Martin J Bienenstock

Practice Areas

Martin Bienenstock is recognized as one of the leading restructuring attorneys in the nation, and is a partner in Proskauer's Restructuring Group, after serving as its chairman and head the last twelve years until he passed those titles to a younger generation this fiscal year.

Decades ago he was Martin also teaches Corporate Reorganization at Harvard Law School and University of Michigan Law School. In a highly competitive process, Martin was chosen to represent the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which he has successfully done for seven years and continues to do.

Debtors, Creditors, Investors, and Directors. Martin’s accomplishments explain his reputation. In the Texaco chapter 11 case he formulated the legal theory that convinced Pennzoil to accept $3 billion in exchange for its $11 billion judgment against Texaco, while Texaco paid all other creditors in full. General Motors and Chrysler Financial trusted Martin to represent them both and to formulate a strategy to save GM and Chrysler, which he presented to President Obama’s US Auto Task Force. The Task Force adopted Martin’s strategy and he caused it to be successfully implemented. In the Owens Corning chapter 11 case, Martin won a landmark decision in the Third Circuit to convert his hedge fund and bank clients’ return from approximately $450 million into $2.25 billion. Amidst the chaos at Enron, Martin engineered a strategy to save its many businesses and formulated a chapter 11 plan that ultimately paid most creditors in full or nearly in full. He charted the takeover of troubled Finova for a joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corp., and led the successful restructurings of Capmark, Ambac, and NewPage. Martin led the Firm’s representation of the Caesars Entertainment creditors’ committee and converted a five cent offer into a sixty six cent return. In leading the representation of the Westinghouse creditors’ committee, Martin attained full payment for the committee’s constituents. Martin also developed the multi-jurisdictional Colombian-U.S.-Canadian reorganization plan for Pacific Exploration, supported by its bank creditors and bond creditors. Martin drafted Ireland’s restructuring statute when many investment banks explained Ireland needed to change its insolvency laws to attract new capital.

Practice based on Scholarship and Client Service. Martin’s achievements and retentions for bet-the-company matters stem from his conducting a multidisciplinary practice drawing on his combined experience in restructuring, corporate governance, reorganization, prospect theory, game theory, litigation, appellate practice, Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley. Early on Martin learned legal practice is customer service. To that end Martin is available by cell 24/7.

Martin’s ultimate assignment thus far is to represent the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, to create a sustainable economy for its people and creditors. Martin counsels the Oversight Board and has successfully argued trial judgments and appeals that saved the Commonwealth many billions of dollars, while restructuring over $60 billion and pension liabilities out of a total of $75 billion of bond debt and $55 billion of unfunded pension debt. Martin is flattered the Oversight Board wants him to finish the job.