COZEN O'CONNOR | The Confidence to Proceed

Overview

Recent events in the subprime mortgage and other credit markets have created new and increasingly complex legal challenges for all types of businesses. The current credit crisis will have far-reaching consequences, touching many different types of companies, including commercial and consumer lenders, securities issuers and underwriters, insurers, investment advisers, institutional investors, and hedge, mutual and other funds. Litigation of many kinds will result, in addition to restructurings, new transactions, and government and internal investigations.

Cozen O’Connor’s subprime credit markets practice offers integrated legal services to businesses that have been deeply affected by this global shake-up. The practice’s multi-disciplinary group of attorneys—with deep experience in commercial litigation, securities and financial services litigation, insurance coverage, insurance regulation, real estate and structured finance, bankruptcy and restructuring, and white collar defense—work closely with clients to create effective and individualized solutions to these challenges.

Companies affected by the collapse of the subprime credit market seek our advice and representation on a wide range of issues related to those events. The subprime credit markets practice draws upon the firm’s wealth of experience in different disciplines, allowing us to serve clients in an integrated and coordinated fashion.

WHAT WE DO

Commercial Litigation

With our extensive experience, excellent advocacy skills and proven record of success, the firm has gained a national reputation representing clients in commercial litigation matters around the world. Cozen O’Connor litigators utilize their experience and substantive knowledge to gain a competitive advantage for our clients to expeditiously resolve disputes. Our clients—Fortune 500 companies, partnerships and individuals—rely on us to aggressively represent them in high-stakes litigation. We work closely with these clients to implement an innovative, cost-effective and, most importantly, successful resolution of each case.

Securities and Financial Services Litigation

The attorneys in Cozen O’Connor’s securities and financial services litigation practice fully understand the threat that securities litigation, investor disputes, regulatory enforcement and similar matters represent to any business, private or public. We represent clients in matters related to the subprime mortgage market, including well-publicized litigation involving certain bond funds of a leading institutional money manager. Our clients include public and private companies, mutual funds, investment banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and their directors, executives and trustees. The attorneys regularly handle litigation under various securities laws, derivative litigation against directors and officers, broker-dealer litigation, and mergers and acquisitions litigation. In addition to appearing in court, our attorneys appear before regulatory agencies and securities exchanges, perform internal investigations, and advise management and boards of directors.

Insurance Coverage

Cozen O’Connor is regarded as a premier insurance coverage firm in the United States. We provide our clients with sound and sophisticated advice on the rights and obligations of the respective parties to insurance contracts and assist them in resolving claims in accordance with the contract provisions and the law. In the event coverage litigation ensues, we vigorously defend our clients’ positions. The firm is uniquely positioned to provide up-to-date coverage advice in multiple jurisdictions quickly and efficiently. When our clients need urgent assistance in handling coverage issues in catastrophic or developing loss situations, Cozen O’Connor is able to call on lawyers experienced in nearly every U.S. and foreign jurisdiction to provide solid advice on claims investigation, handling and coverage specific to the implicated jurisdictions. In addition, we are ready to protect insurance company directors and officers from allegations of professional malfeasance by providing coverage analysis, as well as monitoring, program and litigation counsel.

Insurance Corporate and Regulatory

Cozen O’Connor’s insurance corporate and regulatory attorneys advise clients on a range of matters, from the development of a business strategy to the successful implementation of business plans, and represents them in the event of a dispute. With extensive experience in both the representation of insurance industry clients and as regulators and in-house counsel for insurance companies and receivers, we are able to handle strategic, compliance, transactional and operational matters. Our clients include all segments of the insurance industry, including property and casualty, life, health, HMOs, health plan corporations, surety, title companies, financial guaranty insurance companies, reinsurers, life settlement companies, agents, third party administrators, adjusters, and brokers and other intermediaries. Attorneys in the group also represent liquidators, rehabilitators and receivers.

Real Estate and Structured Finance

Cozen O’Connor attorneys have broad experience in commercial lending, lease finance, capital markets transactions, structured finance, project finance, debtor-in-possession financings, and lender, investor and borrower representations. Our client base is broad and includes commercial and residential developers, real estate investment trusts, brokers, dealers, investors, and banks and other lending institutions. We also represent entities in connection with structured and derivative products and in public finance, including structuring and documenting primary offerings; counseling issuers and other participants in both the primary and secondary public markets; and representing bondholders, bond trustees, bond insurers and borrowers in restructuring or resolving troubled transactions.

Bankruptcy and Restructuring

Cozen O’Connor’s bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring attorneys represent clients in a broad range of commercial litigation and transactional matters, with emphasis in domestic and international insolvency, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, out-of-court restructurings and reorganization. We actively represent corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees, foreign representatives, landlords, equipment lessors, insurance companies, lenders and investors in large Chapter 11 cases throughout the United States. In the aftermath of the subprime meltdown, our bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys have been called upon to act as key advisors in the structuring of business and real estate transactions, as we recognize that the adversarial and competitive business environment requires increasingly creative strategies to avert serious financial difficulties.

White Collar Defense

Our white collar and complex criminal defense attorneys are recognized leaders in the criminal defense bar who have handled high-profile cases for prominent clients. We pride ourselves in offering aggressive representation and a personal approach to solving the most difficult legal problems. Cozen O’Connor attorneys provide individual and corporate clients with the best defense available, not only in criminal jury trials and appeals, but also in all matters involving state and federal criminal law, including corporate compliance, securities laws, banking regulations and internal corporate investigations.