Akerman is pleased to announce that H. Peter Haveles, Jr., a partner in the firm's Litigation Practice Group, has been named a 2026 Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award winner by the Burton Awards. His article, "Liability Management Exercises and the Litigation Quagmire," published in The Banking Law Journal (May 2025), was selected as one of just 20 outstanding legal publications chosen from submissions by the nation's top 1,000 law firms.
This is Peter's second Burton Award, a remarkable achievement that underscores his standing as one of the country's leading legal writers regarding litigation issues and risks confronting the financial markets. He previously received the award in 2015 for his article "The CFTC Overreaches in Its Interpretation of the Anti-Manipulation Provisions Adopted in the Dodd-Frank Act," published in Bloomberg BNA World Securities Law Report.
Established in 1999, the Burton Awards annually honor distinguished writers and leaders in law across America's most prestigious law firms. In association with the Library of Congress, the award is presented by lead sponsor Law360 and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. Winners are selected by an Academic Board comprising judges and law school professors from leading institutions, including Berkeley Law School.
William Burton, founder and chair of the awards program, said: "The winners are exceptional writers. They truly deserve the recognition they will be given."
Akerman Chairman and CEO Scott Meyers said: "We congratulate Peter on this remarkable achievement. Receiving the Burton Award once is a distinction. Receiving it twice is a statement — and a testament to Peter's standing as one of the most accomplished legal writers in the country. His ability to tackle complex, evolving issues in financial litigation and translate them into scholarship of this caliber reflects the depth of talent across Akerman. This is an honor Peter has truly earned."
Peter's award-winning article addresses one of the most consequential and fast-evolving issues in commercial lending today — the wave of liability management exercises (LMEs) that financially distressed borrowers are using to restructure debt in ways that benefit only select lenders while leaving others at a disadvantage. Drawing on landmark appellate and trial court rulings from 2024, including conflicting decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the New York Appellate Division, Peter illuminates why courts have reached inconsistent results and offers concrete guidance for lenders seeking to protect their rights through more rigorous drafting of loan covenants.
Peter wrote: "The recent history of frequent challenges to borrowers' attempts to evade restrictive covenants does not paint a reassuring picture for lenders. These disputes end up in the courts because of both the financial prejudice to nonparticipating lenders as well as poorly drafted or inadequate restrictive covenants."
Peter will be honored during an awards ceremony on June 1, 2026, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
About Akerman
Founded in 1920, Akerman LLP is an Am Law 100 firm recognized by Vault among the nation’s most prestigious law firms. The firm has more than 700 lawyers and business professionals throughout the United States.