Kyung S. Lee

Kyung S. Lee, a Houston-based partner with Diamond McCarthy, concentrates his law practice in the area of debt restructuring and corporate reorganizations. Kyung’s experience includes serving as debtor's counsel for companies in the airline, oil and gas, communications, health care, distribution, manufacturing and convenience store industries.

Kyung represents lenders, creditors, creditors' committees and investors involved in workouts and Chapter 11 reorganizations. He works closely with senior management and financial advisors on valuation of enterprises and assets, and helps them develop turnaround and business restructuring plans.

Kyung is particularly adept in handling cases that present complex financial restructuring issues, involve sensitive negotiations or require the implementation of innovative business strategies.

Several of Kyung’s cases have intricate international, as well as domestic, aspects that add to their complexity. He represented a foreign bank in a dispute with members of a syndicated bank group and an ethanol plant borrower over the bank's claims and alleged failure to fund under a credit agreement. He also investigated and analyzed claims for a Chapter 7 trustee in connection with recovering assets transferred from U.S. real estate partnerships to affiliated entities in China and Australia.

Kyung is a member of the Texas and New York Bars. 

Representative Cases

• Represent foreign bank in dispute with members of the syndicated bank group and ethanol plant borrower over bank's claims and alleged failure to fund under credit agreement.
• Represent hedge fund and trustees of hedge fund in connection with recovering loan to a major antiquities dealer.
• Represent involuntary petitioning creditors against owner of rail yard in Pasadena, Texas.
• Represent Chapter 7 Trustee in multi-defendant adversary proceeding to recover assets for the estate based on theories of fraudulent conveyance, alter ego, single business enterprise and breach of fiduciary duties.
• Serve as co-counsel for Chapter 11 of single purpose entity owner of 200,000 acres of Redwood forest located in Scotia, California.
• Represent State of Montana in the ASARCO bankruptcy case relating to the resolution of objections to the contingent proof of claim for environmental damages.
• Represent Border Foods, Inc., largest chili pepper grower and canner, in connection with out-of-court restructuring with its secured lenders.
• Investigate and analyze claims for Chapter 7 Trustee in connection with recovering assets transferred from U.S. real estate partnerships to affiliated entities in Hong Kong, China and Australia.
• Represent Committee of Unsecured Creditors' in the Sola Communications bankruptcy case in Lafayette, Louisiana.
• Served as lead partner for Dinastia L.P., Dinastia International Corp., Dinamex, Inc., and Patal Investments L.P. in their jointly administered Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. The debtors were able to confirm a pre-packaged plan within 4 months of filing the case.
• Served as lead partner representing the major lender in the M&M Katz, Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which resulted in a successful confirmation of a debtor proposed plan and releases of claims against the lender.
• Served as lead partner for Advantage Investors Mortgage Corporation in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, confirming a plan within 3 months of filing Chapter 11 and resolving claims against the parent company.
• Served as lead partner for AFG Pacific Properties, Inc. in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which required the refinancing of over $20 million of real estate during the 6- month bankruptcy case.
• Served as lead partner for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Century Care of America, Inc. Chapter 11 case, with the Bankruptcy Court confirming a Joint Plan, allowing for unsecured creditors to obtain recoveries from assets carved out to them under the consensual plan.
• Represented Talent Tree, Inc., et al. in the successful restructuring and sale of all assets, which included providing advice to the company's management in its negotiations with the prospective foreign purchaser and the senior lenders.
• Served as lead partner for Mustang Athletic Corp. in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, in which the debtor was able to confirm a single asset real estate plan, after mediation with the major insurance lender.
• Served as lead partner for Consolidated Roofing & Waterproofing, Inc. and its seven subsidiaries in their jointly administered Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, culminating in the sale of 5 of the roll up companies back to the founders and satisfaction of creditor claims by the founders.
• Served as lead partner for Coraza Holding Corporation and its four operating subsidiaries in their jointly administered Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, which required the debtor to maximize values through separate sales of divisions when the pre-packaged stalking horse transaction could not be consummated in Chapter 11.
• Served as lead partner for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Logix Communications Corporation Chapter 11 case, which resulted in constituents receiving a dividend approximating 95%, as compared to plan projections of 35%, by virtue of claim management and litigation.
• Served as lead partner for The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Kitty Hawk Chapter 11 cases.
• Served as counsel to the Chapter 7 Trustee of Precept Business Services, Inc., et al
• Advised various parties in the Enron bankruptcy cases.
• Served as counsel for Consolidated Equipment Company, Inc., Con-Equip, Inc., and Owsley & Sons, Inc. in their bankruptcy cases.
• Advised and represented Northwest Airlines, Inc. and Mercury Air Group, Inc. in the Kitty Hawk Chapter 11 cases.
• Advised Chief Restructuring Officer of FirstPlus Financial, Inc., a $6 billion HLTV lender in Chapter 11, including evaluating negotiating strategy with senior lenders on treatment of debt secured by residuals, working with financial consultants on enterprise and debt values and formulating plan of reorganization to repay creditors.
• Successfully defended Northwest Airlines, Inc. in $30 million adversary proceeding brought by regional carriers, Precision Valley Aviation, Inc. and Northeast Express Regional Airways, Inc. (Second chair partner with responsibility over two year discovery, motion practice and deposition of key adverse witnesses).
• Represented crisis manager of real estate partnerships in litigation against foreign entities and individuals on behalf of European investors.
• Represented private buyout firm seeking to acquire public water utility using distressed debt.
• Represented Quality Beverage Company, Texas' then-largest alcohol and spirits distributor, in negotiations with creditors and in its Chapter 11.
• Represented Puerto Rico Ports Authority on restructuring of agency's rates and tariff structure with airlines.
• Represented Northwest Airlines, Inc. in connection with preparing anticipatory Chapter 11 filing in both 1993 and 1997 (Responsible partner analyzing aircraft leases, advising company on negotiations with aircraft and engine lessors and Bankruptcy Code § 1110 strategy).
• Represented IXC Communications, Inc. in successful two-year debt workout with $200 million senior bank group, $100 million Prudential subordinated debt and $100 million equipment lessor debt.

