Partner
Paul Weiss
Co-chair of the Restructuring Department and a member of the firm’s Management Committee, Brian focuses on a range of restructuring and bankruptcy matters for both borrower and lender clients. He has extensive experience representing clients in complex out-of-court restructurings and chapter 11 cases nationwide and across various industries and routinely represents clients in complex litigation arising out of chapter 11. A of the Media, Sports and Entertainment Group, he also has developed a sub-speciality working on a number of music, media and entertainment company restructurings and related matters.
Brian’s recent company experience includes advising Diamond Sports Group, Salem Harbor Power Development LP, The Collected Group, Pioneer Energy Services Corp., Preferred Sands, Jack Cooper Ventures, Animal Supply, Expro Holdings and CGG S.A., and his noteworthy creditor-side representations include advising key stakeholders in the restructurings of Avaya, Serta Simmons Bedding, Service King, Carlson Travel Inc., Windstream, Covia Holdings Corporation, Frontier Communications, TOMS Shoes, Toys “R” Us, Country Fresh, Gibson Brands, American Tire, Tidewater, Paragon Offshore, Sabine Oil & Gas, Arch Coal, Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Company, Armstrong Energy, Nortek and General Motors. Brian represented the California Public Utilities Commission in the chapter 11 cases of PG&E Corporation and its primary operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California’s largest investor-owned public utility and the largest public utility in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy relief. He also represented the Commission in PG&E’s previous chapter 11 case, including in related litigation and appeals, from which PG&E emerged in 2003.
Brian is recognized by Chambers USA, in which clients praise him as “an excellent lawyer with a diverse practice and a measured approach” through his “tremendously good judgment.” He is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500, a “Thought Leader” by Who’s Who Legal and a highly regarded practitioner by The Best Lawyers in America, and he was named in Lawdragon’s “500 Leading US Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers.” Brian is also listed as a Featured Dealmaker in The Deal’s Bankruptcy Law Firm Power Rankings for individual lawyers.
Brian is frequently commended for his exceptional work on high profile matters such as the chapter 11 cases of Frontier Communications and the prepackaged chapter 11 cases of Carlson Travel, which were awarded the “Chapter 11 Restructuring (Mega)” award and the “Pre-Pack Restructuring (Large)” award by The Turnaround Atlas Awards 2022, respectively. Brian also received high praise when he advised an ad hoc committee of senior secured noteholders in the successful chapter 11 reorganization of Gibson Brands, Inc., which was recognized as Turnaround Management Association’s 2019 “Mid-Size Company Transaction of the Year” and Private Debt Investor’s 2018 “Distressed Deal of the Year.” Brian was named an American Lawyer 2018 “Dealmaker of the Year” for his work representing French oilfield services company CGG S.A. in its chapter 11 cases, among the largest restructurings in French history and the first-ever successful coordination of a French “Sauvegarde” proceeding with a U.S. chapter 11 case. The Financial Times commended Brian in its 2015 Innovative Lawyers report for his work advising Preferred Sands in connection with its out- of-court restructuring.
Brian is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He also serves on the Practicing Law Institute’s Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights Advisory Committee and writes frequently on bankruptcy issues. Additionally, Brian was also given a Distinguished Service Award at the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law’s 27th Annual Law Leadership celebration. He co-authored, with fellow Paul, Weiss bankruptcy partner Alan Kornberg, the “USA” chapter of The Strategic View – Corporate Restructuring, published by the Global Legal Group. Brian has also published numerous articles, including “New Strategies for Getting Paid: Recent Investment Fund Activity in Chapter 11” (Global Restructuring Review), “Bankruptcy Reforms and the High Net Worth Debtor” (New York Law Journal), “Recording Artists, Beware!” (New York Law Journal) and “Deciphering Dana” (The Deal, “Judgment Call”).
