Howard S. Steel

Howard Steel is a partner in Goodwin’s Financial Restructuring practice.

Howard represents debtors, sponsors, purchasers of distressed assets, creditors’ committees, bondholders, lenders, indenture trustees, landlords, and individual secured and unsecured creditors in all aspects of corporate restructuring. He has extensive experience in mass tort cases, SIPA proceedings, distressed M&A, distressed debt trading, financing and intercreditor issues, out-of-court and in-court restructurings, creditors’ rights, fiduciary duties and governance, insolvency related litigation and liquidations and wind-downs.

• UpHealth Holdings: Representation of official committee of unsecured creditors in chapter 11 proceedings
• Novan: Representation of official committee of unsecured creditors in chapter 11 proceedings
• DBMP: Representation of CertainTeed LLC in chapter 11 proceedings
• Mallinkrodt: Representation of Teva Pharmaceuticals and Mikart in chapter 11 proceedings
• ByChloe: Representation of Bain Double Impact Fund in chapter 11 proceedings
• Hertz: Representation of Clear in chapter 11 proceedings
• Puerto Rico: Representation of two multinational investment banks in Title III proceedings
• NS8: Representation of Lytical and TDF Ventures in chapter 11 proceeding
• LeClair Ryan: Representation of Brookfield in chapter 11 proceeding
• Il Mulino Restaurants: Representation of senior secured lender, Benefit Street Partners, in chapter 11 proceedings
• Purdue Pharma: Representation of Teva Pharmaceuticals in chapter 11 proceedings
• GM Ignition Switch Defect MDL Litigation: Representation of Lead Counsel as Plaintiffs’ Designated Counsel in the Bankruptcy Court opposing GM’s motion to enjoin plaintiffs’ economic injury claims based on the injunction contained in the bankruptcy Sale Order by which the assets of Old GM were transferred to New GM in the GM bankruptcy in 2009. As Plaintiffs’ Designated Counsel, Howard and his colleagues helped obtain a seminal Second Circuit decision defeating GM’s efforts to use the Sale Order injunction to shield GM from liability for billions of dollars of economic loss and personal injury damages to plaintiffs. In re Motors Liquidation Co., 829 F.3d 135 (2d Cir. 2016), denied, 137 S. Ct. 1813 (2017)*
• Takata Corporation: Representation of Professor Eric D. Green, in his capacity as court-appointed Special Master of the $975 million restitution fund established pursuant to a February 2017 criminal plea agreement between the Department of Justice and Takata Corporation to resolve felony charges brought by the government against Takata in connection with Takata’s design, manufacture and sale to the public of defective Takata airbag inflators
  
  Howard also represented Professor Green in his capacity as the Trustee of the Takata Airbag Tort Compensation Trust Fund, established pursuant to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of TK Holdings Inc., Takata’s US affiliate. The Trust, which holds approximately $140 million, was created in the bankruptcy to provide additional compensation to the individuals who suffered personal injury or wrongful death as a result of Takata airbag inflator malfunctions.
  
  Howard also represented Professor Green in his capacity as OEM Claims Administrator, a role created pursuant to TK Holdings, Inc.’s Chapter 11 plan, to distribute funds to more than 50 automakers who have general unsecured claims in the bankruptcy*

