Bankruptcy counsel for energy and commodities businesses.

Representation informed by the trading business.

Paul has represented numerous non-debtor market participants in major energy and commodities bankruptcies, as well as market participants in their own bankruptcies. He brings an understanding of physical deliveries, financial positions, collateral, settlements, and structured transactions to the bankruptcy process.

The work includes protecting contractual rights, addressing first-day orders, evaluating continuing performance, and pursuing claims and administrative-expense treatment where available. Paul also works with in-house and other bankruptcy and litigation counsel when a matter requires coordinated representation.

Safe harbors and trading contracts

• Contract-specific analysis of swap, forward, and other protected trading arrangements.
• Termination, liquidation, close-out valuation, setoff, and netting under ISDA, EEI, NAESB, and bespoke agreements.
• Collateral, margin, settlement payments, guarantees, and prepayments.
• Coordinating trading actions, valuation practices, and communications before and after a filing.

Claims and bankruptcy disputes

• Creditor claims, objections, and administrative-expense issues.
• Contract assumption, rejection, cure, and continuing delivery obligations.
• Preference and fraudulent-transfer exposure involving energy and commodities transactions.
• Disputes over close-out amounts, valuation, collateral, setoff, and netting.

Strategy before a bankruptcy filing

Counterparty deterioration can require decisions about deliveries, payments, assurance, collateral, and termination before a petition is filed. Paul helps trading, credit, and legal teams evaluate the governing contracts and act consistently with the business’s exposure and objectives.