Heather Lennox has played a leading role in Jones Day’s representations of debtors and potential debtors, creditors’ committees, prepetition secured lenders, bank groups, DIP lenders, credit card processors, and other significant creditors in many of the nation’s largest in-court and out-of-court corporate restructurings. She has substantial experience counseling clients in fraudulent conveyance, illegal dividend, fiduciary duty, piercing the corporate veil, and mass tort issues in bankruptcy. She has represented a number of entities in the structuring and consummation of spin-offs, secured financings, distressed sales and acquisitions, and other out-of-court restructuring transactions.
Heather has represented, among others: Copperweld Corporation, CSC Industries, Dana Corporation, Fruehauf Trailer Corporation, Great American Communications Company (a prepackaged case), LTV Steel Company, Metaldyne Corporation, and Oglebay Norton Company as debtors’ counsel and significant creditors in the Delta Airlines, Forum Health, HomePlace Stores, Northwest Airlines, Pittsburgh Penguins, R.H. Macy, Southern Air Transport, United Airlines, US Airways, and Wornick Company bankruptcies.
Heather has coauthored bankruptcy-related articles published in The Business Lawyer and the Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice. She is listed in the Guide to the World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers, is a conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference (2012) and a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and serves on the Bankruptcy Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is on the board of Providence House. Super Lawyers 2010-2011 lists her among the “Top 50 Women Ohio Super Lawyers” in bankruptcy & creditor/debtor rights.
Areas of Focus
Business Restructuring & Reorganization
Borrower / Workouts / Chapter 11 Debtor Representations
Honors & Distinctions
The Legal 500 US (corporate restructuring) (2011)
IFLR 1000 (2006-2008)
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2005-2011)
Member, American College of Bankruptcy (2009-)
The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2012)
Ohio Super Lawyers (2005-2011)
Named one of 14 “Outstanding Young Turnaround Lawyers” by the Turnaround Management Association (2006)
Education
Georgetown University (J.D. cum laude 1992; Law Journal); John Carroll University (B.A. summa cum laude 1989)
Bar Admissions
New York, Ohio, U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and pro hac vice in several other venues
EXPERIENCE
Hostess Brands commences bankruptcy proceedings
Jones Day represents Hostess Brands Inc. and its five affiliates in chapter 11 cases filed on January 11, 2012 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
St. Mary of the Woods files for chapter 11
Jones Day represents Franciscan Communities St. Mary of the Woods in its chapter 11 case and related debtor-in-possession financing.
Wireless communications provider restructures bond debt
Jones Day represented a $200 million local wireless communications provider in an out-of-court workout of $150 million in bond debt.
Metaldyne sells Powertrain, Balance Shaft Module, Tubular Products, and Chassis assets to MD Investors
Jones Day advised Metaldyne Corporation, a leading designer and producer of engine, driveline, and chassis products, in the $400 million sale of Powertrain, Balance Shaft Module, Tubular Products, and Chassis assets to MD Investors Corporation, a new company formed by a coalition of existing term lenders led by The Carlyle Group and Solus Alternative Asset Management LP via a section 363 sale.
Metaldyne files for bankruptcy protection
Jones Day represented Metaldyne Corporation — one of the top 50 North American auto parts suppliers with over $1 billion in sales — and its subsidiaries in an out-of-court tender offer transaction pursuant to which over $350 million in long term debt was extinguished.
Axcelis Technologies sells interest in joint venture SEN Corporation to Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Jones Day advised Axcelis Technologies, Inc. in the $133 million sale of its 50% interest in SEN Corporation to joint venture partner Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.
MBIA Insurance is secured creditor in Forum Health chapter 11 case Jones Day represented MBIA Insurance Corporation (“MBIA”) as a secured creditor in the chapter 11 cases of Forum Health and its affiliated debtors (together, “Forum” or the “Debtors”).
Metaldyne completes $65 million tender offer to purchase outstanding 10% Senior Notes and 11% Senior Subordinated Notes
Jones Day advised Metaldyne Corporation, a leading designer and producer of engine, driveline, and chassis products, in connection with its $65 million offer to purchase for cash any and all outstanding 10% Senior Notes due 2013 and 11% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2012.
Dana Corporation obtains Global Settlement and creates VEBA trusts for retiree health care benefits
Jones Day successfully represented Dana Corporation in obtaining a series of settlements to eliminate an enormous accumulated liability for health and life insurance benefits for retirees from its unionized and nonunion workforces, and to modify its collective bargaining agreements with active employees, allowing Dana to compete in the troubled auto industry upon emergence from bankruptcy.
Dana Corporation successfully reorganizes in U.S. and U.K. in “Deal of the Year”
Jones Day advised Dana Corporation and 40 of its U.S. subsidiaries in their reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Dana Corporation favorably resolves dispute with major supplier
Jones Day represented Dana Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in their chapter 11 cases.
Dana Corporation reaches groundbreaking labor settlement
Jones Day represented Dana Corporation in litigation and arbitrations related to various supply contracts as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization.
