A government lawyer has selected the head of Squire Patton Boggs’ global restructuring practice to investigate the independence of a special committee that struck a deal with the Sackler family members who own the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, Reuters reported. The U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog, the U.S. Trustee, selected Squire’s Stephen Lerner for the role, according to court papers filed yesterday. The appointment comes a week after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, N.Y., said that he would allow an examiner to explore whether the special committee of Purdue’s board was influenced at all by the Sackler family members in reaching a settlement that protects them against opioid-related litigation. The judge said during a contentious court hearing on June 16 that he did not know of any evidence to suggest the deal was negotiated unfairly but would bring in an examiner anyway out of fear of misleading press reports. U.S. Trustee William Harrington said in yesterday’s court filing that in selecting Lerner for the role, he consulted with lawyers for Purdue and its official committee of unsecured creditors, as well as supporters and opponents of the settlement.
