SAVVY BUSINESS
Bankruptcy!

Another inconvenient truth keeps Haskell Slaughter attourney Scott Williams busy.

By Niki Sepsas
“I may be the most charming person in a room, but I’m the last one that people want to talk to,” laments Scott Williams.

Williams’ plight stems not from any deficiency in social skills, but rather from his chosen career field— business bankruptcy law. “My business is not one that looks to attract repeat customers,” Williams says with a smile, “but it is one of only two areas of the law that are protected by the U.S. Constitution. The founding fathers made sure that admiralty and bankruptcy law were written into the constitution of the country they had just established. That’s not surprising since most of the early settlers in England’s American colonies had immigrated here on ships and the majority were pilgrims who came to these shores with little more than their dreams.”

A partner with the Birminghambased law firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, LLC since 1993, Williams has represented numerous clients in complex litigation that has impacted the lives of thousands of people. One of those high profile cases with far reaching implications was the firm’s involvement in the bankruptcy of Solutia, formerly the Monsanto Chemical Company.

“Solutia filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2003,” Williams states. “Our firm and a firm in St. Louis, Missouri were contacted by a committee representing about 20,000 of the company’s retired employees. They wanted us to represent them in legal action to protect and negotiate the healthcare benefits of Monsanto’s retirees as the $4 billion company went into reorganization.

An agreement was finally reached in February 2008 that established a $200 million trust fund that would guarantee benefits to the retirees for at least 11 years. That case occupied approximately 30 to 40 percent of my time during that four year period.”

Williams notes that business bankruptcies, especially those of the size of Monsanto, are extremely complicated and call into play the expertise not only of bankruptcy attorneys, but accountants, insurance companies and other financial planning experts as well. There is a fine line, he points out, between balancing what the company can pay and protecting the rights of employees, creditors and other groups affected by the bankruptcy. “In the Monsanto case,” Williams adds, “we were able to ensure the stability of the company during the reorganization process while, at the same time, protecting the healthcare benefits of the retired employees.”

The confusion and complexity that can murky the waters of business bankruptcies make it imperative for business owners, boards of directors, shareholders and others to secure the finest legal representation for assistance in navigating those waters. Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker has built an impressive reputation in protecting the rights of the broad base of clients who have turned to them for that representation. “We have litigated cases for businesses ranging from coal mining and petroleum conglomerates to candy companies,” Williams relates. “Each case represents a unique challenge with unique circumstances that will factor into a negotiated settlement. Our firm is uniquely poised to meet those challenges due to the broad range of expertise of our attorneys and the business backgrounds from which many of them come.

“Our firm has attorneys with backgrounds in business and government who have been successful as entrepreneurs and executives. Their legal and technical expertise is complemented by creativity and personal experience. We’re large enough to have the resources a client needs, but small enough to provide the personalized service and responsiveness that a client deserves.”

Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker has provided legal advice and aggressive representation to a broad range of clients for more than three decades. In addition to representing their clients in business bankruptcies, the firm has established a reputation for providing solutions in legal practice areas including complex securities litigation, billion dollar mergers, business start-ups, personalized estate planning, products liability lawsuits, public financing and others. That background and expertise have produced exceptional credentials among the firm’s attorneys.

Three have served in the Alabama state legislature. One served in a key staff role in the U.S. Senate and another was chief of staff to the governor of Alabama. One Haskell Slaughter lawyer served as a law clerk to a U.S. Supreme Court justice and more than a dozen have clerked for state and federal judges. Williams is among those in the latter group. A native of Mobile, he served as a law clerk for a federal judge in Birmingham after working for Sen. Howell Heflin in Washington, D.C.

“I concentrated on bankruptcy issues coming before the U.S. Senate,” Williams states. “I loved living in Washington, D.C., but when the opportunity arose to join Haskell Slaughter in Birmingham, I didn’t hesitate to accept. Haskell Slaughter ranks among the top firms in Birmingham specializing in business bankruptcy law. My wife and I love the quality of life in the Magic City and decided we wanted to raise our family here.”

Williams’ years of experience in his chosen profession led to his involvement with the American Bankruptcy Institute. Founded in 1982 on Capitol Hill, the Institute is the only multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization devoted to the advancement of jurisprudence related to problems of insolvency. ABI was founded to provide Congress with unbiased testimony and research on insolvency issues. Williams is the first practicing attorney from Alabama to serve on ABI’s Board of Directors.

In December 2007, ABI published Bankruptcy Litigation Manual: What Civil Litigators Need to Know. Williams and two of his professional colleagues— Deborah D. Williamson of San Antonio and Charles A. Beckham of Houston—collaborated to write the book for the organization.

“Our goal was to create a handbook that would provide a basic outline of bankruptcy law to assist civil litigators confronted with bankruptcy and insolvency issues,” Williams points out. “It’s intended also to serve as a guide for business owners who may be contemplating bankruptcy and provide a guide when state or federal litigation is impacted by bankruptcy or ends up in bankruptcy court.”

Williams adds a strange footnote to his goal for the book to which perhaps no other published author has ever aspired. “It’s a book that we would hope no one would ever need to buy out of necessity,” Williams admits, “but, in light of the reality of our world today, it is something that many people will continue to need.”
January Birmingham, Alabama

  

 
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