Bruce Bennett

Los Angeles

Practice type: Litigation

Specialty: Bankruptcy law

Big Matters: Los Angeles Dodgers Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Tribune Company Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Juggling as many as 15 cases at a time has become the norm for Bruce Bennett.

When Bennett met with Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt a week before the ball club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, he already had his hands full preparing a final argument in the bankruptcy confirmation hearings of the Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and numerous television stations.

"I had a lot to do then," he said.

Just minutes after Bennett electronically filed for the Dodgers' debtor-in-possession financing loan on June 27 in a building nearby the Delaware federal court, he walked over to the courthouse and waged legal war over two competing proposed Tribune reorganization plans that pitted a committee of creditors against a group of bondholders over ownership of the media conglomerate.

With the Dodgers squabbling with Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig over the club's own bankruptcy financing problems, some have asked Bennett how he keeps the cases straight in his head. Bennett says it's easier for him than people might suspect because each of his cases is different.

The Dodgers bankruptcy filing was the most widely reported case Bennett has worked since Orange County's bankruptcy in 1995, which earned him much of the star power he enjoys today.

But little more than a month ago, his picture made its way into Sports Illustrated magazine - something he admitted fulfilled one of his childhood fantasies.

Bennett said he likes the fact that it requires versatility and coverage of a broad range of industries.

"I get to do new things all the time, even though it's in the same general practice area," he said. "I think in a way, it keeps it interesting."

- CASEY SULLIVAN