David W. Wirt

David Wirt is an attorney who serves as co-chair of Holland & Knight's global Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights Practice Group and executive partner of the firm’s Chicago office. Mr. Wirt's practice focuses on insolvency, bankruptcy and business reorganization matters.

For more than 25 years, Mr. Wirt has represented numerous corporate debtors and official creditor committees, institutional lenders, trade creditors and governmental agencies throughout the United States in all aspects of insolvency workouts and litigation.

Mr. Wirt has handled many prominent bankruptcies in Chicago and nationally as lead Chapter 11 counsel. He is a highly regarded insolvency workout attorney in Chicago, with a national reputation.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Wirt was chair of the bankruptcy practice for a global law firm in its Chicago office and member of its executive committee.

Mr. Wirt's representative engagements include:

• representing Ector County Energy Center LLC, an ERCOT energy provider impacted by Winter Storm Uri, as the debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings that distributed the proceeds of a market-high per-megawatt price transaction resulting from a highly competitive 363 sale process through a confirmed Chapter 11 plan that invoked more than $600 million in negotiated claim caps to yield a 100 percent dividend to non-insider creditors
• representing Deutsche Bank National Trust Company as agent for major bondholder series and as a member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• representing First Eagle Alternative Credit LLC as major bondholder in the financial restructuring of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
• representing Dari Farms Ice Cream Co., one of the largest independent dairy and related grocery distributors in the Northeast, as debtor in out of court restructuring and sale process
• representing Insys Therapeutics Inc. as special counsel in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• representing McDermott International Inc. as special counsel in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• representing the Blommer Chocolate Company as a major supplies and trade vendor in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Dean's Foods Inc
• representing THL Credit LLC as a major creditor and bondholder in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of American Commercial Barge Lines, Company
• representing Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in connection with transactions intended to strengthen the pension plans of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
• representing California Proton Treatment Center Inc. in the first Chapter 11 of an operating proton treatment clinic in the United States
• representing Hai Jiang 1401 Pte. Ltd. in connection with bareboat charters in the Ezra Holdings and affiliated bankruptcies in New York and Texas
• representing a special committee of the board of directors of KiOR Inc., in connection with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and litigation resolution
• representing BroadRiver Asset Management in connection with a highly contested acquisition out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Life Partners Inc.
• representing the Sabes Family Foundation in connection with litigation arising out of Petters Group Chapter 11 bankruptcies
• representing Palm Harbor Homes Inc. and its affiliates as lead Chapter 11 counsel
• representing New Vision Television Inc. and its affiliates as lead Chapter 11 counsel
• representing American of Martinsville Inc. and BarcaLounger Inc. as lead Chapter 11 counsel
• representing Empire Carpets LLC in complex debt restructuring
• representing Superior Aviation Inc. in the potential acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft Inc. and affiliated debtors
• representing senior lenders in proposing and prosecuting contested creditor plan in the Whitton Corp. bankruptcies
• representing Varsari Inc. as acquirer of one of the largest number of Dairy Queen franchises in the United States
• representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Global Capacity Holdings Chapter 11 cases
• representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Meridian Automotive Systems-Composite Operations Inc., et al.
• representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Arlington Hospitality Inc.
• representing Gazprom Neft in the multibillion-dollar bankruptcy of the Yukos Oil Co. and certain affiliates
• representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Kmart Corp. in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Universal Access Inc. and its domestic affiliate
• representing a member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Spiegel Inc., Eddie Bauer Inc. and Newport News Inc., Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• representing the California State Senate Utility Committee in the California electricity crisis
• representing numerous power producers and swap contract counter-parties in connection with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Enron Corp. and its affiliates
• representing one of the largest trade creditors and member of the Official Committee of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Archibald Candy Corp.
• representing the senior lending group in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of BMC Industries Inc. and its domestic affiliates
• representing one of the largest contractors and project developers in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of J.A. Jones Inc. and its affiliates
• serving as special counsel to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the restructuring of obligations and bankruptcies arising from the multibillion-dollar "C-Block" and "F-Block" mobile telephone licensing auctions
• representing the El Paso Electric Co. in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• representing acquiror of substantial portion of the assets of MyCFO
• representing a generator and major nuclear power plant participant in the Cajun Electric bankruptcy
• representing CITGO Petroleum Corp., the chairman of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the CIC Industries bankruptcy
• representing R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., the chairman of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Bedford Fair bankruptcy
• representing the chairman of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Bedford Fair bankruptcy
• representing Williams Communications Inc. in the GST Inc. bankruptcy
• representing Alcatel Networks Inc. in the TeleHub Communications Inc. bankruptcy

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Wirt was chair of the bankruptcy practice for a global law firm in its Chicago office.

Media Coverage

• Law360, "Texas Power Co. Wins Immediate OK Of Ch. 11 Wind-Down", December 21, 2022
• Law360, "Bankrupt Texas Power Plant Gets $144M Asset Sale Approved", June 27, 2022
• Law360, "Meet The Attys For Texas Power Plant Owner In Del. Ch. 11", June 15, 2022
• Law360, "Storm-Hit Texas Power Plant Opens Ch. 11 In Del. For Sale", April 12, 2022