Firm attorney Camisha L. Simmons published an article in Law360 titled "Update Deep-Sea Law To Spur US Mining Projects"

The deep seabed is the final vast Earthly frontier of exploration, mining, production and development of rare earth minerals, hydrocarbons, including oil and gas, and other natural resources. Trillions of dollars’ worth of unmined rare earth minerals and other natural resources are on and underneath the deep seabed in the high seas. Mining the seabed for these critical natural resources is crucial to immediate and long-term U.S. economic and energy independence and national security.

Private U.S. investors and exploration and production companies, however, are not highly active in the deep-sea mining industry. Current U.S. deep seabed mining law is just too antiquated and inadequate to provide U.S. investors and exploration and production companies assurance and a well-developed legal framework to mine the deep sea.

The article "Update Deep-Sea Law To Spur US Mining Projects" published in Law360 highlights and analyzes current international and U.S. deep sea mining law, the inadequacies of current U.S. law and suggests paths forward. 

https://www.law360.com/projectfinance/articles/1449646/update-deep-sea-law-to-spur-us-mining-projects

Attorney Camisha L. Simmons quoted in Bisnow article "Sale-Leasebacks Are Back, Baby" by Kerri Panchuk

Business owners may consider sale-leasebacks to remove debt obligations from their balance sheets in rough economies, in this case particularly if they have been hit hard by the pandemic, said Dallas real estate attorney Camisha Simmons, managing member of Simmons Legal PLLC. 

In the past year, several major retailers in DFW, including Tuesday Morning and Havertys, offloaded commercial real estate in sale-leaseback deals. In both cases, the firms entered into sale-leasebacks after experiencing substantial drops in traffic and sales during the early days of the pandemic. 

"When a company is experiencing a liquidity crisis, or they are having problems with cash flow, they will often try to restructure their balance sheets to monetize whatever assets they may have in order to increase cash to use in operations or increase company profit," she said.   Read more https://www.bisnow.com/dallas-ft-worth/news/deal-sheet/tenants-looking-for-capital-investors-looking-for-plays-fuel-rise-in-sale-leasebacks-109052

Attorney Camisha L. Simmons quoted in Bisnow article "30% Down But Not Out: Law Firms Look To Shrink But Not Eliminate High-End Offices" by Kerri Panchuk

 "If they are going to try to reduce operating expenses, [firms] are going to get creative in terms of saying, 'maybe we don't need all of these people physically in the office space,'" she said. 

While Simmons doesn't see it happening overnight, particularly at the larger firms, she does warn that like it or not, the legal industry is changing the way it operates even if it becomes 100% safe to go back to work.

"What may drive the transition and the evolving of the industry is the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the embracing of technology," Simmons said. "The use of AI or artificial intelligence, whether for contract review or something else, may reduce the need for some support staff and some younger attorneys."https://www.bisnow.com/dallas-ft-worth/news/office/dont-expect-law-firms-to-stay-the-same-post-pandemic-theyre-already-contemplating-sf-cuts-108628

Firm attorney Camisha L. Simmons participated in Corporate LiveWire’s Virtual Round Table discussion titled “Bankruptcy and Restructuring 2017.”

Firm attorney Camisha L. Simmons participated in Corporate LiveWire’s Virtual Round Table discussion titled “Bankruptcy and Restructuring 2017.”  Ms. Simmons along with 7 other restructuring professionals from across the Globe provided commentary on recent developments in the restructuring industry.  Commentary included, among other discourse and analysis, a discussion of key industries facing bankruptcy & restructuring challenges such as oil and gas, the impact of ecommerce on the retail sector, and recent case studies such as Toys R Us and Monarch Airlines.  Professionals practicing in Australia, Brazil, India, South Africa and the United States participated in the Round Table discussion.  To access the Round Table, click here http://www.simmonslegal.solutions/camisha-l.-simmons-participates-in-corporate-livewire-the-bankruptcy---restructuring-virtual-round-table-2017.html

Firm founder Camisha L. Simmons, Esq. has been named a 2016 "New York Metro Rising Star."

