DALLAS — In a time when credit market turmoil could result in losses reaching as high as $1 trillion, Haynes and Boone LLP lawyers are addressing the needs of financial institutions, brokerage firms, title companies, corporate directors and officers and public accounting firms through the firm's recently formalized Financial Crisis Advisory and Litigation Services Practice Group.
A team of lawyers from disciplines across the firm will work proactively to guide clients through the vast array of emerging issues, including financial transactions, corporate, litigation, internal and governmental investigations and bankruptcy matters. The group will also help clients by examining their internal policies and practices.
Lawyers working within Haynes and Boone's securities and complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy, white collar defense and government investigations groups have long handled matters that involve the issues that have emerged as the global subprime crisis unfolded.
Seven partners from various disciplines and offices within the firm have been designated to steer the practice group: Bob Albergotti (Bankruptcy), Taylor Wilson (Hedge Funds and Corporate), David Harper (Business Litigation ), Ron Breaux (White Collar Litigation), Craig Unterberg (Margin Lending and Finance), James Waters (Structured Products and Derivatives) and Eden Rohrer (Broker Dealer Regulations).
The ongoing investigations into the collapse of credit and subprime lending markets have also expanded into the auction rate securities market, which are long-term debt instruments where the interest rates are determined through weekly or monthly auctions. In light of the current credit crisis and its effect on bond insurers, auction-rate securities, which were once treated as cash equivalents, suddenly became difficult to trade, given there were not enough purchasers for all the shares being sold. That resulted in failed auctions.
Haynes and Boone LLP is an international corporate law firm with more than 500 attorneys in offices in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., Mexico City and Moscow, providing a full spectrum of legal services.