O’Melveny Bankruptcy Co-Chair Leaves for Dechert

From: The American Lawyer, January 13, 2009

Michael Sage, the co-head of restructuring at O’Melveny & Myers, joined Dechert on Monday.  Sage, who joined O’Melveny in 2007, has represented creditors and bondholders in the Chapter 11 proceedings for Refco Inc. and Ziff Davis Media Inc. He is just the latest in a series of high-profile moves in the bankruptcy bar.

“This stage of the economic cycle has seen a heightened demand for restructuring and reorganization of legal services,” says H. Jeffrey Schwartz, head of restructuring at Dechert. “And also it’s January. Typically lateral moves of significant practitioners across the board would occur at the outset of the calendar year.”

Last week Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft restructuring co-chair Bruce Zirinsky left for Greenberg Traurig, while plaintiffs firm Milberg kicked off its own bankruptcy practice by Gibson Dunn’s former practice co-head Jonathan Landers. Bankruptcy star James Sprayregen returned to Kirkland & Ellis in December after a two-year stint at Goldman Sachs. And in November, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker announced it hired Luc Despins from Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.

Sage primarily represents creditors in bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings. He bills $895 an hour, according to an August filing in the Ziff Davis bankruptcy, which earned O’Melveny nearly $1.02 million in fees.

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