Thomas Moers Mayer, co-chair of Kramer Levin’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring department, has played a prominent role in many of the largest and most complex bankruptcy cases in history. Tom’s work involves both in- and out-of-court restructurings of distressed businesses on behalf of creditor committees, major secured and unsecured creditors, and bondholders. He has represented the official committees of unsecured creditors in some of the most well-known Chapter 11 cases, including General Motors, Chrysler, Capmark, Smurfit-Stone, Dana Corp. and Patriot Coal.
He has also played major roles in the largest recent municipal insolvencies, representing holders of $900 million in secured sewer warrants of Jefferson County, AL, in that county’s Chapter 9 case, and the holders of $1 billion in certificates of participation in the Detroit insolvency. Tom is the senior partner on the Kramer Levin team led by Amy Caton in representing holders of more than $10 billion of bonds issued by heavily indebted Puerto Rico, including in litigation before the Supreme Court on behalf of the holders of $1.6 billion of bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
Tom also counsels and represents investors seeking to acquire the assets or businesses of financially troubled companies. His most notable transactions include the 1991 acquisition of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. and the 2006 hostile takeover of WCI Steel Corp., both through Chapter 11 plans supported by the United Steelworkers of America. Tom is the leading scholar on trading claims and taking control of corporations in Chapter 11, having authored (with Chaim J. Fortgang) three law review articles and the Collier Bankruptcy Manual chapter on the topic.
Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court appointed Tom to the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules for a second three-year term starting on Oct. 1, 2017. Tom is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a nonpartisan organization of approximately 60 leading lawyers, law professors and bankruptcy judges that provides bankruptcy advice to Congress, and is co-chair (with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein) of the ABA’s Government Bankruptcies Subcommittee.
Last updated October 2018