James P.S. Leshaw

James P.S. Leshaw

Jim chairs the Miami Business Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice.

He has handled mergers, acquisitions and asset purchases of financially distressed businesses involving billions of dollars in assets; bankruptcy, workouts, reorganizations and restructurings; securitization transactions; and cross-border insolvency transactions involving entities established in multiple jurisdictions in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and Mexico. Jim is familiar with various creditor laws throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and has significant experience representing private equity groups, home builders, real estate developers, hotels, airlines, loan originators and servicers, foreign and domestic banks, shipping companies, cruise lines, telecom companies, food and beverage companies, high technology companies, agricultural businesses, manufacturing and industrial facilities, power plant projects, healthcare companies, and entertainment companies in merger, acquisition and insolvency transactions.

Jim has been recognized as one of the "Best Lawyers in America," one of the "Top Bankruptcy M&A Lawyers" by The Deal, as a leading bankruptcy lawyer by Chambers & Partners, as a "Legal Elite" by Florida Trend Magazine, and as one of the "Top Lawyers in South Florida" by the South Florida Legal Guide, and as a "Super Lawyer" by Florida Super Lawyers Magazine. Jim is described in Chambers as "smart, results-driven, innovative and effective."

He is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and is admitted to courts throughout Florida and New York and appears regularly in courts throughout the United States.

Areas of Concentration

· Mergers and acquisitions of financially distressed businesses

· Purchase and sale of assets of financially distressed businesses

· Bankruptcy, workouts, reorganizations and restructurings

· Complex corporate transactions

· Cross-border and international insolvency

· International transactions

· Securitization transactions

Significant Representations

· Representation of numerous clients in connection with merger, acquisition, and purchase and sale of assets and distressed loans involving financially troubled entities. Representations include transactions before bankruptcy courts in more than 20 states and billions of dollars in assets.

· Workouts, insolvencies, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions of numerous entities in cross-border insolvency transactions, including entities established in multiple jurisdictions in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and Mexico. Significant experience with the Companies Act (Bahamas, Cayman Islands, etc.) and quiebra, suspención de pagos, procesos de ejecución colectiva and other creditor laws throughout Latin America.

· Representation of numerous clients in complex financial restructurings, workouts and bankruptcies involving foreign and domestic real estate developers, banks, airlines, shipping companies, cruise lines, hotels, telecom companies, high technology companies, agricultural businesses, manufacturing and industrial facilities, power plant projects, healthcare companies, and entertainment companies.

· Representation of numerous borrowers, lenders, purchasers, sellers and trustees in connection with complex corporate transactions, including creation of "bankruptcy remote" entities; structuring transactions to avoid or reduce bankruptcy and insolvency risk; and substantive non-consolidation opinions, fraudulent transfer opinions, preference opinions and true sale opinions.

· Structuring of multinational and cross-border commercial transactions for foreign and domestic corporations, trusts and wealthy individuals.

Awards & Recognition

· Listed, Best Lawyers in America, 2007-2010

· Listed, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2008 and 2009 editions

· Recognized as one of the "Top Bankruptcy M&A Lawyers," The Deal

· Selected by Super Lawyers magazine

· Listed, Legal Elite, Florida Trend Magazine, listing of Florida's top attorneys as selected by their peers

· Recognized as one of the "Top Lawyers in South Florida," South Florida Legal Guide

Previous Employment

· Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York

Articles, Publications, & Lectures

Miscellaneous

· Jim has written articles and lectured on multiple topics, including Trading Claims in Bankruptcy, Acquiring Troubled Companies in Bankruptcy, Cross-Border Insolvency, Claim Subordination, Allowance of Claims in Bankruptcy, Estimation of Claims in Bankruptcy, Ethics regarding Asset Protection, Asset Protection in Florida, Latin American Insolvency Regimes, Impact of Sarbanes Oxley on Latin American Based Companies, Preferences, Fraudulent Transfers, and Entertainment Law and Bankruptcy.