Philip Anker is a partner in both the Litigation/Controversy and Transactional Departments of WilmerHale, and Vice Chair of the firm's Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. Mr. Anker is also a member of the firm's Business Trial Group.
Mr. Anker is an experienced bankruptcy litigator and counselor, who has practiced for more than 20 years in the field. Among other honors, he has been selected by his peers as one of the "Best Lawyers" in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law in The Best Lawyers in America for each year from 2005-2012. He is also listed in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Litigation – Bankruptcy, as well as in the 2010-2012 editions of Benchmark Litigation for his leading bankruptcy litigation practice.
Practice
Mr. Anker's practice is wide-ranging. He has represented the full panoply of clients in business bankruptcy cases: debtors, Chapter 11 trustees, trustees of post-confirmation trusts, creditors' committees, secured creditors, debtor-in-possession lenders, unsecured creditors, equity holders, investors and purchasers of companies and assets in bankruptcy. Mr. Anker also has substantial experience in out-of-court workouts. In addition, Mr. Anker has played a leading role in some of the largest, most prominent bankruptcy-related litigation matters in recent years, including actions arising out of the Adelphia, Enron, Global Crossing, Lyondell, Tribune and Refco Chapter 11 cases, as well as several consumer bankruptcy class actions. Mr. Anker has argued and prevailed in five separate bankruptcy appeals in the US Court of Appeals: Adelphia Recovery Trust v. Bank of America, No. 09-0039-CV, 379 F. App'x 10 (2d Cir. 2010), aff'g, 390 B.R. 80 (S.D.N.Y. 2008); Eastman Kodak Co. v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., 456 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2006); MBNA America Bank, N.A. v. Hill, 436 F.3d 104 (2d Cir. 2006); Arruda v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 310 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. 2002); and AT&T Universal Card Servs. v. Mercer, 246 F.3d 391 (5th Cir. en banc 2001). Mr. Anker also successfully argued for the investment bank defendants in the New York Court of Appeals in Kirschner v. KPMG, et al., 15 N.Y. 3d 446, 938 N.E. 2d 941, 912 N.Y.S. 2d 508 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2010), which resulted in that court’s seminal decision reinforcing the in pari delicto defense and the dismissal of $2 billion in claims against the banks.
Highlights
Among other clients, Mr. Anker has represented:
- Various banks, broker-dealers and other institutions in the defense of billions of dollars in fraudulent transfer claims arising out of the Lyondell leveraged buy-out and subsequent Chapter 11 case
- Various investment banks in the Refco Chapter 11 proceedings and in the successful defense of related litigation
- Major international banks in the Adelphia Communications Chapter 11 case and in the successful defense of related, multi-billion dollar litigation
- A major Fortune 50 company in several leading telecommunications bankruptcy cases, including WorldCom, Global Crossing, CTC Communications, Adelphia Business Solutions, Adelphia Communications, Network Access, Choice One, Allegiance Telecom and ATX/CoreComm
- The Canadian affiliates of a large clean energy group of companies in the Chapter 11 cases of their US affiliates and in related claims objections and avoidance actions involving hundreds of millions of dollars in claims
- Large hedge funds, bondholders and other investors in the Chapter 11 cases of Washington Mutual, TerreStar, Flying J and Innkeepers
- The administrative agent for the first lien lenders in the Chapter 11 case of Workflow
- Large set of funds in the defense of fraudulent transfer litigation arising out of the Tribune leveraged buy-out
- Set of large hedge funds in the negotiation of the plan of reorganization in Lehman
- A Fortune 50 company in the defense of multi-billion dollar fraudulent transfer claims brought by a post-confirmation liquidation trust
- Defendants sued in Madoff-related claims
- A major Wall Street broker-dealer in bankruptcy and class action litigation arising out of the collapse of the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy
- A major Wall Street investment bank in its successful challenge to the original plan of reorganization in the MCorp Chapter 11 case and in the negotiation of the amended plan
- Startec Global Communications in its successful Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings, leading to its reorganization and emergence from bankruptcy
- Investment banks in the defense of fraudulent transfers and other claims arising out of the insolvencies of the SPhinX/PlusFunds and Suffolk companies
- A leading trust company in the commercial paper and other bankruptcy litigation brought by Enron
- Various banks and other entities in the defense of large fraudulent conveyance and other claims brought in the Global Crossing bankruptcy proceedings
- The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in the Northwest Airlines, General Motors and Harry & David cases
- The liquidation trustee in the Chapter 11 case of Actrade Financial Corporation
- One of the nation’s leading insurance companies in several large asbestos or other mass tort bankruptcy cases, including Congoleum, Mid-Valley and Delaco
- A major national retailer and credit card issuer in Homelife and many other Chapter 11 cases and work-outs, as well as in several bankruptcy-related class actions and appeals
- The liquidator for the Navigator companies in their cross-border Chapter 11 cases
- A leading insurance company in the Celotex bankruptcy case and related fraudulent transfer litigation
Professional Activities
Mr. Anker previously served as co-chair of the Debtor Practice Subcommittee of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, a frequent speaker and panelist at bankruptcy law conferences, and author of numerous articles on issues of bankruptcy and related law.
Honors and Awards
- Selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law since 2005
- Recognized for his leading bankruptcy litigation practice in the 2010-2012 editions of Benchmark Litigation
- Chosen by peers and through independent research as a "New York Super Lawyer" from 2006 through 2011
- Named a "Top Bankruptcy Lawyer" by The Deal's 2007 list of top bankruptcy law firms and lawyers
