Kevyn D.Orr

Partner-in-Charge U.S. Offices

Washington + 1.202.879.5560

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Kevyn Orr provides strategic crisis management advice, identifying creative approaches to novel or first impression situations with an eye toward developing practical business-oriented solutions. He has practiced in the areas of business restructuring, distressed M&A, corporate governance and decision-making in distressed environments, and complex commercial litigation and settlement negotiations for more than three decades. He is experienced in all aspects of complex and precedent-setting matters.

Kevyn's recent representation includes counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Toys "R" Us Property Company I chapter 11 cases. Prior to rejoining Jones Day, Kevyn served as Emergency Manager of the City of Detroit and was charged with restructuring the city's finances and operations. During his tenure, he oversaw the largest and most complicated municipal bankruptcy proceeding in the nation's history, and the city successfully restructured $18 billion in debt, reduced overall debt by $7 billion, developed and implemented a multiyear $1.7 billion revitalization plan for city services and operations, streamlined key city operations, helped improve public safety, put the city's art in a perpetual public trust, and avoided drastic cuts to pension and related retiree benefits. Kevyn received Turnaround Management Association's Mega Transaction of the Year Award for the City of Detroit, Michigan in October 2015.

At Jones Day, Kevyn has advised Chrysler on its bankruptcy, National Century Financial Enterprises in its bankruptcy and asserting its claims in the health care provider bankruptcies of PhyAmerica Corporation and DCHC/Greater Southeast Hospital, and Laidlaw Corporation in its defense of a $1 billion claim by the purchaser of its environmental cleanup division.

Kevyn is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

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Experience

  • WMATA engages advisors for executive boardJones Day is serving as the strategic executive advisor to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's General Manager/Chief Executive Officer and its Board of Directors in connection with its efforts to evaluate its finances, operations, and governance.
  • Henry Ford Health System and Health Alliance Plan of Michigan sell Medicaid business in multiple Michigan countiesJones Day represented Henry Ford Health System and Health Alliance Plan of Michigan in the sale to Molina Healthcare of Michigan of certain assets of HAP Midwest Health Plan related to the Medicaid and MIChild business in five Michigan counties.
  • City of Detroit's chapter 9 plan of adjustment confirmedJones Day served as lead restructuring counsel to the City of Detroit in connection with its chapter 9 bankruptcy case filed in July 2013 and its ongoing restructuring efforts.
  • Chapter 7 Trustee of Anthracite Capital recovers in excess of $50 million for estateJones Day represented the Chapter 7 Trustee (the "Trustee") of Anthracite Capital, Inc. ("Anthracite") in its chapter 7 bankruptcy which filed on March 15, 2010 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
  • National organization settles all claims in preference actionJones Day successfully represented a defendant in one of the largest preference action claims in a chapter 11 bankruptcy case such that the client was able to settle all claims against it for 30% of the amount alleged as being a preferential payment and thereby substantially reduce company's potential damage exposure to a level significantly below the company's reserve exposure.
  • Old Carco LLC (formerly, Chrysler LLC) prevails in Second Circuit appeal by former dealers that attempted to deploy franchise laws to undo bankruptcy judge's ordersJones Day represented Old Carco (formerly, Chrysler LLC) in an historic bankruptcy proceeding that, through asset sale to Chrysler Group LLC, aimed to prevent the destruction of one of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers and an iconic American brand.
  • H&R Block settles false advertising claimsJones Day defended H&R Block, Inc. against a plaintiff pursuing five counts of false advertising and seeking $100 million in damages.
  • Yazmi USA acquires substantially all of the assets of WorldSpaceJones Day provided advice to Yazmi USA, LLC, a company owned by former World Space CEO Noah Samara, in connection with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of WorldSpace, Inc., a satellite radio provider, in a chapter 11 bankruptcy buyout.
  • Chrysler sold to Fiat-led "New Chrysler" after historic court proceedingsAfter a historic battle all the way to the United States Supreme Court, Chrysler LLC sold substantially all of its assets to Fiat-led "New Chrysler" (Chrysler Group LLC) on June 10, 2009, providing the opportunity for its iconic brands and U.S. operations to survive.
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    May 2022 External Publications

    Recent Trends in Corporate Debt And Reorganizations: Laying the Groundwork for Future Large Chapter 11 Cases or Just More Runway?, AIRA Journal

    January 2022 White Paper

    2021 Transactional Year in Review and 2022 Forecast

    January 2022 White Paper

    FDI Regimes Continue to Expand and Increase Scrutiny of Transactions Worldwide

    January 2022 White Paper

    Recent Trends in Corporate Debt and Reorganizations: Laying the Groundwork for Future Large Chapter 11 Cases or Just More Runway?

