Ronit J. Berkovich is a partner in the Business Finance & Restructuring Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Ms. Berkovich represents debtors, creditors, lenders, investors, and acquirers of assets in all aspects of distressed situations. She has served as debtors’ counsel in several of the largest and most significant chapter 11 cases in history, including General Motors, Lehman Brothers, WorldCom (MCI), BearingPoint, the Texas Rangers, and the Dallas Stars. She also has extensive experience representing companies in prepackaged chapter 11 cases, out-of-court workouts, and international restructurings and has provided restructuring advisory services to Fortune 500 companies. Her recent creditor representations include representing secured lenders in the Hawaiian Telcom and Moonlight Basin chapter 11 cases and representing a large creditor with secured and unsecured positions in the TerreStar chapter 11 cases. Her recent purchaser/bidder representations have included representing bidders/purchasers in the Genmar, Spheris, and Epic Air chapter 11 cases, and she recently represented Apple in its successful $4.5 billion acquisition (with a consortium) of Nortel’s patent portfolio in Nortel’s bankruptcy.
Ms. Berkovich actively lectures on various topics relating to restructuring (including for organizations such as Bloomberg Law, the Practising Law Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association). She taught legal research and writing at Harvard Law School for two years and taught a seminar in economics at Harvard College. She has also written extensively, including articles published in The Banking Law Journal, The American University Law Review, Real Estate Finance, and the Bankruptcy Bulletin.
Ms. Berkovich was recognized by Turnaround and Workouts as one of its Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers of 2010. She serves on Weil’s Hiring Committee and Summer Program Committee.
Ms. Berkovich is active in her community. Among other things, she serves on the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America (and recently served as chair of its New York chapter), she is on the Lawyers Executive Committee of the Lawyers Division of the UJA Federation of New York, and she serves on the Global Circle (Young Leadership) Steering Committee of American Jewish World Service. UJA Federation of New York recently presented her with an award for young leadership.
Ms. Berkovich received a bachelor’s degree with distinction in Economics and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1997 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2001.