Managing the Decline - The Role of the General Counsel in a Faltering Company

Mitch Baruchowitz, General Counsel, Abadi & Co. Group

In the current complex business environment, the vast majority of companies who must sell themselves to preserve some remaining value, or those who fail to sell and experience either a Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy, arrive there through a series of events rather than sudden business failure. Whether it is the failure of management to contain costs over a long term, or the loss of a critical client that causes a business to fail, the General Counsel’s role in a faltering company is essential to successfully preserving value and preparing the company for a bankruptcy that can return value to creditors and if truly successful, even deliver value to shareholders. This must all be done at a time when resources for outside professionals are limited and even retaining company employees could prove difficult. Quite simply, the GC many times becomes the center of activity during a turbulent time and forethought and preparation can be the difference between being the eye of a storm or merely part of the hurricane.

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USA Management Banking & Finance July 2012 Vol. 5, No. 20, Summer 2012

Mitch Baruchowitz

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Mitch Baruchowitz is currently the General Counsel of Abadi & Co. Group and Head of Investment Banking of ACGM, Inc. He previously served as Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance officer for publicly traded MarketAxess Corporation. In 2009, he was the Senior Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Pali Holdings, Inc., owner of boutique mid-sized broker dealer Pali Capital. It was his job to walk Pali's various entities(over $150MM in revenue and 200 employees) into a Chapter 7 after a 18 month experience of potential sales and merger talks, asset sales and constant Board meetings. He also spent some time at Merrill Lynch and Pershing LLC.

Abadi & Co. Group

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Abadi & Co. Group is a private financial firm focused on proprietary investments and ACGM, Inc. is a boutique FINRA registered broker dealer focused on Fixed Income trading and investment banking. Both are located in New York.

USA Management Banking & Finance July 2012 Vol. 5, No. 20, Summer 2012