    September 2021 White Paper

    Diversity in Monitorship Selection

    March 2021 Newsletters

    Business Restructuring Review | March–April 2021

    March 2021 Newsletters

    U.S. Supreme Court: Mere Retention of Property Does Not Violate the Automatic Stay

    February 2021 Commentary

    U.S. Supreme Court: Mere Retention of Property Does Not Violate the Automatic Stay

    March 2020 Video

    Kevyn Orr: Leadership

    September 2017 Commentary

    Courts, Cooperation, and More: Incorporating U.S. Case-Specific Provisions in Insolvency Protocols — Part 2
    View All

    Additional Publications

    Speaking Engagements

    • May 3, 2018
      Moderator/Speaker ULI Spring Multifamily Product Council Day
    • April 28 - May 1, 2018
      Co-Chair 2018 INSOL New York Annual Regional Conference
    • April 5, 2018
      Facilitator JAMS - ABA DR Section Panel Spring Conference The Detroit Bankruptcy: The Power of Mediation
    • February 23, 2018
      Keynote Speaker JEP Symposium on the Economics and Law of Public Pension Reform
    • December 5, 2017
      Panel Participant in Matthews, Carter & Boyce, Leadership Summit
    • November 30, 2017
      "Lessons learned from Detroit and other distressed municipal entities," Presentation to the City of Boston Planning and Development Agency
    • November 24, 2017
      (OCED) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Opening Speaker at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Network on Fiscal Relations Across Levels of Government
    • November 10, 2017
      Keynote Speaker, Federal Bar Association
    • October 19, 2017
      Panel Participant in Hartford Foundation's City Fiscal Forum
    • September 12, 2017
      Speaker, Board Ready Women Program
    • June 28, 2017
      "Detroit Lessons Learned" Panel Presentation to the World Bank Group Finance & Markets and Governance Global Practices
    • March 31, 2017
      Speaker, Journal of Business and Technology Law Symposium
    • June 15, 2016
      Panel Participant, Crain's Chicago Business
    • June 10, 2016
      Panel Participant, Morgan Stanley Municipal Issuer & Investor Conference
    • May 4, 2016
      Keynote, Drawing on Detroit, USC Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy in partnership with The Kresge Foundation
    • May 3, 2016
      Panel Participant, 65th Annual Meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association and Judicial Conference of the Seventh Circuit
    • April 27, 2016
      International Tax Seminar for Detroit Chapter of Tax Executives Institute
    • February 25, 2016
      Speaker, 5th Circuit Bench-Bar Bankruptcy Conference
    • January 27, 2016
      Speaker, CFA Asset-Based Capital Conference. Lessons Learned on the Restructuring of Detroit
    • January 26, 2016
      Keynote Speaker, The Bond Buyer's National Outlook Summit
    • October 30, 2015
      Speaker, W.D. Michigan Federal Bar Association
    • October 23, 2015
      Speaker, ABI International Insolvency Symposium
    • September 24, 2015
      Speaker, 2015 Cost Government Summit
    • September 16, 2015
      Presentation to Goldman Sachs
    • September 10, 2015
      Keynote Speaker, Congressional Briefing on Municipal Fiscal Health
    • June 15, 2015
      Joint State/Federal Bar Presentation
    • May 13, 2015
      Stakeholder Panel, Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference
    • May 5-7, 2015
      Keynote Speaker, INSOL 14th Annual Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Conference
    • June 27, 2012
      Committee of 100 Dinner
    • April 20, 2012
      Power Strategies for Effective Lay Witness Examination, American Bar Association 2012 Section of Litigation Annual Meeting
    • March 2012
      Jones Day sponsors the National Black Law Students Association Annual Conference in Washington
    • October 13, 2011
      So You Can't Agree on Plan Terms: Does Plan Mediation Work? 85th Annual National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in conjunction with the ABA Business Law Section, Business Bankruptcy Committee
    • August 6, 2011
      Cross-Border Insolvency Program, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Business Law Section
    • April 14, 2011
      Getting the Most Value for Your Expert "Bucks," A Primer on Preparing Valuation Experts to Testify, ABA 2011 Section of Litigation and Criminal Justice Annual Conference
    • August 8, 2010
      FDIC Assisted Transactions-Managing Legal Issues for Acquirors and Owners of Troubled Banks, American Bar Association Annual Meeting
    • May 1, 2010
      Bankruptcy Field, ABA Section of Business Law-Business Bankruptcy Committee, National Conference for the Minority Lawyer
    • November 10, 2009
      Counseling Business Clients in a Global Recession: Stories from the Front Lines, University of Maryland School of Law
    • September 24, 2009
      Bankruptcy 101 and Career Paths in the Bankruptcy Field, ABA Section of Business Law-Business Bankruptcy Committee, National Conference for the Minority Lawyer
    • April 16, 2009
      Cross-Border Insolvencies, ABA Spring Meeting
    • October 17, 2008
      TARP Capital Purchase Program
    • November 29, 2007
      An Introduction To Significant Issues In U.S. Law: A Presentation for a Delegation of Lawyers and Officials from Jiangsu Province, China

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