Peter M. Gilhuly is a corporate restructuring and bankruptcy partner in Latham & Watkins’ Los Angeles office where he is responsible for managing the West Coast insolvency practice of the firm. Mr. Gilhuly represents debtors, buyers, hedge funds, private equity funds, first and second lien holders, creditors’ committees and boards of directors.
His recognitions include:
- Cited as a leading bankruptcy attorney in Chambers USA (Ranked in Band 1)
- Named by the Deal’s Bankruptcy Insider as the most active bankruptcy M&A lawyer in the United States from 2003-2008
- Inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy in 2008
- Named in The Best Lawyers in America since 2002
- Highly Recommended by Global Counsel -- Restructuring and Insolvency Who’s Who
Debtor Representations
Mr. Gilhuly has also represented numerous debtors in workouts, many of which have avoided the need to file for chapter 11 protection. He has also represented chapter 11 debtors including Steakhouse Partners, Inc., Paragon Steakhouse Restaurants, Inc. and three of their affiliates in their first chapter 11 cases, KeraVision, Inc., Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc., Boyd Furniture Company and First Executive Corporation (in the largest chapter 11 bankruptcy case of 1992).
First and Second Lien Representations
Mr. Gilhuly has represented a number of first and second lien groups in restructurings consummated in and out of Bankruptcy Court. He is the co-author of several articles about second liens including “Second Lien Financings – Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions.”
Bankruptcy M&A
Mr. Gilhuly's actively represents buyers of troubled assets including buyers in Section 363 sales include the representation of: (i) Forever 21 as the buyer of real estate assets in the Mervyn's and Gottschalk's bankruptcy cases; (ii) a subsidiary of Liberty Media in its acquisition of Red Envelope, Inc. out of bankruptcy; (iii) Guitar Center, Inc. in its acquisition of Woodwind and Brasswind out of bankruptcy; (iv) Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates Ltd. in its $97 million acquisition of the Arrowwood, Freemark Abbey and Byron wine brands out of the bankruptcy of Legacy Estates; (v) Comtel Investments LLC in the $82.1 million acquisition of VarTec Telecom and its subsidiaries out of bankruptcy; and (vi) IdeaSphere, Inc. in various acquisitions including the acquisition of the non-Ephedra Assets of Metabolife International, Inc. out of its chapter 11 case. Mr. Gilhuly was named by the Deal's Bankruptcy Insider as the most active bankruptcy M&A lawyer in the US from 2003-2008.
Real Estate Workouts
Mr. Gilhuly has advised on numerous real estate workout issues including the representation of sophisticated financial institutions in connection with several workouts including:
The representation of the owners of a resort hotel in Palos Verdes, California in a restructuring of over $300 million of debt;
The representation of GECC, as secured lender to the Los Angeles Marriott Hotel ($97 million);
The representation of GECC, as secured lender to the San Jose Holiday Inn ($25 million);
The representation of Pacific Beach Corporation in the workout and purchase of the $100 million secured claim of the Long Term Credit Bank of Japan and related securitization of Hawaiian hotel revenues; and
The representation of CSFB in connection with workout of a $110 million letter of credit facility with Covanta Energy Company which involved the sale of a 30-year management contract relating to the Anaheim Pond.
Financial Meltdown Engagements
Mr. Gilhuly's recent engagements include numerous roles in mortgage and subprime-related insolvencies including: (i) the representation of several derivative contracts counterparties in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy; (ii) the representation of Fannie Mae itself and as a secured creditor in several insolvencies; (iii) the largest hedge fund secured creditor in the Quality Home Loans and affiliated entities chapter 11 cases; and (iv) the representation of the founders of New Century with respect to its chapter 11 case.
Representation of Law Firms
Mr. Gilhuly is currently representing Darby & Darby P.C. in its wind-down proceeding. From 2008-2009, he represented Thelen LLP in its wind-down and dissolution. He also represented Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP in its pre-bankruptcy restructuring and liquidation. Mr. Gilhuly has represented numerous AM LAW 100 law firms acquiring offices and lawyers from other law firms in distressed situations.
Other Bankruptcy Engagements
Mr. Gilhuly represented Mossimo, Inc. in its involuntary bankruptcy proceeding which was successfully dismissed. He successfully represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Sizzler International, Inc. in obtaining full payment plus interest of all creditor claims.
Reported Cases
Mr. Gilhuly successfully briefed, argued and won a conflict issue on behalf of a debtor in In re Keravision, 421 F.3d 1153 (9th Cir. 2005) before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and argued and won a trial on behalf of a corporate officer in a multi-million dollar director indemnity estimation trial in the Riverstone bankruptcy case in In re RNI Wind Down, Inc., 369 B.R. 174 (Bankr. D. Del. 2007).
Publications
Mr. Gilhuly's representative publications include:
"Officers’ and Directors’ Personal Liability for Wages: The Impact and Limits of Boucher v. Shaw, " Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Vol. XXIX, No. 1, pg. 56 (February 2010).
"Landlords Use Letters of Credit to Bypass the Claim Cap of § 502(b)(6)," Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Vol. XX, No. 10, pg. 16 (December/January 2002).
"Recovering Attorneys' Fees and Costs in Bankruptcy," Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Vol. XIX, No. 4, pg. 32 (May 2000).
"The Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition: The World's Worst Debt Collection Device," 53 Bus. Law. 1315 (1998).
"Section 546(h): An Unsecured Creditor's Friend," (two-part article) Am. Bankr. Inst. J., Vol. XVII, No. 6, pg. 26 (July-Aug. 1998) and No. 8, pg. 32 (October 1998).
Professional Speaking, Writing and Affiliations
In 2010, at the invitation of the French Ministry of Justice, Mr. Gilhuly made a presentation on Chapter 11 to a French legal foundation. In 2009, Mr. Gilhuly spoke at Harvard Business School and UCLA Business and Law Schools. In 2007, Mr. Gilhuly wrote the materials and moderated a panel on the impact of hedge funds on the bankruptcy market which was rated the Best of the ABI’s Southwestern Bankruptcy Conference in Las Vegas. From 2002-2006, Mr. Gilhuly served as the Co-Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Bankruptcy Battleground West. Mr. Gilhuly has also served on the Board of Governors of the Financial Lawyers Conference. He is also a frequent speaker for organizations such as the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, the Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and at distressed debt conferences on such varied topics as hedge funds insolvency issues, second lien issues, fiduciary duty issues, bankruptcy M&A, true sale/nonconsolidation issues, assignments for the benefit of creditors, technology-related bankruptcy issues, ethics and involuntary bankruptcies.
Other Activities
Since 2003, Mr. Gilhuly has been the Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Bankruptcy Advisory Committee. From 2006-2007, Mr. Gilhuly was one of three partners on Latham & Watkins’ Marketing Advisory Committee. From 1998 to 2002, he was the National Chair of Latham & Watkins' Pro Bono Committee. From 2001-2004, he was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of A Place Called Home (APCH), a charity based in South Central Los Angeles. Mr. Gilhuly remains a member of APCH’s Executive Committee and in June 2008 was awarded the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work with APCH. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal from 1983-1986 where he managed the construction of a primary school and taught English to primary school through masters level students. In 2008, Mr. Gilhuly received the Distinguished Service Award from Wesleyan University.