• Puerto Rico: Representation of plaintiffs’ class action for nearly 1.5 million customers against Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the world’s largest fuel oil suppliers with respect to claims that defendants violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and overcharged users of electricity in Puerto Rico by more than $1 billion dollars for electricity since 2002*
• Aralez Pharmaceuticals: Representation of the official committee of unsecured creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Aralez Pharmaceuticals, a global specialty pharmaceutical company*
• Tidewater Inc.: Representation of the Official Equity Committee of Tidewater Inc., one of the largest providers of offshore service vessels in the global energy industry, in connection with a restructuring of the company’s approximately $2.04 billion debt*
• Azure Midstream:Representation of the official equity committee in the Chapter 11 proceeding of Azure Midstream Partners LP, a midstream oil and gas service provider*
• Ultra Petroleum:Representation of an ad hoc equity committee in the Chapter 11 proceeding of Ultra Petroleum, a leading independent energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas*
• Peabody Energy: Representation of successor indenture trustee for second lien notes in the largest private coal company bankruptcy*
• Arch Coal: Representation of successor indenture trustee for second lien notes in the Chapter 11 proceeding of one of the U.S.’s largest coal producers*
• Mt. Gox: Representation of the Japanese Bankruptcy Trustee of the failed (as a result of theft and fraud) Mt. Gox global Bitcoin exchange, which had been the world’s largest exchange for bitcoin, in connection with the company’s Chapter 15 case*
• Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP: Representation of the official committee of unsecured creditors and the post-confirmation liquidation trust in one of the largest law firm bankruptcy cases in US history*
• Lehman Brothers: Representation of multiple investment funds in the Chapter 11 cases, SIPA proceeding and U.K. administration*
• Nebraska Book Company Inc.: Representation of an ad hoc group of senior secured noteholders in the Chapter 11 case of Nebraska Book Company Inc., an industry leader in the college bookstore marketplace*
• Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa, Miami Beach: Representation of three homeowner associations in connection with the Chapter 11 filing of Canyon Ranch Miami, a luxury, full-service, ocean-front condominium hotel*
• Dipak Desai M.D. and Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada LLC: Representation of the official committee of unsecured creditors of Dipak Desai M.D. in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and related cases involving mass torts connected to a hepatitis outbreak in the Las Vegas area*
• Visteon Corporation: Representation of the official committee of unsecured creditors of Visteon Corp., a Fortune 500 global automotive supplier, in successfully confirming a plan of reorganization, restructuring aggregate liabilities of approximately $5.3 billion, and generating a significant distribution for unsecured creditors*

* Denotes experience prior to joining Goodwin

Howard is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Federal Bar Council, and the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). He serves on the TMA New York City Chapter’s Board of Directors, is Vice Chair of their Membership Committee, and previously was their Marketing and Communications Chair. He also is an editor for TMA NYC Newsletter. Additionally, Howard dedicates significant time to pro bono matters, including representations relating to the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, New York Bankruptcy Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services, Kids in Need of Defense – KIND, LSNYC Housing Repair Project, Brooklyn VLP, Voteriders and Ukraine TPS Clinic, and representing the American Association for Justice and the New Jersey Association for Justice in submitting an Amici Curiae brief to the US Supreme Court in connection with the Third Circuit’s decision in Diacetyl Plaintiffs v. Aaroma Holdings (In re Emoral), LLC, 740 F.3d 845 (3d Cir. 2014).

Prior to joining Goodwin in 2019, Howard was a partner at Brown Rudnick LLP. Howard began his legal career at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

Recognized as a leading restructuring lawyer, Howard has received several significant honors, including the following selections:

• The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2023)
• The Legal 500 United States: Private Equity Funds (including Venture Capital) (2022)
• The Legal 500 United States: “Recommended Lawyer - Restructuring (including Bankruptcy) Corporate” (2020,2023)
• Benchmark Litigation: “Under 40 Hot List” (2016-2019)
• Global Restructuring Review: “40 Under 40” (2016)
• Super Lawyers: “Rising Star” (2014-2019)

Howard's recent publications include:

• Co-Author, “Majority Lenders Prevail in Winner-Takes-All Battle Upholding Controversial Uptier Transaction,” American Bankruptcy Institute, September 2023
• Co-Author, “Breach of Contract and Implied Covenant of Good Faith Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss in Boardriders Uptier Exchange Dispute,” Goodwin Client Alert, November 2022
• Co-Author, “Intercreditor Agreements and the Bankruptcy Code,” Journal of Bankruptcy Law, 2022
• “Strategies for restaurants to address financial distress in the UK and US,” Restaurant Dive, November 30, 2020
• Speaker, “EMEA Core Credit: Restaurant Restructurings with Goodwin,” Reorg Podcast, November 27, 2020
• Co-Author, “Bankruptcies in Mass Torts Cases,” Litigating Mass Tort Cases, Supplement, 2012-2019
• Co-Author, “NML Capital v. Argentina: a lesson in indenture interpretation,” International Bar Association, September 2014
• Co-Author, “Five Steps Hedge Fund Managers Should Take to Mitigate Avoidance and Disallowance Risks After Delaware Court Finds That Avoidance and Disallowance Risks Travel with Trade Claims,” The Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 5, No. 24, June 14, 2012