DLA Piper Denied as Special Counsel for Bankrupt Manhattan Hotel

A bankruptcy judge denied a request by the owner of the boutique Hudson Hotel in Manhattan to hire DLA Piper LLP as special counsel after the company’s junior creditors and a Justice Department unit said the firm had conflicts of interest.

Arguments during a Tuesday hearing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware about the firm’s proposed hiring addressed the firm’s prior role in negotiations and advising transactions between Hudson 1701/1706 LLC and the company’s largest creditor and pre-bankruptcy lender, Parkview Financial REIT LP.

Lawyers also focused on the role of Robbin Itkin, a former DLA Piper ...