Biography

Lillian Stenfeldt is the chair of Sedgwick’s Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy Practice Group and represents clients throughout the country in all aspects of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings and strategy. Ms. Stenfeldt represents secured creditors, hedge funds, creditors’ committees, trustees and receivers. She also represents companies that purchase assets from bankruptcy estates and assists companies in structuring business transactions and licenses to prevent losses due to potential future insolvencies of others.

She has extensive experience in international commercial loan workouts and other out of court restructuring of debt. She also structures settlement agreements with financially troubled companies to optimize clients’ recovery of monies due.

She serves as an arbitrator in complex commercial cases for the American Arbitration Association and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution in New York City and she is a member of their Complex Commercial Arbitration Panels.

Currently, she serves as counsel to insurers and reinsurers in major bankruptcy cases involving potential asbestos and other mass tort liability around the country. Such engagements include issues involving plan confirmation, privacy concerns, class actions, claims, preferences, coverage disputes, and jurisdictional matters.

Her practice also involves representing bankruptcy trustees, assignees for the benefit of creditors, and state court real estate receivers and various creditors in those types of proceedings.

Representative Experience

• Represented international conglomerate of business enterprises spanning four continents in a nonbankruptcy workout which achieved full payment to all creditors;
• Represented well known international retail and internet company in nonbankruptcy restructuring of debt and leasehold interests;
• Defended well known Fortune 100 company in multimillion dollar preference litigation;
• Assisted several technology clients in acquisition of intellectual property and patent portfolios from bankruptcy estates and financially challenged companies across the U.S.
• Provided strategic advice in structuring key license agreements to Silicon Valley clients;
• Represented financial institution in recovering full repayment of debt from real estate collateral and guarantees of major real estate developer;
• Assisted hedge fund in key due diligence in assessment of strategic acquisition of assets from large winery bankruptcy estate;
• Represented creditors committee in bankruptcy cases in a wide variety of industries, including international construction, national retailer, silicon wafer manufacturing, and various other service and technology companies;
• Represented international receiver in the recovery of corporate assets throughout California;
• Provided strategic advice to Silicon Valley corporation on use of bankruptcy to resolve landlord debt;
• Represented receiver of partially completed shopping center through completion and sale of center.

Presentations & Publications

Ms. Stenfeldt is a popular speaker and has spoken on the following topics:

• “She’s the Boss: Women Leading Men and Women Leading Women,” WILEF, 2011.
• “Key Bankruptcy Issues & Strategies for Insurers,” Bermuda Insurance Institute, Hamilton, Bermuda, June, 2011.
• “Insolvency Issues for Licensing Attorneys,” Practicing Law Institute, (2005-2010).
• “Bankruptcy Issues for Insurers or Everyone Needs to Know a Bankruptcy Expert These Days,” Association of California Insurance Companies, General Counsel Seminar, July 2009 Las Vegas, NV.
• “Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) Liability Insurance and Key Bankruptcy Issues,” New York City, September, 2009.
• “What Every CEO and CFO Should Know About Insolvency,” Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• “Bankruptcy Issues Affecting the Healthcare Industry,” Sedgwick’s Annual West Coast Healthcare Seminars, also Sedgwick’s Annual Hartford Healthcare Seminar (2009).
• “Debtor – Creditor Relations and the Insurance Industry,” IL, 2009.
• “When the Deal Goes Sideways, Bankruptcy Tools for Real Estate Practioners.” Real Property Section 26th Annual Real Property Retreat, Napa, California.
• “Like Dorothy in Oz: Insurers in Bankruptcy Court,” Defense Research Institute’s Annual Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Chicago.
• “Potential Creditor Committee Member Liability,” National Electronic Manufacturer Credit Managers Association meeting, San Jose.
• “International Arbitration, from A - Z, Insolvency Issues,” International Center for Dispute Resolution, San Francisco.
• “The Silicon Valley Bankruptcy Practice,” Insol Bi-Annual Meeting, Amsterdam.
• “High Tech Turnarounds,” National Turnaround Managers Association, San Francisco.
• “Buying and Selling Financially Challenged Companies,” Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum.

Lillian Stenfeldt also publishes, including articles such as:

• “Winning Legal Strategies for Bankruptcy and Restructuring,” published by Aspatore Books.
• “Like Dorothy in Oz: Insurers in Bankruptcy Court,” Insurance Litigation Reporter, volume 26, No. 17.
• “Preventative Tips for Proactive Credit Managers,” Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report.

Affiliations, Activities and Accomplishments

Ms. Stenfeldt participates in a variety of community/professional activities:

• Recognized in 2012 edition of Best Lawyers in America in areas of bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation.
• Designated “Super Lawyer”
• Licensed California Real Estate Broker
• Director, Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
• Director, Women in Law Empowerment Forum
• Past Director, International Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”)
• Member, International Association of Insolvency Practitioners (“INSOL”)
• Member, American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”)
• Member, International Woman's Insolvency Association (“IWIRC”)
• Currently is raising Beatrice, a Guide Dog for the Blind breeder