Page 10 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

ALAN KORNBERG

PARTNER AT PAUL, WEISS, RIFKIND, WHARTON & GARRISON

Through his decades in practice, Alan has established himself at the pinnacle of the restructuring field

through his deft handling of the most complex, high-stakes matters across many industries.

But what really sets Alan apart from his peers in the hard fought Energy Future Holdings
is his quiet, thoughtful, respectful approach to bankruptcy. Once the target of the largest
the most high-profile, contentious situations, LBO ever, EFH’s unique intercreditor disputes
leading disparate constituencies to global threatened to mire the company in litigation
resolutions. No one in the restructuring field for years. With Alan’s leadership and brilliance,
is more highly respected and admired than settlements were ultimately reached, with
Alan. his clients emerging as owners of one of the
Within Paul, Weiss, Alan is a beloved partner largest independent power generators in the
BY KELLEY and a treasured mentor to many—including country.
CORNISH me—having established the firm’s restruc- Aside from leading massive, high-profile
turing practice in the 1990s and carefully matters, Alan is a master at handling more
building it to become one of the best in the off-beat complicated global restructurings.
country. For example, in the bankruptcy of Isle of Man-
Alan has always shown a patience and registered shipping company Navigator Gas,
genius for solving seemingly intractable prob- Alan engineered a hostile chapter 11 plan that
lems. For example, in the 2001 bankruptcy resulted in his noteholder clients owning the
of California utility giant PG&E, described company, a result ultimately affirmed by the
by some as an attempted “regulatory jail- UK Privy Council in a landmark decision.
break,” Alan represented the state regulator, Alan has been a leader and a visionary at
the California Public Utilities Commission Paul, Weiss for decades, building the restruc-
(CPUC), convincing it to propose a compet- turing group over time lawyer by lawyer. It
ing chapter 11 plan for PG&E, which ultimately was the opportunity to partner with Alan
resulted in a global resolution of the ground- that initially drew me laterally to the firm
breaking case. CPUC returned to Alan for in 2003. While firms typically specialized in
his leadership in PG&E’s second Chapter 11 either company- or creditor-side work, Alan
case precipitated in 2019 by the disastrous decided early on that we were going to do
California wildfires, and Alan, again, was a everything, because we would become better
leader in forging the hotly contested, high- lawyers for our clients in the process. Today,
profile multibillion-dollar PG&E restructuring no peer firm has a more balanced restructuring
in 2020. practice.
Alan’s talents as one of the most effective Most notably, in a field known for sharp
advocates and skilled dealmakers in the coun- elbows and gamesmanship, Alan is humble,
try were also on display in his representation gracious, kind and well-mannered—an exem-
of the holders of $15 billion in secured claims plary human being in every way. With his
work ethic, grace and professionalism, Alan
reminds us of what is best in our profession.
Kelley Cornish is a restructuring partner at Paul, We have been truly blessed to have him as
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. our role model.

8 October 2021 |