Senior Counsel

Posted on: 2006-01-16

HONOR S. HEATH 95 Bishop Street, North Haven, CT 06473 203-281-6023 • Fax: 203-281-6026 • Cell: 203-640-5994 [email protected] PROFILE Accomplished attorney with M.B.A. and extensive experience in handling large and complex commercial litigation and transactional matters in government, private practice, and corporate counsel positions. Strengths in managing litigation, resolving disputes, and providing counsel to corporate management. As senior attorney with FleetBoston, experienced in handling a number of highly publicized, national litigation and workout matters. Licensed to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, State of Connecticut, and the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, and District of Connecticut. EXPERIENCE Northeast Utilities Berlin, CT Temporary Attorney Aug. 2004–Present Analyze and manage Uniform Commercial Code and bankruptcy issues for NU regulated utility subsidiaries Public Service Company of New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Yankee Gas Company, and Connecticut Light and Power, including litigation with Enron estate and matters involving the Mirant estate. Advise unregulated subsidiary Select Energy, Inc., with bankruptcy related EEI and ISDA trading issues. FleetBoston Financial Corporation, n/k/a Bank of America Corporation Hartford, CT Senior Counsel May 2000–May 2004 Developed legal strategy and managed litigation for Fleet National Bank. Analyzed and advised on credit issues generally and with asbestos-related credit management. Managed legal portfolio of middle market and syndicated debt participations in bankruptcies and workouts.  Represented Fleet National Bank in Chapter 11 proceedings, including:  Adelphia (serving on two steering committees);  Enron;  Federal-Mogul (serving on the steering committee of secured creditors);  Owens Corning (serving on the official committee of unsecured creditors); and,  Warnaco (serving on the steering committee of secured creditors).  Represented Fleet in J.P. Morgan Chase Bank v Liberty Mutual Insurance et al. litigated in the Southern District of New York in December 2002.  Negotiated and drafted loan documents, settlement documents, and forbearance agreements, including UCC and ISDA derivatives issues. Day, Berry & Howard LLP Hartford, CT Counsel March 1997–May 2000 Practiced in Commercial Litigation, Government Investigations, and with Individual Clients Practice Groups. Represented creditor clients in collections and workout matters. Prosecuted and defended creditor clients in commercial litigation in the United States District, Bankruptcy, and State Superior Courts. Performed internal investigations for public and private clients, attendant to alleged financial fraud and negligence.  Represented both debtors and creditors in Chapter 11 matters, including: Vermont Electric Co-operative (debtor); Dow Corning (serving a private client on the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors); Hechinger; and, Caldors cases.  Represented civil litigants in mediation, debtor-creditor negotiations, and workouts involving intellectual property, lender liability, and domestic relations. Chorches & Novak, P.C. Wethersfield, CT Associate Dec. 1994–March 1997 Performed commercial and bankruptcy litigation and documentation. Negotiated and drafted commercial agreements. Performed all aspects of debt restructuring representing debtors and debtors-in-possession. Prosecuted reorganization plans under Chapters 11, 12, and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Represented civil litigants in the State Superior and United States District Court, and debtors and creditors in adversary proceedings and cases in United States Bankruptcy courts. HONOR S. HEATH ~ Page 2 ~ EXPERIENCE (CONT’D.) U.S. Department of Justice, Office of The United States Trustee New Haven, CT Attorney-Advisor March 1990–Feb. 1994 Attorney (Bankruptcy) Aug. 1988–March 1990 Managed corporate, real estate, and business reorganization cases involving all aspects of administration and litigation, including the Colonial Realty, Colt Firearms, and Cuisinart cases. Reviewed and assessed business operations and attorney performance. Designed mediation procedures of multi-party disputes. Litigated issues attendant to bankruptcy administration. Hon. Alan H.W. Shiff, United States Bankruptcy Court Bridgeport, CT Law Clerk Sept. 1984–Sept. 1985 Student Law Clerk Sept. 1983–May 1984 Researched and prepared memoranda and drafted legal opinions, including one upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. EDUCATION M.B.A., Quinnipiac University School of Business, Hamden, CT 2004 Juris Doctor, University of Bridgeport (now Quinnipiac University School of Law), Hamden, CT 1984 • American Jurisprudence Awards for Excellence in Evidence and Creditors\' Rights and Bankruptcy A.B. in Economics and Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY 1980 PUBLICATIONS • Editor: U.S. Trustee matters in the 2005 revision of Norton Bankruptcy Law 2d. • “Bankruptcy,” a Chapter in The Mediation Practice Book – Critical Tools, Techniques, and Forms, edited by Harry Mazadoorian (New Britain, Connecticut, 2002) (with James J. Tancredi). • “Securitized Transactions: Between the Rock of Finance and the Hard Place of Bankruptcy,” The Connecticut Law Tribune, 26 CLT 3, January 17, 2000 (Fairfield, Connecticut) (with James J. Tancredi). (Article was cited as authority in the January 9, 2001, Memorandum of Law of Abbey National Bank in support of recognition of a securitization vehicle, filed in In re LTV, Case No. 00-43866, pending in the Northern District of Ohio.) • “The Ingenuity of Subordinated Debt,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, October 1999 (Alexandria, VA, 1999) (with James J. Tancredi). • “Judgment Day for the New Value Exception: The U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Issue of Whether a Single Asset Chapter 11 Debtor May Cram Down its Secured Creditor,” Day Berry & Howard ALERT and at www.dayberry.com (Hartford, Connecticut May 29, 1998). • “Bankruptcy,” an article in the Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family, David Levinson, ed. (New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1995). • “Business Fraud,” Chapter 8 in the multi-volume treatise, Business Torts (New York, Matthew Bender & Co., 1989) (with Charles A. Heckman). CONFERENCES • Co-Chair: “The Legal and Strategic Guide to Chapter 11 Finance”, American Conference Institute, New York, April, 2004 & June, 2003. Designed conference program and served as speaker on the subject of finance in bankruptcy.