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Andrea is a member of the Financial Industry Group, practicing in the areas of Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy as well as Derivatives & Structured Products, and is a Team Leader of Reed Smith’s Derivatives & Structured Products Group.

Andrea represents hedge funds, commodities traders, banks and other institutional investors, bondholders, and indenture trustees, as well as ad hoc and official committees, secured creditors, governmental entities, private individuals and debtors-in-possession. Her bankruptcy practice includes all aspects of chapter 11 cases, as well as out-of-court workouts involving private and publicly held companies. In addition, Andrea represents hedge funds, commodities traders, banks and other financial institutions in connection with investing or trading strategies, cross border issues, and in disputes concerning breach of contract, structured debt, and derivative transactions based on ISDA and similar documentation.

Andrea also has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts, in actions for breach of fiduciary duty, director and officer liability, breach of contract, fraud, and international commercial disputes.

Andrea regularly speaks about bankruptcy practice and OTC derivatives, and recently was selected for inclusion in The Legal 500 - United States (2009 Edition) in the category of Structured Finance: Derivatives & Structured Products.

Representative Matters

• Advising U.S. and foreign financial institutions, hedge funds, and commodities traders as OTC and exchange traded derivative counterparties, holders of bonds, commercial paper, equity linked notes, credit linked notes, as well as other complex and structured financial products in connection with various chapter 11 filings and related matters

• Advising European and U.S. commodities traders with respect to commodities contract disputes with cross-border issues, and derivatives disputes under ISDA and similar documentation.

• Advising energy industry clients with respect to potential impact of insolvencies on viability of energy hedges and PPAs.

• Representing an institutional investor with respect to a portfolio of life insurance assets and issues pertaining to the settlement of policies, including advising the client on premium financing, insurance ownership, and beneficiary transfer issues.

• Represented a major European commercial bank as protection buyer in a multi-billion dollar CDS collateral valuation dispute with protection seller.

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Publications

• "The Metavante Ruling - In a Case of First Impression, US Bankruptcy Court Limits ISDA Counterparty Rights Upon a Bankruptcy Event of Default," Energy Trading & Commodities Client Alert 09-303 (December 2009)
• "U.S. Bankruptcy Code Safe Harbor Protections for Physically Settled Commodity Forward Contracts" Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Alert Vol. V, No. 2 (April 2009) with Andrew Cross
• "Is Triangular Set-Off Enforceable Under US Laws?" Energy Trading & Commodities Client Alert 09-019 (January 2009)
• "Heightened Rule 2019 Disclosure Obligations for Committee Members after Decision in Northwest Airlines and Owens Corning," American Bankruptcy Institute Committee News, Vol. 4, No. 1 (April 2007), with Jordan W. Siev and John Scott
• "Going Dark - Should Public Debtors Deregister When They Reorganize?" Bankruptcy & Restructuring Advisor (Winter 2006/2007), with Gloria Frank
• "Provisions in the New Bankruptcy Bill Relevant to Public Companies and Claims Trades," ABI Public Companies & Claims Trading Newsletter (Spring 2005), with Glenn Siegel
• "Buying Trouble Or Insuring Against It? What Does It Mean to Buy A Debtor's Assets 'Free and Clear'?" Bankruptcy & Restructuring Advisor (Spring 2004), with Larry D. Henin

Speeches / Presentations

• "Financial Institution Bankruptcies – Should They Change The Way We think About Chapter 11?" American Bankruptcy Institute Committee on Public Companies & Claims Trading, Annual Spring Meeting, National Harbor, MD, (Apr. 3, 2009)
• "Managing Counterparty Risk and Valuation: Protect Yourself When Financial Institutions Fail," The Beard Group Law and Business Publishers and The Troubled Company Reporter Audio Conference (Mar. 18, 2009)
• "Credit Default Swaps - A Critical Primer," PLI, New York, (July 23, 2008)
• "Valuing Assets When Liquidity Dries Up: Common Sense vs Risk Analytics," GAIM International 2008 Conference, Monaco (June 17, 2008).
• "Understanding CDS Contract Risks," The Beard Group Law and Business Publishers and The Troubled Company Reporter Audio Conference (Apr. 24, 2008)
• "Bankruptcy and Insolvency: The Ripple Effect of the Home Loan and Sub-prime Meltdown," Reed Smith Financial Industries Group Teleseminar (Feb. 27, 2008)
• "How Good Is Your Credit Default Swap?” Joint seminar with the Association of Corporate Counsel on “Maximizing Recoveries in the SubPrime Meltdown: Financial Institutions Meet Structured Finance,” New York (Oct. 25, 2007)
• "Going Private," American Bankruptcy Institute Committee on Public Companies & Claims Trading, Winter Leadership Conference, Indian Wells, Calif. (Dec. 2, 2005)
• "Driving Toward Confirmation: A Roadmap to Negotiating Chapter 11 Plans," Harvard Club, Business & Financial Institutions Series 6 Seminar, New York (May 11, 2005)
• "Keeping the Horse in the Barn: Critical Stages in Bankruptcy Cases," Harvard Club, Business & Financial Institutions Series 6 Seminar, New York (Sept. 9, 2004 and May 27, 2004)
• "Do Bondholders Have Any Rights Prior to a Payment Default?" American Bankruptcy Institute Committee on Public Companies & Claims Trading, Winter Leadership Conference, La Quinta, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2003)
• "Distressed Investing Strategies and Opportunities In An Up Market," 100 Women in Hedge Funds Distressed Roundtable, New York (Sept. 2003)
• "Pre-Default Rights of Bondholders," Strategic Research Institute, Distressed Debt Conference, New York (June 26, 2003)

Experience

Legal Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• New York

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York

Professional Affiliations

• 100 Women in Hedge Funds, Philanthropy Committee Chair
• American Bankruptcy Institute, Public Companies & Claims Trading Committee Co-Chair
• International Energy Credit Association, Member
• The Youth Law Center, a not-for-profit that promotes the rights, health and welfare of children in state custody, Director

Notable Quotes

The following articles or televised interviews quote or mention Andrea and provide a perspective on the nature and scope of Andrea's practice and professional activities.

• "Shadow Play: How Credit Default Swaps Are Affecting Restructurings" The Deal Pipeline, 10/7/09
• "New Reed Smith Group Responds to Market Crisis" Financial Services Law 360, 7/23/08
• "U.S. Economy's Next Bad Thing: Alex Ritson Investigates Whether The Practice Of Credit Default Swaps Leaves The US Economy Exposed To Further Problems" BBC Newsnight, 7/14/08
• "Opinions Diverge On Who Calls Valuation Shots When Liquidity Is Scarce" HedgeWorld Daily News, 7/11/08
• "UBS In Spat With Hedge Fund Over CDO" Financial Times, 7/2/08
• "Credit Default Swaps: The Next Financial Crisis?" Time Magazine, 3/17/08