Firm founder Camisha L. Simmons, Esq. has been named a 2016 "New York Metro Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters Rating Service. The honor is reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. No more than 2.5 percent of eligible lawyers in New York are named to the "New York Rising Stars" list. The New York Metro Rising Stars list will be published in the New York Metro Super Lawyers Magazine in October 2016, as a New York Metro Super Lawyers supplement in The New York Times newspaper on October 2, 2016, and as a New York Metro Top Women Super Lawyers supplement in The New York Times newspaper on Sunday, March 26, 2017.

"Unique Issues Involved in Oil and Gas Bankruptcies and Restructurings” ...

Video: Select Electronic Discovery Issues for Businesses with Camisha Simmons, Esq.

Firm Founder Named 2016 "Texas Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters Rating Service

For the third year in a row, Camisha Simmons, founder and Managing Member of Simmons Legal PLLC, was named to the annual “Texas Rising Stars” list published by Super Lawyers magazine, a Thomson Reuters rating service.  No more than 2.5 percent of eligible lawyers in the state of Texas are named to the "Texas Rising Stars" list.

Video: Firm Founder Camisha Simmons discusses "Bankruptcy & Restructuring in the Oil & Gas Sector"

Firm Founder Camisha L. Simmons, Esq. Honored as National Black Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40”

Firm founder Camisha L. Simmons has been named by The National Black Lawyers as one of its “Top 40 Under 40.”  The honor is bestowed upon outstanding Black attorneys under the age of 40 who exemplify superior leadership, reputation, influence, stature and profile as a black lawyer. Only 40 black lawyers from each state or region are selected for membership each year.

Lenders and Directors Beware of the Dead-Hand Proxy Put

Shareholder activism is on the rise.  And, shareholder litigation against public company boards and management often increases when a public company is underperforming in relation to its industry competitors and/or is experiencing financial distress. 

Bankruptcy and insolvency practitioners should, therefore, take note of recent shareholder litigation against company boards and lenders challenging “proxy put” provisions in debt agreements (“Loan Agreements”).  If a proxy put provision under a Loan Agreement is triggered, a default occurs and the lender may accelerate the debt under the Loan Agreement.  The default under the Loan Agreement may precipitate cross-defaults under other Loan Agreements which could ultimately land a public company in bankruptcy. 

 

 

Read this ABI Journal article which discusses proxy put provisions in Loan Agreements, as well as recent litigation in the Healthways case highlighting the dangers of the “dead hand” proxy put, and provides company directors and lenders with best practices for avoiding breach of fiduciary and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary claims.

 

Download the article at http://www.simmonslegal.solutions/lenders-and-directors-beware-of-the-dead-hand-proxy-put.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camisha Simmons' Article "In Trump Entertainment Resorts Bankruptcy, Court Rules Federal Labor Law 'Trumps' Bankruptcy Stay" was published on Law.com

The article discusses a recent decision in the bankruptcy case In re Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruled that the automatic stay in bankruptcy was inapplicable to, and, accordingly, did not bar a labor union from contacting the bankrupt casino hotel’s customers and potential customers and discouraging them from doing business with the casino hotel.  In reaching its decision, the court determined that the federal Norris-LaGuardia Act trumps the stay, which is automatically triggered upon the filing of a bankruptcy case.

Read more: http://www.law.com/sites/camishasimmons/2015/07/30/in-trump-entertainment-resorts-bankruptcy-court-rules-federal-labor-law-trumps-bankruptcy-stay/#ixzz3hTiDecSV

Firm founder's lastest article published in July issue of American Bankruptcy Institute Journal

The oil and gas industry is in a state of uncertainty.  The price of crude oil, which is depressed and fluctuating, has fallen significantly in the past year.  Some exploration and production (E&P) and services companies in the industry have filed for bankruptcy protection while others are experiencing operational distress and may soon follow suit. 

One consequence of the decline in the price of crude oil is that E&P companies and the companies’ secured lenders may lose interests in oil and gas leases on property in which E&P companies are currently actively producing oil and/or gas.  This is so because for a lessee to avoid termination of an oil and gas lease on a lessor’s property, the lessee is required not only to produce oil and/or gas, the production must be in “paying quantities.” 

