Kristin A. Hiensch

Associate

San Francisco, (415) 268-6126

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Education

College of The Holy Cross (B.A., 2001)
;
Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 2006)

Practices

Business Restructuring + Insolvency

Bar Admissions

New York
California

Clerkships

Hon. Adlai S. Hardin, Jr., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York

Kristin Hiensch is an associate in the Business Restructuring & Insolvency Group in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. Her practice focuses on bankruptcy and insolvency in a range of contexts, including Chapter 11 reorganizations, asset sales, and liquidations, Chapter 15 filings and other cross-border insolvency matters, and complex financial transactions.

Kristin has co-authored a number of articles on current bankruptcy issues that have appeared in The New York Law Journal, Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, and BNA’s Bankruptcy Law Reporter. Kristin, together with other Morrison & Foerster attorneys, was recognized by Turnaround Management Association in 2011 for the “Transaction of the Year (Mid-Size Company)” for the successful section 363 sale of AmericanWest Bank.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Kristin served as law clerk to the Honorable Adlai S. Hardin Jr. in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition, Kristin has also worked with the Honorable Allan L. Gropper and the Honorable James M. Peck, both of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Kristin is admitted to practice in New York and California. She is active in the International Womens Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC).

In re Eastman Kodak Company, et al.

Represented numerous intellectual property licensees, licensors, and infringement defendants in the Kodak bankruptcy case, where we fought to preserve and protect our clients’ intellectual property rights and lead an ad hoc group of similar parties. Also represented the runner-up bidder for the patent portfolio sold by Kodak in its chapter 11 case.

In re South Edge, LLC

(Bankr. D. Nev.) Representation of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as administrative agent for a syndicate of lenders, which provided approximately $585 million in secured financing for a planned multibillion-dollar real estate project in Las Vegas. MoFo filed and successfully defended the involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition against South Edge, LLC, the developer of the 2,000-acre master planned community, and then negotiated and implemented a reorganization plan, together with a majority of the homebuilder equityholders, which provided the lending syndicate with a par-plus recovery of $335 million.

AmericanWest Bankcorporation

(Bankr. E.D. Wash.) Representation of debtor bank holding company AmericanWest Bancorporation in its Chapter 11 case. This case represents the first use of a bankruptcy sale process designed to save an undercapitalized bank from liquidation by the FDIC. This transaction was recognized as “Transaction of the Year – Mid-Size Company” at the 2011 TMA Awards and featured by the Financial Times in its report on the Most Innovative U.S. Law Firms.

In re Caribbean Petroleum Corp., et al.

(Bankr. D. Del.) Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Caribbean Petroleum Corp., one of the primary importers and distributors of petroleum products in Puerto Rico, in its Chapter 11 case. We successfully negotiated a $24 million insurance buy back from Caribbean Petroleum's liability insurance carrier for the benefit of general unsecured creditors.

In re Think3 Inc., et al

(Bankr. W.D. Tex.) Representation of Versata FZ-LLC as DIP lender, IP licensee and Debtor’s corporate parent in global battle between dueling bankruptcy estates of the software company think3, Inc., which was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in Italy. In the Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas, Morrison & Foerster LLP defeated the Italian trustee’s Chapter 15 petition seeking to be reorganized as the “main proceeding.” The firm then successfully defeated similar challenges in Japan and Germany. This continuing global dispute involves competing jurisdictional battles throughout the world, as well as interpretation of Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the Japanese and EU counterparts of the UN Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.

In re Extended Stay Inc., et al.

(Bankr. S.D.N.Y.) Representation of mezzanine lenders owed $3.3 billion by the Debtors in Extended Stay Inc.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Extended Stay is the largest bankruptcy filing in the history of the hospitality industry with nearly $8 billion in debt.

In re Fairfield Residential LLC, et al.

(Bankr. D. Del.) Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Fairfield Residential LLC, a large multi-family and low income housing developer and property manager, in its Chapter 11 reorganization. Currently represent the FFR Trust, the liquidating trust that was formed post-petition to liquidate the debtors’ remaining assets, resolve claims, and facilitate distributions to creditors.