Benjamin L. Taylor
Counsel
taylorb@akingump.com
Areas of Focus
- Financial Restructuring
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Oil & Gas
- Digital Assets, Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
- Pro Bono
- Telecom, Media & Technology
- Private Capital
Biography
- Focuses on corporate restructuring matters and distressed transactions, providing counsel on in- and out-of-court restructurings.
- Clients include debtors, official and unofficial committees of unsecured creditors, secured lender groups, debtor in possession lenders, institutional investors, investment funds, and acquirers of businesses and assets.
- Experience spans a variety of industries and jurisdictions and includes cross-border reorganizations.
Benjamin Taylor represents debtors, creditors, official and unofficial committees, informal secured and unsecured creditor groups, debtor in possession (DIP) lenders, equity holders, and other stakeholders in all aspects of corporate liability management, restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. Benjamin assists clients on a wide range of complex financial restructuring matters across a variety of industries.
Prior to joining Akin, Benjamin was an associate at another leading international law firm. In law school, he served as a judicial intern to the Hon. James A. Wynn, Jr. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
Prior to law school, Benjamin served as a science teacher in the Bronx with Teach for America.
Representative Work
- CommScope: Counsel to an ad hoc group of cross holders in connection with a potential restructuring of CommScope, an American fiber optic and cable provider.
- NanoString Technologies: Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 cases of NanoString Technologies, a publicly held biotechnology company, involving over $280 million in liabilities.
- Benefytt Technologies: Counsel to an ad hoc term lender group in the chapter 11 cases of Benefytt Technologies, a health insurance distributor, involving over $600 million in liabilities.
- GWG Holdings: Counsel to the Official Committee of Bondholders in the chapter 11 cases of GWG Holdings and its affiliates, a financial services firm that invests in secondary life insurance assets and sells life insurance-backed bonds, involving over $2 billion in liabilities.
- Intelsat: Counsel to an ad hoc group of creditors in the chapter 11 cases of Intelsat and its affiliates, one of the largest satellite services providers in the world, involving $14.7 billion in liabilities. Restructuring of the Year – Over $10B (M&A Advisor)
- Wellpath: Counsel to an ad hoc group of lenders in the chapter 11 cases of Wellpath, a correctional and behavioral healthcare service provider, involving $700 million in liabilities.
- Brazos Electric Power Cooperative: Counsel to Tri-County Electric in the chapter 11 case of Brazos, an electrical generation and transmission cooperative, involving approximately $2.1 billion in liabilities.
- Limetree Bay: Counsel to an ad hoc term lender group in the chapter 11 case of Limetree Bay Refining, a U.S. Virgin Islands-based oil refinery, involving approximately $1 billion in liabilities. Section 363 Sale of the Year $50MM to $100MM (M&A Advisor)
- Frontera: Counsel to the first lien lenders in the chapter 11 cases of Frontera Holdings and its affiliates, owner of the only U.S.-based power plant that sells all of its power to Mexico, involving $944 million in liabilities. Mid-Size Company Turnaround/Transaction of the Year Award (TMA)
EducationJ.D., Duke University School of Law, 2015
M.Ed., City University of New York, 2010
B.A., Wheaton College, 2008
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 2015
M.Ed., City University of New York, 2010
B.A., Wheaton College, 2008
Bar AdmissionsDistrict of Columbia
New York
District of Columbia
New York
Recognitions
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E): Counsel to the ad hoc committee of senior unsecured noteholders in the chapter 11 cases of PG&E and its affiliates, the largest energy utility in the U.S., involving over $30 billion in liabilities. To date, this is the seventh-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Innovation Award (New York Law Journal)
- Elk Petroleum: Counsel to AllianceBernstein in its role as prepetition lender and post-petition lender in the chapter 11 cases of Elk Petroleum Aneth and its affiliates, an oil and gas producer and developer, involving more than $125 million in liabilities.
- Salt Creek Midstream: Counsel to an ad hoc group of holdco lenders with respect to investments in Salt Creek Midstream and its affiliates, one of the largest privately owned crude oil gatherers in the Delaware Basin.
