Our firm handles all aspects of commercial bankruptcy and insolvency, including the representation of debtors, creditors, trustees, ombudsmen and examiners. For businesses, the most common form of bankruptcy is a Chapter 11 case, where creditors are stayed from pursuing debt collection activities while the debtor attempts to develop a new capital structure under which creditors can be paid in whole or in part. The goal of Chapter 11 is to preserve going concern values, maximize the value of the debtor’s assets and the creditors’ recoveries, and preserve jobs. Chapter 11 is both expensive and complex both for debtors and for creditors. Many Chapter 11 cases are resolved through the sale of the business or its assets, although it is sometimes feasible to restructure the business without a sale, as in the case of Hawaiian Telephone Company, where this firm was one of the lawyers representing creditor Lehman Brothers. The rights of secured creditors, unsecured creditors and parties to contracts with the Chapter 11 debtor vary greatly, and it is important that all parties have skilled legal counsel to prevent the loss of important rights. Unlike Chapter 7, where the liens of secured creditors are unaffected, a Chapter 11 can bring about a substantial modification of obligations to secured creditors and, in exceptional cases, result in the complete loss of their liens.
Since 1975, Jim Duca has been involved in most of Hawaii’s most important Chapter 11 cases. He is ably assisted by Edquon Lee. We look forward to helping all clients with legal issues arising in commercial insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings.