The main parties squaring off in Detroit’s $18 billion bankruptcy case will be led by women, an unusual feat in a legal field typically dominated by men, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Women hold leadership roles in fewer than one-fifth of the 100 biggest U.S. law firms’ bankruptcy practices, according to data compiled by Dow Jones. But in the hotly contested case in Detroit, the names to know are Heather Lennox, Sharon Levine and Babette Ceccotti. Lennox is representing Detroit, which is trying to shed billions of dollars in obligations, including to retired city workers on pensions. Levine and Ceccotti are on the other side of the table representing two unions that dispute Detroit’s eligibility to seek bankruptcy protection: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Both unions represent city workers and retirees. While both sides want to see the city recover, they differ as to the shape such a recovery should take, including whether Detroit should be allowed to use bankruptcy’s tools to hammer out a restructuring plan.
