Laurence M Frazen

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Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights

As the rate of insolvencies rises both nationally and internationally, it becomes increasingly vital for clients to engage capable and experienced counsel to navigate the complications of business insolvencies. The attorneys in Bryan Cave’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights Client Service Group are located and practice throughout the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and China, and provide a range of business-advisory and crisis-management skills, including insightful and practical guidance to parties in situations where companies face the risks and implications of insolvency.

Members of Bryan Cave’s restructuring practice have long been known for their creative problem-solving abilities, responsiveness and networks with financial institutions, restructuring advisors and other attorneys. The combination of these resources allows us to develop the most appropriate business solutions based upon our clients’ needs and goals. We have the ability and experience to resolve, promptly and cost-effectively, novel and difficult legal issues in restructurings, out-of-court loan workouts, Chapter 11 reorganizations, distressed sales, litigation matters and other insolvency proceedings.

Bryan Cave’s restructuring lawyers also have backgrounds in banking, corporate finance, real estate and litigation. This breadth of experience allows our attorneys to address problems with an interdisciplinary approach. We also regularly draw upon the experience of other attorneys in our firm, including those focusing on antitrust, employee benefits, insurance, mergers and acquisitions, securities, tax and various litigation disciplines.

Specific Areas of Expertise

Bryan Cave has a full-service insolvency practice. Our experience can be grouped into the following general types of representations:
- Debtors;
- Secured creditors;
- Debtor-in-possession lenders;
- Creditors’ committees;
- Distressed transactions;
- Out-of-court restructurings and workouts;
- Other restructuring engagements;
- Creditors’ rights and enforcement;
- Bankruptcy and insolvency litigation.

In addition, we regularly advise our clients regarding other issues that arise in multiple contexts, including the following:
- Fiduciary duties of officers and directors of troubled companies;
- Lender-liability concerns;
- Substantive-consolidation issues, including “true sale” and “non-consolidation” legal opinions;
- Equitable subordination and other intercreditor issues;
- Intellectual-property rights in bankruptcy;
- Purchasing and selling debt and equity securities of distressed issuers;
- Regulatory issues affecting restructurings, including banking, securities, environmental and insurance laws;
- Rights of landlords and tenants in bankruptcy;
- Employee retention, compensation and benefits issues;
- Collective-bargaining agreements and retiree obligations;
- Tax issues, including income from the discharge of indebtedness, income-tax consequences of debt modifications and the preservation and exploitation of net operating losses.

Laurence M Frazen
Bryan Cave LLP
1200 Main St #3500
Kansas City MO 64105
Tel: 816 374-3252
Fax: 816 855-3252
E-mail: lmfrazen@bryancave.com

Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy - American Board of Certification

Related Practices
- Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights
- Banking, Business and Public Finance
- Energy Industry Team
- Real Estate Bankruptcy, Workout and Litigation Team

Laurence Frazen’s practice involves representation of debtors, creditors, creditors committees and other interested parties in bankruptcy proceedings locally and across the country. His practice also includes commercial workouts and out-of-court restructurings.

He represented Farmland Industries, Inc., in the largest Chapter 11 proceeding ever filed in the Western District of Missouri. He also represented National Airlines, Houlihan’s Restaurants, Gateway Ethanol, Atchinson Casting, Weld Wheel, Trism, Inc. and Laclede Steel Company in their Chapter 11 proceedings. Mr. Frazen has represented secured lenders in the reorganization cases of DBSI, Crescent Oil, Apex Oil, the Arizona Biltmore, Grant Industries, Baldwin United, Federated Stores, Sonny Hill Motors and Ameritank, as well as other proceedings, including many single-asset real estate cases.

Mr. Frazen has authored, co-authored and edited numerous articles and publications on bankruptcy and reorganization including a chapter in the Missouri CLE Bankruptcy Desk Book and "Chapter 8: The Automatic Stay in the Chapter 11 Case" in Advanced Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Practice published by John Wiley & Sons in April 1994. Mr. Frazen also has lectured on bankruptcy and reorganization topics for the American Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association, the Kansas City and St. Louis Bar Associations, National Business Institute and other financial, professional and trade organizations.

Mr. Frazen was certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification in 1993 and currently serves on its board of directors. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and has served as the chairman of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee to the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. At Washington University, he was an editor of the Urban Law Annual.