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Ronald R. Sussman is a partner in the Bankruptcy & Restructuring practice at Cooley LLP, and is resident in the New York office. He is one of two New York based hiring partners for the Firm. He joined Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman in 1998, which was merged into Cooley Godward Kronish in 2006.
Mr. Sussman has successfully handled a multitude of contested bankruptcy matters on behalf of creditor committees, employee, other official committees and debtors throughout the country, including exclusivity contests, officer and director liability litigation, equitable subordination actions, purchase price adjustment litigation, plan of reorganization confirmation proceedings, fraudulent conveyance/transfer actions, preference actions, turnover proceedings, cash collateral hearings, severance and retention hearings, claims litigation, UCC litigation, lease and executory contract litigation and asset disposition hearings. He has also litigated a broad range of commercial disputes in connection with contested bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Sussman's practice has afforded him the opportunity to represent clients in some of the most significant and complex bankruptcy proceedings across the country, and he was listed as one of the "Super Lawyers of New York" for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Mr. Sussman's representations include:
- The representation of unsecured creditors in the Mervyn's case prosecuting a billion dollar litigation against Cerberus, Sun Capital and Lubert-Adler, among others, in connection with an Opco-Propco transaction challenged as a fraudulent transfer;
- The representation of unsecured creditors in the Montgomery Ward case including an extensive Bankruptcy Rule 2004 investigation which resulted in Mr. Sussman taking the deposition of Jack Welch just prior to his retirement as the CEO of General Electric Corporation. The investigation led to a complex financial fraud lawsuit by the creditors against GE Capital in which the Estate obtained over $80 million for the creditors in settlement;
- The representation of the Enron Employee-Related Issues Committee in which Mr. Sussman obtained a $28.8 million severance package for 4,500 employees who were terminated by Enron one day after the bankruptcy filing. Mr. Sussman also led a bankruptcy litigation team in the Enron case pursuing the recovery of over $53 million in accelerated deferred compensation payments made to top hat Enron employees within the 90 days of Enron's bankruptcy filing;
- The representation of unsecured creditors in the Norstan Apparel case in which Mr. Sussman obtained a multi-million dollar settlement after prosecuting a $67 million LBO fraud action against company insiders;
- The representation of unsecured creditors in the Filene's Basement case who successfully challenged the efforts of Filene's former President to have a golden parachute worth millions of dollars paid on an administrative basis in the bankruptcy court;
- The successful representation of Metromedia Fiber Network in the trial of the contested Plan of Reorganization confirmation hearings;
- The successful defense of the United Airlines ESOP Committee which was sued in a class action proceeding for billions of dollars. Mr. Sussman ultimately obtained a settlement which provided that ESOP Committee Members would have no personal liability;
- The successful defense of the government and Central Bank of Albania in an action brought by the Bank of Paris seeking to freeze all Albania's U.S. assets.
Mr. Sussman has represented debtors, creditors, employee and other official committees in cases such as Enron, United Airlines, Montgomery Ward, Mervyn's, Gottschalks, EPV Solar, Filene's Basement, Norstan, Metromedia, Boscov's, Delphi, Goody's, Domain Furniture, The Sharper Image, Steve & Barry's, Wickes Furniture, Princeton Ski Shops, CompUSA, Lillian Vernon, Bayonne Medical Center, The Bombay Company, Adelphia, Optel Communications, Casual Male, Levitz Home Furnishings, Stage Stores, Elder-Beerman, Sports Town, Today's Man, C.R. Anthony Co., Bedford Fair Industries, Miller & Rhoads, Sieferts, Lamont's Apparel, Clothestime, Forgotten Woman, Hoffheimer's, SCOA, X-Air, Baron's, Craddock-Terry, Crowley Milner, Liberty House, Renaissance Cosmetics, South Carolina Tees, Endicott Johnson, Okura, Intrenet, Archibald Candy Corporation, Jacobson's, Loehmann's, Trend-Lines, Troutman's Emporium, Woodworker's Warehouse, JumboSports, Just for Feet, Pic N'Pay, Popular Stores, Inc., The Walking Company, Pacific Crossing, Consumers Trust, Plus Funds, Ragshops and Bachrach, among others. Prior to entering the private practice of law, Mr. Sussman served as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of Suffolk.
Mr. Sussman received a J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law in 1978, where he won the Moot Court Award for "Best Oral Advocate." He earned his B.A., cum laude, from Boston University in 1975.
Mr. Sussman is a Vice President on the Executive Board of the International Board of Trustees of the Turnaround Management Association for 2010. He regularly lectures and writes on bankruptcy topics. He has chaired various county bar association committees, including both the Ethics and Grievance Committees.
Mr. Sussman is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts.
Education- Suffolk University Law School
JD, Moot Court Award for "Best Oral Advocate" - Boston University
BA, cum laude
Court Admissions
- Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Military Appeals
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- United States Supreme Court
Admissions
Memberships
- New York State Bar Association
- Turnaround Management Association
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