• Seven Diamond McCarthy LLP Attorneys Named Super Lawyers - Three of Those for Ten Consecutive Years
• Sadler Clinic files Chapter 11
• 2011 Texas Super Lawyers Are Named
• 2010 Texas Super Lawyers Are Named

• Kyung S. Lee speaker, Elements of Preference - How to Win a Preference Action or Lose it, Panel Presentation at the Commercial Finance Association’s 66th Annual Convention, Chicago, IL, (October 21, 2010)
• Kyung S. Lee speaker, Doing Hard Time in Delaware and New York – Ethical and Practical Issues for Bankruptcy Lawyers Appearing in Cases Outside of Your "Home" State, Panel Presentation at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, New Orleans, LA (October 16, 2010)
• Kyung S. Lee  co-author, Hurdles Trustees Face in Asserting Fraudulent-Transfer Claims Against Brokers In Short Sales, ABI Journal, (February 2010)
• Kyung S. Lee one of three Program Chairs for Mass Tort Bankruptcy Updated - Recent Events and the Impact of the Supreme Court's Decision in Travelers v. Bailey, hosted by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Las Vegas, NV (October 21, 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee co-author, Credit Bidding as Agent for the Bank Group: Dealing with the Issue of Unanimity, ABI Committee News, Volume 6 Number 5 (September 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee speaks about advantages to avoiding Chapter 11 Bankruptcy through an out-of-court workout, Houston, hosted by CFO Tatum Partners, Houston, TX (July 28, 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee and Jason M. Rudd co-authors, Revisiting the Propriety of Third-Party Releases of Non-Debtors, Appearing in the Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Vol. 18, No. 4, 465, Published by West, a Thomson Reuters business (July/August 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee presenter, The Outer Boundaries of Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction: Are There Any? American Bar Association Spring Meeting, Vancouver, BC (April 16-18, 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee presenter, Ethics for Transactional and Bankruptcy Attorneys, 2009 APIS Conference and Retreat, State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section, Austin, TX (March 27-28, 2009)
• Kyung S. Lee and Jason M. Rudd co-authors, The Implications of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 on the Ordinary Course of Business Defense in Preference Recovery Actions, Trial Evidence Journal (Summer/Fall 2005)
• James D. McCarthy and Kyung S. Lee  co-authors, Deepening Insolvency, 23rd Annual Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (November 2004)