Raymond Patella

Partner

Ray has a national and local practice in business law, commercial transactions, business finance, commercial litigation, real estate and creditor rights, with a focus on corporate restructuring, bankruptcy and other insolvency related matters. Ray has represented creditors, trustees, asset purchasers, creditors’ committees, and debtors, in all matters related to financial distress including corporate governance, business finance, insolvency related asset purchases and other distressed M & A, reorganizations and workouts, corporate acquisitions, commercial litigation, debtor-in-possession financing and complex credit and other financings inside and outside of bankruptcy and insolvency settings.

Ray has drafted and negotiated many contracts including credit agreements, real estate contracts and leases (both residential and commercial), supply agreements, asset purchase agreements, letters of intent, term sheets, confidentiality agreements, and settlement agreements. Ray has also assisted clients with drafting and enhancing contractual provisions for their standard form agreements and contracts (while balancing clients’ business objectives) to minimize litigation, credit and downside risk including default provisions; remedies; affirmative and negative covenants; indemnifications (including environmental and tax indemnifications); and “safe harbor” provisions.

Ray’s complex commercial litigation practice includes representation of clients in following substantive areas: bankruptcy, director and officer claims; auditor malpractice; tax; breach of contract; and commercial financing; lender liability; and tort/fraud.

Representative Bankruptcy/ Creditors’ Rights Matters:

Creditor rights counsel to large energy company and subsidiaries; cable manufacturer; cellular provider; electrical cooperative
Counsel to trustee in liquidation of bank holding company which was third largest bank failure in 2008.
Co-counsel to largest supplier and creditor in billion dollar bankruptcy of largest business in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Counsel to body scanning technology company in UCC foreclosure of patents Representation included drafting liquidation agreement and proactive risk management and corporate governance advice on duties/obligations to minimize transaction risk.

Representative Transactional Matters (Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances):

Negotiation and eventual Federal court approval of litigated $13 million uniquely structured litigation funding financing facility Litigation was condensed; briefing, discovery, depositions and evidentiary hearing were all completed over period of approximately 30 days.
Successful bidder/acquirer in asset purchases of numerous businesses in bankruptcy Transactions ranged from a few million dollars to almost $1 billion Most representations had multiple bidders, required proactive litigation strategy and included contested hearings.

Representative litigation matters (Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances):

Won summary judgment for plaintiff for over $400 million in contested ownership of tax refund which was affirmed in Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Successful resolution for plaintiff of multi-year complex litigation against United States in Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D C resulting in recovery of over $400 million tax refund (the amount sought in complaint plus interest).
Complete vindication in litigated, nationally watched case of mortgage servicer subject to New Jersey Federal bankruptcy court show cause order concerning use of pre-signed certifications by client’s outside law firm in relief from stay proceedings .Representation included nationwide internal investigation of client’s consumer bankruptcy procedures, interviewing employees and reporting to bankruptcy court.
Successful resolution of arbitration against company’s former auditor for breach of contract/malpractice Counsel to plaintiff in Federal court litigation involving former employee embezzling approximately $1 million.