inc. in the lenders’ successful opposition to the company’s planned exchange offer and in the company’s subsequent chapter 11 case, which resulted in the first lien lenders acquiring over 85 percent of the equity in the reorganized entity; and representing Borden Dairy in its highly contested chapter 11 cases, which resulted in a successful sale of the company.
“Morrison & Foerster’s exceptional Business Restructuring & Insolvency team, strong corporate, capital markets and leveraged lending platforms, and the firm’s collaborative culture were all major draws for me,” said Kleinman. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to help our clients navigate their most complex restructuring and bankruptcy-related business challenges and expanding my practice in New York while also establishing an important presence for the practice and firm in the Chicago and Midwest markets.”
Kleinman received his J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and his B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Eugene Wedoff, Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to law school, Kleinman worked as an analyst at Cornerstone Research, where he analyzed financial data, debt structures, and industry trends for expert reports, depositions, and trial testimony. He is admitted to practice in New York and Illinois.
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