The State of Michigan went beyond our borders to select Cleveland-based Jones Day to handle Detroit's restructuring. In the wake of the bankruptcy filing, it looks like non-Michigan law firms are also getting a big share of the work generated by the Detroit bankruptcy filing. According to Reuters' "In Detroit's ruin, law firms see land of new opportunity," here's the rundown so far:
- Cravath Swaine & Moore (Detroit Institute of Arts)
- Weil Gotshal & Manges (Federal Guaranty Insurance)
- Arent Fox (Ambac Financial)
- Kirkland Ellis (Sincora)
- Sidley Austin (National Public Finance Guarantee Corp)
Brown Rudnick, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and DLA Piper, the story says, are also "involved in the case or looking for ways in."And of course there's more legal work in the works, and that work may benefit Michigan law firms. As the story notes, the city needs to negotiate new labor deals with unions and its pension funds are underfunded, providing more opportunities for attorneys to advise creditors. Although large corporate creditors are likely to stick with their out-of-state law firms, smaller creditors may choose Michigan firms. Richard Levin, the Cravath partner representing the DIA, told Reuters:
There are a lot of talented lawyers in Detroit. I would think pensions and unions, for example, might opt for those guys.
Update: Here's the court docket, which shows Michigan firms are decidedly in the mix, including Bodman, Dickinson Wright, Foster Swift, Honigman, Jaffe Raitt, Miller Canfield, and Warner Norcross.
