The American Lawyer has awarded Goodwin Procter a first prize in the Global Dispute of the Year: U.S. Financial Litigation category of its Global Legal Awards. The firm was recognized for its work on the Argentine bond matter, a case widely reported in the media involving the South American nation’s default on bonds worth billions of dollars.
Since 2005, a team of Goodwin litigators, led by Robert Carroll, has represented funds with, collectively, among the largest holdings of Argentine debt in litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Republic of Argentina, seeking damages for the country’s default on its international bonds.
The Goodwin team, along with counsel for other creditors, secured injunctions based on the pari passu (equal treatment) clauses in the defaulted bonds, which enjoin Argentina from paying on Exchange Bonds unless Argentina also makes a ratable payment to Goodwin’s client and others. Goodwin’s client and other plaintiffs received their pari passu injunctions in early 2010.
The injunctions were twice affirmed by the Second Circuit, and the Goodwin team and other creditors’ counsel successfully opposed a total of three petitions for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. The most recent denial of certiorari, on June 16, 2014, resulted in the injunctions taking full effect.
Recognizing the significance of these legal victories, and to “honor those firms that played a substantial role in the year’s most distinguished cross-border work,” The American Lawyer recognized Goodwin Procter and other firms representing the largest creditors of Argentina at its annual Global Legal Awards ceremony on September 15 in New York City.
In addition to Carroll, Goodwin’s team included Willy Jay and Jaime Santos.