Paul B. Haskel is a partner in the New York office of Crowell & Moring. His practice focuses on the field of secondary distressed and high-yield debt transactions. He represents investment funds, investment banks, broker-dealers, and other financial institutions in connection with the purchase and sale of various U.S. and international distressed assets. These assets include, among other things, domestic and foreign bank loans, high-yield securities, and claims against bankruptcy estates, litigation trusts, SIPA trusts, and similar liquidating vehicles. He also advises clients on regulatory compliance issues relevant to financial institutions investing in bank loans and claims, including issues arising under U.S. securities law and state common law.
Paul is also a well-regarded advisor in the growing area of litigation finance. He regularly provides advice to litigation funders, private equity firms, and multi-strategy hedge fund clients in connection with their investments in funding transactions, including claims monetization and the provision of non-recourse capital to both plaintiffs and law firms. His work involves the diligence, structuring, and papering of these transactions and includes advice regarding the management of credit risk, tax efficiency, state common law issues such as champerty and usury, and legal ethics. He is a frequent contributor on these topics and has been featured in Litigation Finance Journal, ValueWalk, and The American Lawyer.
He has advised clients in connection with high profile transactions in bank loans, trade, and litigation claims relating to both distressed and par obligors (PG&E, Travelport, Stanford Financial, Mallinckrodt, Risk Corridors, and Visa/MasterCard Interchange Fee Claims). In addition to providing advice on specific transactions, he regularly offers training to clients in many of these areas, including debt trading, claims trading, and the management of borrower/issuer confidential information.
Paul is an active member of The Loan Syndications and Trading Association Inc. (LSTA) and sits on numerous LSTA committees. He is a frequent speaker for the LSTA on topics relating to secondary loan market transactions.
Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner and member of the Executive Committee with Kibbe & Orbe LLP.
Representative Matters
- Represented a major U.S. investment bank in connection with its sale of several multibillion dollar portfolios of syndicated revolving loans to foreign investors pursuant to “true sale” participation agreements.
- Represented a major multi-strategy hedge fund in connection with providing non-recourse litigation financing to several contingency law firms representing municipal agencies victimized by defendants in the ongoing Ohio opioid MDL.
- Represented multiple private equity and hedge funds in their diligence and acquisition of PG&E Corp. insurance subrogation claims.
- Advised a private equity firm in connection with several “loan-to-own” transactions focused on distressed businesses, including a national restaurant chain and a global hospitality provider.
- Represented a hedge fund in connection with providing a non-recourse litigation financing facility in excess of $30 million to a major Wall Street law firm to finance a large portfolio of environmental remediation and damages cases against various U.S. municipalities.
- Represented a private equity fund in connection with a joint venture with a claims broker to acquire and manage Visa/Mastercard portfolio in antitrust class action claims.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: New York, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Committee Member, The Loan Syndications and Trading Association
Publications
Client Alerts & Newsletters
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"New Jersey District Court Adopts Rule Requiring Broad Disclosure of Litigation Funding,"
International Dispute Resolution Alert
(July 7, 2021).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, Jared Levine, Mara Lieber
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"Par or Distressed – Who Decides?,"
(May 29, 2020).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, Andrew M. Martin, Adam English
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"Reducing Claw-back Risk - Acquiring Distressed Claims and Assets During Periods of Market Dislocation,"
Corporate Alert
(May 11, 2020).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, Gregory Gennady Plotko
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"Litigation Finance Following the COVID-19 Crisis,"
Corporate Alert
(May 4, 2020).
Contact: Paul B. Haskel
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"Focus On Essentials When A Trade May Break,"
(March 30, 2020).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, Gregory Gennady Plotko
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"In Justinian Capital, New York's Champerty Statue Is Back from the Dead,"
Corporate Alert
(November 6, 2016).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, John A. Clark
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"Lending, Investing, and Trading After the Market Break: Opportunities to Seize and Risks to Manage,"
Corporate Alert
(October 22, 2008).
Contacts: Paul B. Haskel, William Q. Orbe, Jon Kibbe
Press Coverage
Firm News & Announcements