Grant & Eisenhofer Adds Former Hogan Lovells Partner Matthew Morris to Head Bankruptcy Litigation Practice

NEW YORK, May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In a noteworthy expansion of its bankruptcy litigation profile,  leading  shareholder and corporate  governance law firm Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. has added experienced  creditor-side bankruptcy litigator Matthew Morris to head its bankruptcy  litigation practice.  Mr. Morris,  who joins G&E as a director, was previously a bankruptcy partner with Hogan  Lovells US LLP in New York.  He  formerly practiced in the bankruptcy department of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley &  McCloy, as well as in the litigation department of Cravath, Swaine &  Moore.

With a  strong background in complex litigation, Mr. Morris focuses on creditor-side representations in large corporate  bankruptcies. He has experience in both domestic and cross-border insolvencies.  Among his prominent engagements, he has represented numerous claimants in the  massive Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, including former Lehman derivative contract  counterparties.  He represented  Icelandic Straumur Investment Bank in U.S. Chapter 15 proceedings. He also represented the official liquidators of the  collapsed Cayman Islands-based Sphinx Funds in the bankruptcy of commodities  firm Refco, as well as participated in the representation of the Official  Unsecured Creditors' Committee in the Enron Chapter 11  case.

The  addition of Mr. Morris strengthens Grant & Eisenhofer's well-known  litigation work on behalf of institutional investors, both domestic and foreign, in securities class actions,  corporate governance actions and derivative litigation.  In recent years,  G&E has broadened its practice offerings to represent plaintiffs in major  whistleblower and private antitrust actions.

G&E  co-founders and managing directors Stuart Grant and Jay Eisenhofer said of Mr. Morris's  arrival: "Matt has a proven track record representing stakeholders in  high-stakes, complex bankruptcy cases, which  will be a welcome complement to our existing litigation work.  We've historically represented investors  in securities and auditor liability actions tied to some of the largest  bankruptcies in the past decade, including Parmalat, Global Crossing, Delphi,  Refco and others. We've long recognized how important creditor bankruptcy  expertise can be to our shareholder work, and we're pleased to have an attorney  of Matt's caliber and record of success join us to direct litigation in this  area going forward."

Mr. Morris noted that Grant & Eisenhofer provides an  excellent platform for his practice.   "Asset recovery through the bankruptcy system and out-of-court workouts  is a fundamental objective of my work," he said. "Grant & Eisenhofer is one  of the country's preeminent firms for shareholder and other investor recoveries,  and I'm excited about heading up the firm's bankruptcy litigation practice. We  expect to see ample opportunities to be engaged in bankruptcy contests on behalf  of clients."

Mr. Morris received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Middlebury College, and his J.D.  from Columbia Law School.

Recent bankruptcy-related litigation handled by G&E  includes the representation of funds managed by  Franklin Advisors, Conseco Capital Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management,  Pilgrim American Funds and Oppenheimer Funds in a securities action against  bankrupt beauty care product maker Styling Technology.  The firm also recently represented the  Flag Litigation Trust on behalf of  PPM America and PIMCO, among other major institutional  investors.  G&E currently  represents a group of institutional investors who  collectively purchased over $600 million of debt issued by Washington Mutual  Bank, in a securities fraud action and related bankruptcy claim stemming  from WaMu's dissolution.

In 2007, G&E obtained $325 million for international  investors in a class  action against bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi  Corp.  The $204 million payout from  Delphi was among the largest on record by an insolvent company - not including  another $80 million paid by Delphi's directors & officers and $38 million  from the company's former auditors.   

The firm has also had a lead hand in some of the largest  investor recoveries on record in securities cases, including serving as co-lead  counsel to investors in an epic class action against Tyco International alleging  accounting and other fraud that looted the company under disgraced CEO Dennis  Kozlowski.  The resulting $3 billion  settlement struck in 2007 represented the largest payment ever made by a  corporate defendant in resolving a securities class action.  A separate $225 million payment was made  by Tyco's former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, itself a near-record payment by  an accounting firm.

In 2010, Grant & Eisenhofer recovered over $315  million for investors, ranking it once again among the leaders in shareholder  recoveries according to Institutional Shareholder Services.  The firm has  recovered approximately $12.5 billion for shareholders in the last five years  and was cited by RiskMetrics for securing the highest average investor recovery  in securities class actions of any U.S. law firm in 2008.  Grant &  Eisenhofer has been named one of the country's top  plaintiffs' law firms by the National Law Journal for the past six  years.

Note:  For  more information about Grant & Eisenhofer, visit www.gelaw.com.

Contact:  

Allan Ripp 212-262-7477 [email protected]

Elise Martin 302-622-7004  [email protected]

SOURCE Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.