Trailblazing bankruptcy lawyer Harvey Miller dies at 82
Pioneering bankruptcy lawyer Harvey Miller, who founded the restructuring practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has died at the age of 82.
The cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the New York Times DealBook blog and the New York Law Journal (sub. req.). He was still working through December of last year when the disease began to affect him.
Miller advocated using the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to allow troubled companies to restructure and survive. He worked on several high-profile corporate bankruptcies, including cases involving General Motors, Texaco, American Airlines and Lehman Brothers. The New York Law Journal dubbed him a “titan of the bankruptcy bar” while Weil executive partner Barry Wolf called Miller a trailblazer” in this press release.
DealBook says Miller had a “detailed knowledge of the law, a loquacious, if sometimes unyielding, negotiating style and an imposing presence.”
“Such was his stature,” DealBook says, “that he billed around $1,000 an hour.”
