Deborah D Williamson

/Home/Bankruptcy Attorneys: San Antonio TX

Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights

Cox Smith's bankruptcy practice is recognized by Chambers USA both for the size of our group (with more than 15 lawyers, one-third of whom are listed in The Best Lawyers in America) and our nationwide capabilities. Even more important are the capabilities that our team brings to the table. We are one of only two law firms in the state with two or more members in the American College of Bankruptcy Lawyers. Our lawyers are actively involved in the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association and the State Bar of Texas Bankruptcy Section. Such credentials mean that we know and work regularly with bankruptcy judges throughout the state and the country, as well as many key financial players, and can handle bankruptcy and reorganization matters with speed and efficiency.

Our practice encompasses all aspects of business bankruptcy. We represent creditors and creditor committees, debtors, trustees, and acquirers of assets. We can handle formal bankruptcy proceedings, out-of-court workouts, loan restructuring and special situation purchases of distressed assets. In restructuring transactions, we call upon Cox Smith’s full resources in corporate, finance, litigation, regulatory and tax law to handle complex issues. Secured lenders and other creditors, as well as debtors and trustees, rely on our experience to help the competing interests in bankruptcy or reorganization avoid unproductive conflicts.

Because the members of our bankruptcy team have worked together for years, we are prepared to resolve bankruptcy issues quickly – often within 40 to 60 days. Our lawyers understand the intensity of a bankruptcy or restructuring and the pressures created for the client and its employees, so we combine constant availability with time-critical advice even on difficult matters like layoffs and vendor relations.

Cox Smith has a national bankruptcy practice. Our experience in bankruptcy courts throughout the country includes Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Nevada and Oklahoma as well as Texas. We have special strength in “middle market” bankruptcies involving assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. And our industry experience spans oil and gas companies, the airline industry, healthcare providers, retailers, and many other business sectors.

Creditors’ claims
When representing a creditor, our focus is on whether a reorganization or liquidation of the debtor is the action best suited to recover the creditor’s investment. Creditors with interests at risk in bankruptcy depend on our help with all issues governed by the Uniform Commercial Code, such as sales, secured transactions, bank deposits and commercial paper. Our lawyers also help these clients with their collection needs, including pre-judgment and post-judgment remedies.

When Cox Smith represents creditors and creditor committees, we strive to preserve business relationships, protect secured claims or pay promptly, and fully protect all creditors’ rights. Our lawyers use knowledge of finance documentation, credit policies and financial institution insolvency tactics to pursue the fullest recovery of our clients’ assets in bankruptcies. We also bring detailed knowledge of real estate transactions and transactional finance to bear on bankruptcy, foreclosure and related property issues.

Both lenders and borrowers value our advice in resolving loan problems, including defaults, workouts, repossession, foreclosure and receivership. Unsecured creditors, including trade creditors, landlords and lessors, also turn to us as their advocate in a bankruptcy or workout. We work with the debtor, as well as with trustees and secured creditors, to encourage the maximum realization of assets from reorganization or liquidation with the minimum amount of administrative expense.

Debtor representation
From consulting prior to bankruptcy to arranging restructuring and reorganization transactions, Cox Smith offers comprehensive counsel to financially troubled companies. We help assess the full range of options, taking into account each company’s unique financial and market circumstances. If seeking relief through Chapter 11 is the most viable option, we use our experience in debtor representation to weigh the options and recommend the best choice between reorganization or the sale of assets – whether to create a going concern out of bankruptcy, or ultimately to liquidate the assets in the most prudent fashion.

Our lawyers will also negotiate forbearance agreements, interest rate restructurings and debtor-in-possession financing. We have been debtors’ counsel to retailers, restaurants, technology companies, construction companies, oil and gas companies and healthcare entities, among many others.

Asset sales
Cox Smith has represented buyers and sellers from Fortune 50 companies in asset transactions ranging from purchasing distressed assets to selling startup technology firms. Our representation includes guidance in acquiring assets from bankruptcy estates and distressed businesses, whether as straightforward 363 sales transactions or as proponents of plans of reorganization.

In asset purchases, we use the techniques of a traditional corporate acquisition to shape the purchase strategy most advantageous to our clients. These are rapidly evolving transactions and we recognize the need to combine flexibility with efficiency to get them done. Cox Smith lawyers assist with the appropriate due diligence on environmental, product liability, and other potential costs and factor them into the bid strategy.

Insurance receiverships
Our Texas experience in insurance receiverships is exceptional. Our lawyers regularly act as bankruptcy advisers to Texas special deputy receivers, and we fully understand the complexities of the receivership process. Texas receivership law has become a model for handling insurance company insolvencies nationwide, and our experience enables us to advise on both multi-state and single state insolvencies.

Bankruptcy litigation
Litigation can be a necessary part of the bankruptcy process, and our lawyers are accomplished at representing clients before the bankruptcy courts. Our experience includes both prosecuting and defending fraudulent conveyance, directors and officers, and preference litigation. We handle bankruptcy disputes for clients in state and federal courts throughout the country, and have been bankruptcy counsel in proceedings from Hawaii to Michigan, Ohio and New York.

Board Certified Attorney, Business Bankruptcy - American Board of Certification

Deborah D Williamson
Cox Smith Matthews
112 E Pecan St #1800
San Antonio TX 78205
Tel: 210 554-5275
Fax: 210 226-8395
E-mail: dwilliamson@coxsmith.com

Related Practices
- Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights

Related Industries
- Energy / Utilities
- Real Estate
- Retail
- Telecommunications / Media
- Financial Services

Head of the firm's Creditors' Rights, Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy department, Deborah Williamson is a bankruptcy attorney recognized worldwide for her knowledge of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights issues. Based in San Antonio, she travels frequently around the state, nation and world to address colleagues and counsel clients on bankruptcy issues and trends. She is regularly called on by companies in a broad range of industries, including commercial banks, institutional lenders, service providers, commercial landlords, governmental units and individuals, for her bankruptcy experience.

Deborah was recently featured in Texas Lawyer's Go-To Guide as one of five lawyers in the bankruptcy category (published only every five years). Named a leader in her field by Chambers USA since 2003, Deborah was selected for inclusion by Law and Politics magazine as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Texas (regardless of practice) in 2008. She has been selected for inclusion as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas and one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Central Texas by Law and Politics since the honor's inception and in The Best Lawyers in America® consecutively for more than a decade.

Deborah is also a frequent speaker and author, and recently co-authored a book published by the American Bankruptcy Institute entitled “Bankruptcy Litigation Manual-What Civil Litigators Need to Know.”