National City Bank holds leases in Northwest Airlines chapter 11 case
Jones Day represented National City Bank in the chapter 11 cases of Northwest Airlines Corporation involving three leveraged lease transactions.
National City Bank in lease transaction with Comair
Jones Day assisted National City Bank as the owner/participant in three leveraged lease transactions and also in cash management services involving the Comair chapter 11 cases.
Timken Company holds claim in Jernberg bankruptcy
Jones Day represented the Timken Company as a creditor with a $13 million claim in the chapter 11 cases of Jernberg Industries.
Blackstone Group appointed valuation expert in WCI Steel bankruptcy
Jones Day assisted Arthur Newman of The Blackstone Group in his role as the Court-appointed valuation expert in the chapter 11 cases of WCI Steel, Inc. and its affiliates.
National City Bank is administrative agent for Advance Watch workout
Jones Day represented National City Bank in its capacity as the administrative agent in connection with the workout and forbearance of a $90 million loan to Advance Watch Company.
National City Bank restructuring Delta leases
National City Bank retained Jones Day to assist the owner-participant bank in the restructuring of several leveraged lease transactions with respect to aircraft on lease to Delta Air Lines, Inc. prior to Delta filing for bankruptcy.
Oglebay Norton seeks chapter 11 reorganization
Jones Day represented Oglebay Norton Company in its prearranged chapter 11 reorganization cases, involving in excess of $500 million in debt, for a conglomerate of companies that mine, process, transport, and market industrial minerals and aggregates that are used in construction, energy, environmental and industrial applications.
National City Corporation waits to see if contracts will be assumed
Jones Day litigated the contract assumption of National City Corporation in the United Airlines bankruptcy case.
PUBLICATIONS
Practice Spotlight: Heather Lennox, Business Law Currents
June 14, 2011
An Overview of Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code and Municipal Debt Adjustments, Westlaw
February 2011
An Overview of Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code: Municipal Debt Adjustments
August 2010
A Tectonic Shift For Administrative Rent Claims? Bankruptcy Court Rejects Actual Use Limitation On Debtor-Lessee’s Obligation To Pay Postpetition Rent Under Commercial Equipment Lease, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Vol. 19, No. 3
June 2010
2009: A Changing Bankruptcy Landscape And How It Affected Labor and Benefit Issues, 2010 Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law
2010
Reinstatement v. Cramdown: Do Secured Creditors Win or Lose? Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Vol. 16, No. 4
August 2007
Reinstatement v. Cramdown: Do Secured Creditors Win or Lose? coauthor, Westlaw
June 2007
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Avoiding the Solvency-Related Pitfalls in Spinoff Transactions, The Business Lawyer 1999
‘Safe Harbor in Uncharted Waters’ — Securities Law Exemptions Under Section 1125(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, The Business Lawyer
1996
The Fiduciary Duties of Directors of Financially Troubled Companies, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice
1994
Applying an Ax When a Scalpel Will Do: The Role of Exclusivity in Chapter 11 Reform, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice
1993
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Shareholders Count Too: The Role of the Equity Committee in a Volatile Economy, Business Bankruptcy Fall Meeting CLE Program
October 14, 2011
Tampa, Florida
Credit Bidding, panelist, American Bankruptcy Institute’s 12th Annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference
May 24, 2010
New York, New York
Pressure on the Supply Chain – Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning, TMA 2009 Webinar Series
October 29, 2009
Webinar
Labor & Employment Law Changes: What the New Administration Has Brought and What the Future Holds
September 30, 2009
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Creating a Restructuring Process that Ensures a Successful Turnaround, panelist, ACI Distressed Debt Investing Summit
March 31, 2009
New York, New York
Protecting Your Human Capital: Indemnities and D&O Insurance in Troubled Times, Jones Day CLE Academy
December 11, 2008
Cleveland, Ohio
The Tenth Annual Conference on Corporate Reorganizations: Update on Autos and Auto Suppliers
June 22, 2007
Chicago, Illinois
The Administratively Insolvent Debtor, panelist, William J. O’Neill Bankruptcy Seminar
April 27, 2007
Cleveland, Ohio
The Automotive Industry – Where It Was, Where It Is and Where It’s Going, panelist, Fall 2006 Conference, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
November 1, 2006
San Francisco, California
Developing Opportunities for a Multicultural Workplace – How to Create Opportunities for All Women, panelist, Capgemini “Reach for the Stars”
October 6, 2006
Cleveland, Ohio
The Significant Business Provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
September 20, 2005
Cleveland, Ohio
What Labor and Employment Lawyers Should Know About the Federal Bankruptcy Process for Corporate Debtors
May 13, 2005
Cleveland, Ohio
Issues in Debtor in Possession Financing, Jones Day CLE Program
October 5, 1999
Cleveland, Ohio
The Section 2-207 Battle of the Forms: Disclaimer of Damages and Other Issues
November 30, 1995
Cleveland, New York
Issues of Successor Liability in Section 363 Sales
September 28, 1994
Cincinnati, Ohio