An Overview of the Different Types of Bankruptcy Filings

Suzzanne Uhland presently works at O’Melveny & Myers LLP as a partner. During her time in this position, Suzzanne Uhland has demonstrated extensive knowledge of the bankruptcy process.

In some situations, declaring bankruptcy is a business’ only option. In such cases, business owners must educate themselves in the four different types of bankruptcies that can be declared.

By filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, businesses are entering into a process more commonly known as liquidation. During liquidation, trustees sell assets to offset outstanding debts, while debts that cannot be satisfied are discharged. Chapter 7 is an attractive option for businesses with few major assets and no future plans to continue operations.

Sole proprietorships, corporations, and partnerships that do plan on recovering in the future will prefer a Chapter 11 filing, which revolves around a reorganization plan that will be closely monitored by a court-appointed trustee.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy can also be filed by sole proprietors, though it is more commonly filed by consumers, and it involves the debtor outlining a plan for repayment. When compared to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 filing can benefit a sole proprietor by protecting personal assets, such as a house, that are involved with the business.

Finally, Chapter 12 bankruptcy is a filing reserved for family farmers and fishermen who can pay back debts over a period of three to five years.

Mentoring - A Key to Success for Young Lawyers

A graduate of Yale Law School, Suzzanne Uhland serves as a partner at O’Melveny & Myers and chairs the firm’s restructuring practice. Selected as one of 2009’s Women Worth Watching, Suzzanne Uhland knows the challenges facing young lawyers and stresses the importance of mentoring to overcoming obstacles and achieving success.

Most young lawyers, when they take their first jobs after law school, quickly learn that their professional development cannot take place in a vacuum. For example, there is a widely held misconception that professionalism equates to toughness, and that the true professional remains aloof from even her peers. Young lawyers, just starting out in professional careers for which they have been exhaustively trained at great expense, usually do not have the capacity to evaluate their own performance except in the most general way. For example, a young attorney who loses an argument in a meeting often cannot appreciate that her debating skills were superior, but that she was simply on the wrong side of the argument.

The term “mentoring” has become almost overused in the past couple of decades, yet it describes perfectly the relationship young lawyers just entering the field should try to establish with an older, more experienced professional. Many law firms and other enterprises have more formal mentoring programs, in which established members of the firm are matched with the new entrants. Mentors can help their charges to recognize and cultivate their strong points and coach them to overcome their weaknesses. They can also be invaluable in helping young professionals to develop the people skills so important to success.

Attorney Suzzanne Uhland Co-Authors Article on Shipping Bankruptcies

Battered by the global credit crisis of 2008, the shipping industry has not recovered. Curbed lending, combined with a glut of ships, means a tide of bankruptcy filings. In her Law360 article entitled “Will SLVs Hold Water in Shipping Bankruptcies?" (2012), Uhland suggests that Chapter 11 and the rejection power of Bankruptcy Code section 365 may provide relief. However, the stipulated loss value (SLV) provision that is often part of such agreements may also pose hazards. The SLV formula can set damages far beyond remaining amounts owing on the charter. Whether bankruptcy courts will enforce these is uncertain, but, as noted by Uhland, “guidance can be found by turning from sea to sky--to cases involving aircraft leases.”

According to Suzzanne Uhland and co-author Andrew Parlen, the Third Circuit’s decision in the Trans World Airlines bankruptcy case presents obstacles for ship owners seeking to enforce an SLV-based damages claim that is out of line with actual damages. The holding that the lessee does not have to bear market risk could be applicable to shipping cases given the current oversupply of ships. “The recent cases outside the Third Circuit that have ignored the ruling and its reasoning, however, suggest that ship owners may still have room to navigate,” they add.

Suzzanne Uhland is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers in San Francisco. She was honored by the “Profiles in Diversity Journal” in its 2010 Women Worth Watching issue.

Suzzanne Uhland and Distressed Company and Bankruptcy Litigation

A Partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Suzzanne Uhland possesses a great deal of experience handling distressed company and bankruptcy litigation. Uhland and the firm understand that financial distress can strain relationships between investors and companies. Oftentimes, financial loss can result in parties seeking out alternative methods of recouping their investments. 

At O’Melveny & Myers, Suzzanne Uhland and her colleagues have helped many clients through large-scale disputes. Clients include general and limited partners in private investment funds, substantial financial institutions, and major operating companies in a variety of industries, such as entertainment and media, retail, insurance, labor, real estate, and technology. The firm has handled cross-border and multi-party disputes as well as fraudulent transfer claims with both domestic and international parties. O’Melveny & Myers uses a combination of trial skills, insolvency knowledge, and litigation experience to help clients through difficult cases. 

Suzzanne Uhland herself is the Chair of Restructuring Practice and partner at the firm’s San Francisco office. She draws upon her extensive background in Chapter 11 reorganizations and Bankruptcy Code Section 363(b) sales.. Over the years, Uhland has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments. She represented one of the largest subprime lenders, New Century Financial Corporation, in its chapter 11 case, including numerous bankruptcy litigation matters within that case. Suzzanne Uhland also helped Spyglass Entertainment, a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, through MGM’s Chapter 11 restructuring. Other notable clients include Advanced Marketing Services, SeraCare Life Sciences, Inc., and Saga Investments, LLC. 

Considered one of the best lawyers in America, Suzzanne Uhland’s work has been highlighted by Chambers and Partners USA and Orange Coast Magazine.