As its clients face increasingly complex legal challenges created by recent events in the subprime mortgage and other credit markets, Cozen O’Connor has created a new Subprime Credit Markets Practice Group, bringing a focused offering of integrated legal services to a market that continues to feel the sting from this global shake-up. The unique, multi-disciplinary group of attorneys—with experience in securities and financial services litigation, securities and real estate law, structured finance, insurance coverage, bankruptcy and restructuring, and white collar defense—will work closely with clients to create effective and individualized solutions to these challenges.

“Like many companies, our clients are affected by the collapse of the subprime market, and they regularly seek our advice and representation on a wide range issues related to those events,” said Thomas A. (Tad) Decker, President and CEO of Cozen O’Connor. “This new, focused practice group allows us to draw upon our wealth of expertise in different disciplines and serve our clients in an integrated and coordinated fashion.”

“The fallout from the current credit crisis will have a very long tail,” continued Decker. “It will touch many different types of companies, including commercial and consumer lenders, securities issuers and underwriters, hedge, mutual and other funds, insurers, investment advisers, and institutional investors. Litigation of many kinds will result, in addition to restructurings, government and internal investigations, and new transactions.” He added, “We are a firm that moves quickly as a unit to respond properly to our clients’ needs.”

The Disciplines of the Subprime Credit Markets Practice Group

Litigation
The firm has gained a national reputation representing clients in a broad spectrum of business and commercial litigation matters in state and federal trial and before appellate courts and numerous administrative agencies in jurisdictions throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Due to our wide-range of experience, excellent reputation, trial advocacy skills, and record of success, we have a diverse roster of clients who rely on us to aggressively represent them in their high-stakes litigation. Cozen O'Connor attorneys work closely with our clients to implement an innovative, cost-effective, and, most importantly, successful resolution of each case.



Securities and Financial Services Litigation
The attorneys in Cozen O'Connor’s securities and financial services litigation practice fully understand the threat and disruption that securities litigation, investor disputes, regulatory enforcement and similar matters represent to any business, private or public. These attorneys already represent clients in litigation related to the subprime mortgage market, including well-publicized litigation involving certain bond funds of a leading institutional money manager. Our clients include public and private companies, mutual funds, investment banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and their directors, executives and trustees. The group regularly handles litigation under the various securities laws, derivative litigation against directors and officers, broker-dealer litigation, and mergers and acquisitions litigation. In addition to appearing in court, our attorneys appear before regulatory agencies and securities exchanges, perform internal investigations, and advise management and boards of directors.

For more information, contact George M. Gowen at 215-665-2781 (gowen@cozen.com) or Robert W. Hayes at 216-665-2094 (rhayes@cozen.com)

Real Estate and Structured Finance
Cozen O’Connor attorneys have expertise in lender, investor and borrower representations, commercial lending, lease finance, capital markets transactions, structured finance, project finance, and debtor-in-possession financings. Our client base is broad and includes commercial and residential developers, real estate investment trusts, banks and other lending institutions, brokers, dealers and investors. We also represent entities in connection with structured and derivative products and in public finance, including structuring and documenting primary offerings; counseling issuers and other participants in both the primary and secondary public markets; and representing bondholders, bond trustees, bond insurers and borrowers in restructuring or resolving troubled transactions.

For more information, contact Jeffrey A. Leonard at 215-665-4157 (jleonard@cozen.com)

Bankruptcy and Restructuring
The firm’s bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring practice represents clients in a broad range of commercial litigation and transactional matters, with emphasis in domestic and international insolvency, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, out-of-court restructurings, and reorganization. We actively represent corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees, foreign representatives, landlords, equipment lessors, insurance companies, lenders, and investors in large Chapter 11 cases throughout the United States. Recognizing that the adversarial and competitive business environment requires increasingly creative strategies to avert serious financial difficulties, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring group are also often called upon to act as key advisors in the structuring of business and real estate transactions.

Insurance Coverage
Cozen O’Connor has long been regarded as the premier insurance coverage firm in the United States. The firm focuses on providing its insurance company clients with objective interpretation of a wide variety of insurance contracts in the context of legally and technically complex factual scenarios. We provide our clients with sound and sophisticated advice on the rights and obligations of the respective parties to insurance contracts and assist them in resolving claims in accordance with the contract provisions and the law. In the event coverage litigation ensues, we vigorously defend our clients’ positions. The firm is uniquely positioned to provide up-to-date coverage advice in multiple jurisdictions quickly and efficiently. When our clients need urgent assistance in handling coverage issues in catastrophic or developing loss situations, Cozen O’Connor is able to call on lawyers experienced in nearly every U.S. and foreign jurisdiction to provide solid advice on claims investigation, handling and coverage specific to the implicated jurisdictions. Cozen O’Connor maintains an extensive database of multi-jurisdictional case law on a wide variety of coverage and claims handling issues so that it can quickly provide critical advice.

White Collar Defense
The attorneys in Cozen O'Connor’s white collar and complex criminal defense practice combine vast legal experience and uncompromising determination to achieve our clients' goals. Our attorneys are recognized leaders in the criminal defense bar who have each handled high-profile cases for prominent clients. We pride ourselves in offering aggressive representation and a personal approach to solving the most difficult legal problems. Cozen O'Connor attorneys provide individual and corporate clients with the best defense available, not only in criminal jury trials and appeals, but also in all matters involving state and federal criminal law, including corporate compliance, securities laws, banking regulations and internal corporate investigations.

For more information, contact Barry Boss at 202 912 4818 (bboss@cozen.com)