ProfessionalsSean A. Mitchell
Tel: +1-212-373-3356
Fax: +1-212-492-0356
smitchell@paulweiss.com
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York,
NY
10019-6064
Fax: +1-212-492-0356
A partner in the Restructuring Department, Sean Mitchell focuses his practice on representing governmental entities, debtors, equity owners, creditor groups and distressed investors in a broad range of restructuring matters, including chapter 11 cases, cross-border matters, out-of-court restructurings and bankruptcy-related acquisitions. Sean has a broad range of experience across a number of industries, including consumer products, retail, media and communications, healthcare, energy and manufacturing.
EXPERIENCE
Sean’s recent representations include:
- Revlon, a leading global beauty company, and certain of its subsidiaries in (a) their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and (b) a prior out-of-court exchange offer
- The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) in the chapter 11 case of Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Texas’s largest generation and transmission cooperative, commenced in the wake of Winter Storm Uri which caused charges in excess of $55 billion in the Texas wholesale energy market
- The successor bond trustee and an ad hoc group of certain holders of Tarrant County Cultural Education Facilities Financial Corporation Retirement Revenue Bonds (The Stayton at Museum Way Project), Series 2020 Bonds, in connection with safeguarding their interests in respect of Series 2020 Bonds and The Stayton, a continuing care retirement community
- The holder of preferred equity interests in a working interest owner of oil and gas assets in the restructuring of its affiliates in the chapter 11 cases of Mesquite Energy, Inc. (f/k/a Sanchez Energy), an oil and gas exploration and production company
- An ad hoc group of DIP lenders and unsecured noteholders in the chapter 11 restructuring of Western Global Airlines, an independent provider of commercial, long-haul air cargo transportation services
- TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., a leading media and television company in Mexico, and certain of its subsidiaries, in the dismissal of the involuntary chapter 11 petitions filed in the Southern District of New York
- An ad hoc group of noteholders of Carlson Travel Inc. in connection with the prepackaged chapter 11 cases filed by the company and its affiliates in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC):
- in the chapter 11 cases of PG&E Corporation and its primary operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California’s largest investor-owned public utility and the largest public utility in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy, with a reported $71.4 billion in assets and $51.7 billion in liabilities
- in the chapter 9 case of Western Community Energy, a community choice aggregator in California formed for the purpose of delivering electrical services to its customers
- in the chapter 11 cases of Frontier Communications, a leading telecommunications company with approximately $17.5 billion of funded debt obligations
- in the chapter 11 cases of TC Telephone, LLC, a telephone service provider in California, successfully defended against the debtor’s motion to turnover against CPUC
- Affiliates of Prudential Capital Partners and Onex Falcon as petitioning creditors in the involuntary chapter 11 cases and subsequent consensual out-of-court restructuring of American Achievement Corporation, a leading publisher of yearbooks, manufacturer and direct marketer of scholastic and graduation products, and provider of graduation commencement services
- An ad hoc group of term loan lenders in the prearranged chapter 11 case of Covia Holdings Corporation, a leading provider of diversified mineral-based and material solutions for the global energy and industrial markets
- An ad hoc group of FILO term loan lenders in the prearranged chapter 11 cases of GNC Holdings, a leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products
- Preferred Sands in an out-of-court restructuring that involved the equitization or renegotiation of more than $1.4 billion of funded indebtedness, the issuance of new debt and the carve-out of certain assets into a new entity
- Certain subsidiaries of CGG S.A. in their pre-negotiated chapter 11 cases by which the company and its subsidiaries equitized approximately $2 billion of unsecured debt through concurrent restructuring proceedings in France and the United States
- The County of Westchester in connection with the chapter 11 case of Standard Amusements, the would-be operator of the Playland amusement park
- Holders of pass through certificates issued to finance two separate leveraged lease transactions of certain coal-fired power plants operated by GenOn Mid-Atlantic and NRG REMA, subsidiaries of GenOn Energy, one of the 10 largest wholesale power generation companies in the United States, in GenOn’s restructuring efforts
- The ad hoc committee of holdco noteholders in the chapter 11 cases of Ultra Petroleum Corp. and its affiliated debtors, oil and gas exploration and production companies with over $3 billion in indebtedness
- An unofficial committee of noteholders of Tidewater, a leading provider of offshore service vessels in the global energy industry, in connection with a restructuring of the company’s approximately $2 billion of debt pursuant to a prepackaged chapter 11 plan
- An ad hoc committee of holders of first preferred ship mortgage notes issued by Eletson Holdings, Inc., a world leader in international seaborne transportation, specializing in the transport of refined petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas and ammonia, in connection with an out-of-court exchange of the existing notes for new first preferred ship mortgage notes
- An ad hoc committee of debtholders in the chapter 11 cases of Pacific Drilling S.A., a leading international offshore drilling contractor with approximately $3 billion in indebtedness, and its affiliates, including in a plan-related mediation ordered by the Bankruptcy Court
Sean is recognized as a "Next Generation" lawyer by The Legal 500 and has been named among Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers (in both 2023 and 2024),” which recognizes the top U.S. attorneys helping companies navigate ailing economies and uncertain times, and “500 X – The Next Generation 2023,” which recognizes future leaders in the legal profession.
Sean co-authors with fellow Paul, Weiss partner Elizabeth McColm, an annual chapter in the International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG) To Corporate Recovery and Insolvency. Sean also speaks at industry events, including panel discussions as part of Practising Law Institute’s Recent Developments in Distressed Debt, Restructurings, and Workouts 2023 program.