Alston & Bird is pleased to announce that the LATAM Airlines Chapter 11 case, in which it represented Qatar Airways in its capacity as DIP lender, plan sponsor, and equity security holder, has been recognized by the American Bankruptcy Institute as the first annual “International Matter of the Year.”
The firm handled every aspect of the case for Qatar Airways, including transactional and litigation matters related to multibillion-dollar DIP financings, backstop commitment agreements, and contested plan confirmation involving matters of U.S. and Chilean law from inception of the bankruptcy filings in May 2020 through the effectiveness of LATAM’s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization earlier this month.
The matter was selected from a field of 14 nominees by the American Bankruptcy Institute. To be considered, matters were required to involve the U.S. and one or more other jurisdictions and expected to be of international legal significance.
The Alston & Bird team that represented Qatar Airways in the matter were partners Gerard Catalanello and Jim Vincequerra, senior associate Kimberly Schiffman, associates Christopher Coleman and Andrew Frisoli, and senior attorney Kay Hopkins (Financial Restructuring & Reorganization); partner David E. Brown (Financial Services & Products); partner Paul Hespel and counsel David Rutherford (Finance); and partner Steven Campbell and senior associate Reade Seligmann (Litigation & Trial Practice).
The award was presented at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Cross-Border Insolvency Program in New York on November 14, 2022.