Jay M. Goffman

Jay M. Goffman is the global leader of Skadden’s Corporate Restructuring Group. He was named among “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” by The National Law Journal in March, 2010 and was recognized as one of The American Lawyer’s “Dealmakers of the Year” in April, 2011 for his work in restructuring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. (MGM), the largest prepackaged bankruptcy ever completed in under 30 days. In the 2011 Financial Times “U.S. Innovative Lawyers” report, Mr. Goffman was named as one of the 10 most innovative lawyers in the U.S. and recognized as a “pioneer” and a leader in out-of-court and prepackaged restructurings. He also was named one of Law360’s MVPs of 2011 in the bankruptcy category, which recognizes those who have raised the bar in corporate law throughout the year, and was profiled in Turnarounds & Workouts Trends as a “Pioneer of the Pre-Pack” (November 2011).

Mr. Goffman regularly is selected as one of the leading restructuring lawyers in the country and the world by various corporate restructuring and legal organizations, including Turnarounds & Workouts (named among the top 10 U.S. bankruptcy attorneys), Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Lawdragon Magazine, The Best Lawyers in America, International Financial Law Review, Euromoney and Legal Media Group’s Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers, PLC Handbook (named among the top New York restructuring lawyers), The K&A Restructuring Register and The Legal 500 United States, among others.

The vast majority of Mr. Goffman’s restructurings are completed through quick, cost-efficient out-of-court – or prepackaged – restructurings. Mr. Goffman was a pioneer in the use of prepackaged restructurings and is widely regarded as one of the leaders in the field. He has led many landmark prepacks, including those of Memorex Telex I and II, Globix, Grove Worldwide, Harvest Foods, Herbst Gaming, In-Store Advertising, MGM Studios, NTL, Mark IV, RCN, Specialty Foods and the “one-day prepack” for Blue Bird Bus Corporation, which rewrote the way prepacks are done and set a new standard for prepackaged restructurings.

Mr. Goffman also played a leading role in Charter Communications’ prearranged restructuring, representing Paul Allen as the owner. The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York called the Paul Allen settlement the “lynchpin” of “perhaps the largest and most complex prearranged bankruptcy ever attempted,” which “in all likelihood ranks among the most ambitious and contentious as well.”

Other highly successful out-of-court restructurings/recapitalizations led by Mr. Goffman include those of America West Airlines, Centro Properties Group, DS Waters, Evergreen International Aviation, Globalstar, Intrawest Resorts, Ion Media, the Portland Trailblazers, RREEF, Offshore Logistics, Travelport, Torm and Westwood One.

In addition, he has advised on numerous traditional Chapter 11 cases for U.S. and international companies, including LyondellBasell, Olympia and York, Eastern Airlines, Quigley, Syms, Filene’s Basement, Texaco and Saxon Industries.

Mr. Goffman also has represented lenders and/or committees in many major restructurings, including those of Allegiance Telecom, American Airlines, AmeriServe, Atlantic Computer Systems, Bridge Information Systems, Chemtura, Focal, Harry Macklowe/Equity Office Properties, Movie Gallery, Pan Am, Pocket Communications, Sunbeam and XO Communications.

Mr. Goffman has led restructurings and transactions throughout the world, including for businesses that operate in Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and his experience has encompassed virtually all major industries.

Many of Mr. Goffman’s restructurings have received recognitions by a variety of publications. For instance, the Centro Properties restructuring was named the “Turnaround of the Year (Large Market),” “Distressed M&A Deal of the Year (Upper Middle Market)” and “Real Estate Deal of the Year ($500 Million and over)” at the 2012 M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards, as well as the 2012 “Restructuring Deal of the Year” — TMA (Turnaround Management Association) Australasia Turnaround Awards, the 2012 “Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year” — ALB Australasian Law Business Awards and 2012 “M&A Deal of the Year” — AFR (Australian Financial Review) CFO Capital Awards. The Travelport restructuring received the “Consumer Services Deal of the Year” at the 2012 International M&A Advisor Awards; and the MGM restructuring was named among Turnarounds & Workouts’ “Most Successful Restructurings of 2010” and received The M&A Advisor’s “2010 Media, Entertainment or Telecom Deal of the Year Award.” Additionally, LyondellBasell’s Chapter 11 reorganization received The M&A Advisor’s “2010 Industrial Good and Basic Resources Deal of the Year Award”; and the Intrawest restructuring received The M&A Advisor’s “2009 Out-of-Court Reorganization of the Year Award” and the “2009 Real Estate Restructuring of the Year Award.” And, as mentioned, Mr. Goffman was named one of The American Lawyer’s “Dealmakers of the Year” in 2011 for the MGM Studios Prepack.”

Mr. Goffman frequently lectures and writes on a variety of restructuring topics, including prepacks, mergers and acquisitions in distressed situations, distressed investing, fiduciary duties of boards of directors, “zone of insolvency” issues, confirmation issues, mass tort issues, and general and basic bankruptcy analysis. He assisted the National Bankruptcy Review Commission with respect to legislative amendments regarding prepacks and co-chaired a committee of premier restructuring lawyers addressing potential bankruptcy legislation leading to certain congressional amendments to the Bankruptcy Code regarding prepacks. He also was the Keynote Speaker at the 2012 Harvard Business School Turnaround Conference.

Mr. Goffman is a member of Law360’s Bankruptcy Editorial Advisory Board, and also serves on the Board of Directors and the International Restructuring Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute as well as the Board of Trustees of the China Institute. Mr. Goffman also is the current Co-Chair of the ABI Commission’s Plan Process Committee, whose mandate is to evaluate all aspects of the plan of reorganization process in conjunction with a study of proposed revisions to the Bankruptcy Code.

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