Abid Qureshi Talks Restructuring Litigation on Bloomberg “State of Distressed Debt” Podcast

Akin financial restructuring partner and partner in charge of the New York Office Abid Qureshi appeared on Bloomberg’s State of Distressed Debt podcast to discuss trends in restructuring litigation, including liability management exercises (LME) and mediation.

The episode also covers Abid’s path to financial restructuring, his early experience as an antitrust litigator as an associate, and how it evolved to his restructuring litigation practice today.

Commenting on what attracted him to restructuring litigation, Abid said “I loved everything about it, most of all, the speed with which things moved. In my experience, the best litigators are the ones who really enjoy being on their feet in front of judges, arguing motions, examining witnesses and taking depositions. And restructuring litigation, more than any other area, offers that opportunity in spades. And all in the context of endlessly changing capital markets, different industries each time and with constantly evolving legal issues.”

Abid discusses trends in liability management exercises and traces an uptick in these aggressive transactions dating back to the onset of the COVID pandemic, when companies were seeking new liquidity and understanding as to how to potentially utilize their capital structures to raise new indebtedness.

Abid says, “Looking forward, if I had to make a prediction, at some point there will be a tipping point. As companies work with creditors to become more and more aggressive regarding transactions where one group of creditors is favored over another. At some point, there may be a decision that causes all of the parties involved in these to pause and question whether things have started to go too far.”

Regarding mediation, “from a litigator’s perspective, sometimes you may find yourself in a position where you truly believe that you have the facts on your side, you have the law on your side, you are going to win and what you really want is your day in court. But the pressures of a large chapter 11 case result in the proverbial freight train moving speedily down the tracks and heading right into you and in the context of the mediation often resulting in the conclusion that you have no choice but to reach a suboptimal settlement that outside of bankruptcy you would not have entertained.”

“To effectively advocate for our clients in bankruptcy, you have to have the knowledge and the expertise to litigate both debtor/creditor disputes and inter-creditor disputes that may precede a bankruptcy filing,” says Abid. “And the opposite is true if you’re engaged in a dispute with a distressed company, it’s absolutely critical that you understand the implications of a bankruptcy filing.”

To hear the full episode, click here.