Financial Institutions:
Experience in Financial Institution Recovery

In today's economy, financial institutions face an uncertain future. As the economy sours and the government seeks to facilitate its recovery, financial institutions and their regulators will require legal services to preserve assets when possible and to liquidate non-performing assets when necessary. DRHR has the first-hand experience to provide these services in an efficient and aggressive manner.

Members of our Firm have extensive hands-on experience derived from the failure of the savings and loan industry during the 1980s. Five of our partners were with the law firm of Hutcheson & Grundy in Houston, Texas, which became one of the leading outside counsel for the FSLIC and later the FDIC in their capacities as receivers for failed savings and loans. During this time, we led legal teams in the closing of many savings and loans located in Texas and other states. James Doyle was the partner in charge of the first S&L closing that occurred in Texas. Empire Savings and Loan Association, located in a suburb of Dallas, Texas was at that time, the largest failure of an S&L to occur in the United States. Ron Restrepo and Michael Robbins also participated in this closing. The Empire Receivership presented issues of first impression under the regulatory scheme in effect at that time. Representing the Receiver for Empire, we handled the foreclosures of over 300 properties and became involved in extensive litigation over the foreclosures, collection of debts and subsequent enforcement of loan guarantees.

Our lawyers continued to represent the FSLIC and later the FDIC in closing many S&Ls in Texas and in other states. In addition to Empire Savings and Loan, we participated in the closing of Bell Savings and Loan in Belton, Texas, United Savings in Houston, Texas, Mainland Savings in Houston, Texas and many others. In each closing, we handled the investigation of possible director and officer misconduct relating to the S&L failure along with the conduct of outside professionals hired by the association. We also assisted the receivership in day to day legal matters involving the initial takeover of the institution, recovery of assets for the receivership estate and subsequent liquidation of the S&Ls. In so doing, we were asked to enforce loan agreements and guarantees, and handled the entire spectrum of litigation that arose out of the S&L failures. We were responsible for these matters through claim evaluation, litigation, mandamus, appeals, and often bankruptcy.

Counsel to the Firm, Cynthia Pickett also found herself in the middle of the S&L and Bank crisis in Texas. During the 1980's and 1990's, as a minority-owned firm, Cynthia's primary practice was the representation of financial institutions and the FDIC in work-outs, restructuring and collections of delinquent loans secured by real estate and various other types of collateral. This practice included foreclosures, bankruptcy interventions, and deficiency work. She also represented a large commercial real estate firm and asset manager in lease workouts and evictions. Among others, she represented Liberty Savings and Loan Association; Westside National Bank; National Bank of Commerce; West Loop Savings & Loan Association and various savings and loan receiverships created by the FDIC.

In each of the cases we handle, we demonstrated our ability to master complex regulatory and legal frameworks and apply them to the problem at hand. Often these problems are ones of first impression to the agency or financial institution that we represent. In connection with our work, we take pride in our abilities to investigate report, evaluate and aggressively handle claims of all kinds.

In addition to litigation, several of our attorneys wrote and presented papers at various legal continuing education seminars on the issues that we addressed during the representation of the FSLIC and FDIC, including the resolution claims process and litigation issues arising out of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 ("FIRREA") such as the "D'Oench Duhme" doctrine, federal pre-emption, governmental immunity and other federal and state defenses to counterclaims and third party claims.