The article “Termination of Oil and Gas Leases for Failure to ‘Produce’” discusses a typical habendum clause of an oil and gas lease, the importance and definition of “production in paying quantities,” production in paying quantities litigation in bankruptcy, and best practices for parties holding interests in oil and gas leases that may terminate due to unprofitable production. 

Read more http://www.simmonslegal.solutions/termination-of-oil-and-gas-leases-for-failure-to--produce-.html

Camisha Simmons published an article on Law360 on May 14, 2015 titled “Rejection of Oil and Gas Leases May Prove Futile”

The oil and gas industry is experiencing uncertainty due to the depressed and fluctuating price of crude oil. Many companies in the industry may soon be forced into bankruptcy. Bankruptcy cases involving oil and gas assets present a number of complex issues. One such issue often litigated is the proper characterization of the nature of oil and gas lease interests.

The characterization of an oil and gas lease is of critical importance in bankruptcy because it determines whether or not the debtor-in-possession or trustee (“debtor”) may dispose of the interest under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code.

This article discusses (i) assumption and rejection of oil and gas leases under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code, in general; (ii) the protection provided for lessees’ interests in oil and gas leases that are considered “leases of real property;” and (iii) cases which highlight the futility of a debtor lessor’s rejection of an oil and gas lease that is characterized as a “lease of real property.”  Read more:  http://www.law360.com/projectfinance/articles/653737/rejection-of-oil-and-gas-leases-may-prove-futile

Camisha Simmons’ latest article titled “Bankruptcy Court Orders Bank to Disgorge Over $1.5 Million for Allowing Account Overdrafts” was published on Law.com

The article discusses a recent decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa serves as a reminder that banks should proceed with caution when relaxing bank procedures to appease large account holders.  In the bankruptcy case Sarachek v. Luana Savings Bank (In re Agriprocessors, Inc.), the court ordered a bank to disgorge over $1.5 million for allowing repeated account overdrafts, which the chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee successfully argued were essentially short-term loans made to the debtor by the bank prior to the bankruptcy filing.  Read more: http://www.law.com/sites/camishasimmons/2015/05/10/bankruptcy-court-orders-bank-to-disgorge-over-1-5-million-for-allowing-account-overdrafts/

Simmons Legal Adds Katherine Britton as Of Counsel to the Firm

On April 9, 2015, the firm welcomed Katherine Britton as Of Counsel.  Ms. Britton has experience in both litigation and transactional matters.  She is licensed to practice law in Texas, Illinois and the District of Columbia. 

Camisha Simmons’ latest article titled “Bank Loses Mortgage in Bankruptcy Due to Mere ‘Technicality’" was published on Law.com

The article discusses a recent decision in the case Mbazira v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (In re Mbazira).  In that case, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts determined that a bank, which was an assignee of a mortgage, lost its mortgage in bankruptcy due to a faulty acknowledgment appended to the mortgage document.  The decision sends the message to borrowers that they can use bankruptcy as a device to wipe out otherwise valid mortgages encumbering property by pointing to purported flaws in a lender’s recording of the mortgage document in real property records.  Read more: http://www.law.com/sites/camishasimmons/2015/04/05/bank-loses-mortgage-in-bankruptcy-due-to-mere-technicality/#ixzz3Wpyuy5ZB

Firm Founder Named 2015 "Texas Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters Rating Service

For the second year in a row, Camisha Simmons, founder and Managing Member of Simmons Legal PLLC, was named to the annual “Texas Rising Stars” list published by Super Lawyers magazine, a Thomson Reuters rating service.  No more than 2.5 percent of eligible lawyers in the state of Texas are named to the "Texas Rising Stars" list.

A New Law Firm is Born

On March 7, 2015, the law firm Simmons Legal PLLC was launched.  Simmons Legal PLLC is a woman-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned transactional and civil dispute resolution and litigation law firm with a principal office in Dallas, Texas and a by-appointment office in New York, New York.  The firm was founded on three principles:  diversity, exceptional client service and entrepreneurialism​.