Lillian Stenfeldt

Lillian Stenfeldt represents secured creditors, hedge funds, creditors’ committees, trustees, and receivers in all aspects of insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings and strategy and has extensive experience in cross-border commercial loan workouts, non-bankruptcy workouts, and other out-of-court restructuring of debt. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups.

In addition to her traditional insolvency and restructuring work, Ms. Stenfeldt also assists companies in efficiently structuring business transactions and licenses to prevent losses and protect assets due to potential future insolvencies of others, and structures settlement agreements with financially troubled companies to optimize clients’ recovery of monies due.  She also represents purchasers of intellectual property and other assets from bankruptcy estates.

Ms. Stenfeldt also represents bankruptcy trustees, assignees for the benefit of creditors, and state court real estate receivers and creditors in such proceedings.

Lillian has acted as outside general counsel to several technology and manufacturing organizations, attending board meetings and providing strategic advice to the board. Such engagements include issues involving plan confirmation, class action claims, preferences, policy buybacks, scope and terms of trusts and jurisdictional matters.

Prior to joining Rimon, Ms. Stenfeldt practiced as a partner with both Sedgwick and the firm that is now DLA, where she served as the Chair of the firms’ Creditors’ Rights and Bankruptcy Groups.

Lillian is also a member of several nonprofit and for-profit Boards of Directors.

Lillian is a long-time advocate for the advancement of professional women in the areas of law and in business. At Sedgwick, she was a founding member of the Sedgewick’s Women’s Forum and served as its chair for 8 years.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Serve as outside general counsel to manufacturing, technology, and nonprofit corporations.
• Represented a conglomerate of business enterprises in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in a $600 million non-bankruptcy cross-border workout.
• Assisted technology clients in the acquisition of intellectual property and patent portfolios from bankruptcy estates and financially challenged companies in the U.K., Germany, and the U.S. ($2 – $10 million valuations).
• Represented landlords in preserving rights and claims in tenant bankruptcies.
• Protected key license agreements in major bankruptcy cases across the country for various technology and entertainment clients.
• Represented a major music entertainment company ($1 billion annual revenue) in its non-bankruptcy restructuring of debt, publicly traded bond debt, and leasehold interests in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
• Represented ad hoc group of over 100 supplemental plan beneficiaries in the PG&E bankruptcy.
• Defended a Fortune 100 company in an $8 million preference litigation.
• Represented a food company in analysis and resolution of disputed lien priority with a large agricultural enterprise.
• Represented a financial institution in recovering full repayment of $11 million debt from real estate collateral and guarantees of a major real estate developer.
• Represented foreign entities in cross-border transactions and bankruptcy litigation.
• Assisted a hedge fund in due diligence for its $90 million strategic acquisition of assets from a large winery’s bankruptcy estate.
• Represented creditor committees in bankruptcy cases in the construction, retail, food, and technology industries.
• Represented a Belgian receiver in its recovery of assets throughout California.
• Represented receivers of various real estate projects involving shopping centers, condominium complexes, and residential developments.
• Represented well-known commercial artist in recovering debt and original consigned art from distributors and brokers.
• Obtained insurance policy buybacks in mass tort, asbestos, and food poisoning bankruptcy cases.

PUBLICATIONS /SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• “Cutting Edge Retail Bankruptcy Exit Strategies: Are YOU Prepared for the Rapid Increase in Retail Bankruptcies?” The Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, San Francisco, CA (2017).
• “A Comprehensive Training in Commercial Arbitration,” American Bar Association’s Annual two-day Arbitration Training Institute, Washington, D.C. (2014) and Philadelphia (2012).
• “From the Litigator’s Side: Selection of Arbitrators and Mediators,” American Arbitration Association, San Francisco, CA (2014).
• “Real Estate Receiverships,” Continuing Education of the Bar (2012).
• “She’s the Boss: Women Leading Men and Women Leading Women,” WILEF (2011).
• “Key Bankruptcy Issues & Strategies for Insurers,” Bermuda Insurance Institute, Hamilton, Bermuda (2011).
•  “Winning Legal Strategies for Bankruptcy and Restructuring,” Aspatore Books (2011).
• “Insolvency Issues for Licensing Attorneys,” Practicing Law Institute (2005-2014).
• “What Every CEO and CFO Should Know About Insolvency,” Stanford Graduate School of Business (2001-2010).
• “Bankruptcy Issues for Insurers or Everyone Needs to Know a Bankruptcy Expert These Days,” Association of California Insurance Companies, General Counsel Seminar, Las Vegas, NV (2009).
• “Directors & Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance and Key Bankruptcy Issues,” New York City (2009).
•  “Bankruptcy Issues Affecting the Healthcare Industry,” Sedgwick’s Annual West Coast Healthcare Seminars and Hartford Healthcare Seminars (2009).
• “Insolvency and the Insurance Industry,” Defense Research Institute Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL (2009).
• “When the Deal Goes Sideways, Bankruptcy Tools for Real Estate Practitioners,” Real Property Section Annual Real Property Retreat, Napa, CA (2009).
• “Like Dorothy in Oz: Insurers in Bankruptcy Court,” Defense Research Institute’s Annual Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Defense Research Institute Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL (2008).
• “Like Dorothy in Oz: Insurers in Bankruptcy Court,” Insurance Litigation Reporter, Vol. 26, No. 17 (2008).
• Traveled on team throughout Romania as part of a USAID/World Bank program educating the Romanian bench and bar on their new bankruptcy law.

AWARDS/RECOGNITION

• Highest possible peer and judicial rating, AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell in legal ability and ethics
• Best Lawyer in America, Arbitration, Bankruptcy, Creditor and Debtor Rights, Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Top Attorney in Northern California, San Francisco Magazine, 2017-present
• Top Women Attorneys in Northern California, San Francisco Magazine, 2017-present
• Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Bankruptcy Litigation, Best Lawyers®  (BL Rankings LLC), 2012-2024
• Women Leaders in the Law, Law.com, The Recorder (ALM Media Properties, LLC), 2022
• Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters Corporation), 2005-2022
• AV Preeminent Lawyers.com, The American Registry, 2023 and 2024

MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS

• Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum — past director
• Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) — Past board member and co-director of NorCal Chapter
• International Association of Insolvency Practitioners (INSOL)
• American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)
• International Woman’s Insolvency (IWIRC)
• International Turnaround Management Association (TMA) — past director and Awards Committee chair and president of NorCal chapter
• American Arbitration Association — arbitrator in complex commercial cases (2005-present)
• International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) — arbitrator in complex commercial cases (2009-present); Executive Advisory Committee member; serves on CPR’s, Banking, Accounting and Financial Institution, Real Estate, Arbitration panels
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California, panel member on Early Neutral Evaluation and Mediation panels
• Sedgwick Women’s Forum — chair (2005-2013)
• Guide Dogs for the Blind — custodian of breeder
• California Real Estate Broker, licensed (#00882228) since 1985