Weil Business Finance & Restructuring Co-Chair Ray C. Schrock has been recognized as a 2020 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer. He was profiled by the publication for advising on one of “the most impressive and significant matters that deal lawyers worked on in 2019.”

Mr. Schrock was recognized for leading the landmark restructuring of Sears Holdings Corporation, one of the largest retail chapter 11 filings in U.S. history. Mr. Schrock successfully staved off liquidation, built consensus to advance the restructuring process and orchestrated a $5.2 billion going-concern sale of 425 Sears and Kmart locations to ESL Investments Inc., saving a global retail icon and 45,000 jobs. Notably, Mr. Schrock closed the sale just 115 days after Sears filed for chapter 11 in a “free-fall” state.

“The sheer magnitude of work that had to be accomplished in this short of time, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr. Schrock said. “It can only happen at Weil.”

The American Lawyer highlighted the complexity and scale of the “goliath” chapter 11 case, as well as the novel solutions Mr. Schrock introduced to support the restructuring and ultimately secure the deal.