Joaquin C De Baca

“He’s very responsive, always very accessible and available, knowledgeable, patient and a great communicator in presenting potentially complex issues in easy to understand terms.”

Joaquin M. C De Baca is a partner in Mayer Brown’s New York office and a member of the firm’s Global Restructuring practice. His practice includes both transactional and litigation work in a wide range of in-court and out-of-court workouts and reorganization proceedings. He has represented clients in complex bankruptcy proceedings, debtor-in-possession and exit financings, litigations, and international insolvency proceedings and has negotiated restructuring transactions in an extensive scope of distressed contexts.

Joaquin was recognized by New York Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Bankruptcy for 2018-2020. He represented a major international financial institution as administrative agent in connection with a contested chapter 11 sale transaction that was awarded “Health Care Services Restructuring of the Year” at Global M&A Network’s 11th Annual Turnaround Atlas Awards and “Chapter 11 Reorg of the Year ($500MM to $1B)” at the 2019 M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards.

Joaquin regularly represents a variety of commercial banks, agent banks and lending syndicates, real estate investment and holding companies, insurance companies, investment fund managers and individual directors and officers, individual institutional lenders and lender syndicates in all types of distressed situations. His recent or significant representations include:

A non-U.S. broker in connection with plan enforcement issues with respect to Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. and its affiliated debtors.

An equipment finance lessor in connection with complex equipment lease assumption and claims resolution issues arising out of the Westinghouse chapter 11 proceedings.

A major international bank in connection with the administration of loans to a distressed hospital system.

A non-U.S. bank in connection with the dissolution and wind down of related United States entities as directed by foreign insolvency proceedings.

A major international bank in connection with the workout and potential insolvency proceedings related to the financing of a Brazilian oil field business.

BNP Paribas/Fortis Bank S.A./N.V., as agent on behalf of a syndicate of lenders, in connection with the restructuring of loans for four cancer-treatment centers across the United States in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $500 million. This involved novel out-of-court refinance transactions and both consensual and disputed bankruptcy court supervised sale transactions.

School Specialty, Inc., a leading provider of educational products and services to the Pre-K- 12th grade market in the U.S. and Canada, in its successful out-of-court restructuring of more than $300 million of debt and consensual sale of substantially all of its assets to an entity formed by TCW Asset Management Company, LLC, Cerberus Capital Management, and Lantern Capital Partners.

A non-U.S. financial entity in connection with the defense of constructive fraudulent conveyance claims arising from the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (and various related feeder funds).

A major international bank in connection with the DIP financing of PG&E and affiliated debtors and related administration issues.

Joaquin joined Mayer Brown in 2009.