Anson B. Frelinghuysen represents companies restructuring their financial affairs both in and out of court, as well as representing secured and general creditors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcies, out-of-court workouts, loan-to-own transactions, and adversary and collateral proceedings. Anson is currently engaged in the representation of the trustee in the Securities Investor Protection Act liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc., and previously in the liquidation of MF Global Inc. Among other things, Anson has resolved various disputes on behalf of the trustee, including the resolution of thousands of individual claims and litigation regarding the status of various financial instruments in liquidations. His representation has brought him into frequent contact with regulators, self-regulatory organizations and industry groups. Anson is also advising an investment firm in connection with its potential purchase of a public company, including advising the fund with respect to the role of foreign investors in the transaction.
Led the team that transferred more than $92 billion in property to over 110,000 customers at the start of the LBI liquidation, coordinating among the receiving brokers, clearing organizations and regulators
Led a worldwide effort to marshal LBI assets, navigating local banking and securities regulations, and successfully securing the return of billions in customer and general estate property to the trustee's custody
Member of the investigation team reporting on LBI's collapse, with a particular focus on the role of LBI's clearing houses and custodial and clearing banks worldwide
Resolved, through litigation and settlement, disputed claims pertaining to the creditor status of various LBI counterparties, including with respect to structured and mortgage-backed securities products, repurchase agreements and foreign exchange transactions
Designed and implemented distribution protocols for the satisfaction of customer and general creditor claims, transferring more than $20 billion in property to thousands of customers and general creditors
Highlighted Matters
MF Global Inc. (MFGI)
Designed and implemented the protocol and process to transfer over 27,000 customer accounts with more than $100 billion in notional contract value within days of the collapse of MFGI, coordinating efforts among regulators, self-regulatory organizations, receiving futures commission merchants, former customers and other interested parties
Wound down MFGI's relationships with its clearing houses and banks, navigating the complex rules of each and recovering billions of dollars in property
Litigated the status of letters of credit in a futures commission merchant liquidation, a matter of first impression
Negotiated the settlement of intercompany and omnibus customer claims with several of MFGI's international affiliates
Developed and implemented the trustee's procedures for distributing property to MFGI's former customers and general creditors
Prepared the trustee and other counsel in connection with their testimony before congressional panels regarding MFGI's failure
