Kevyn Orr

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Kevyn Orr
Personal details
Born
Kevyn Duane Orr

(1958-05-11) May 11, 1958 (age 66)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education University of Michigan (BA, JD)

Kevyn Duane Orr [1] (born May 11, 1958) is an American lawyer who served as the emergency financial manager of the city of Detroit from 2013 to 2014 during the city's Chapter 9 bankruptcy. [2] [3] Orr is now a partner at the law firm Jones Day in its bankruptcy practice.

Contents

Prior career

Orr holds B.A. (1979) and J.D. (1983) degrees from the University of Michigan. [4] [5] He began his legal career as an associate with Sterns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson in Miami, where he was promoted to shareholder in 1988. [4] [6] He joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1991, and soon transferred to the Resolution Trust Corporation, where he became assistant general counsel for complex litigation and bankruptcy. [4] [7] Starting in 1995 he was the deputy director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees, a division of the United States Department of Justice that monitors the nation's bankruptcy system, and in 2000 he became the director of the United States Trustees Program. [4] [8] [9]

In 2001, Orr joined the Washington, D.C. office of the international law firm Jones Day as a partner. [10] Orr had been picked to lead Jones Day's new Miami office before he resigned his partnership to move to Detroit. [11] Noting his "impressive depth of experience," legal industry publication Chambers and Partners listed Orr among the top bankruptcy lawyers in Washington as of 2013. [12]

While at Jones Day, Orr represented Chrysler in connection with its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring. [11] According to bankruptcy court records, Orr billed $700 an hour during the bankruptcy. [13] The Detroit News described Orr as "the lead attorney on convincing the court to allow Chrysler to abruptly close a quarter of its U.S. dealerships". [13] The Chrysler bankruptcy proceeding was widely regarded as successful [14] for leading to greater sales and profits and Chrysler's renewed "reputation as a bold and innovative automaker". [15]

Tenure as emergency manager

A Democrat, [16] he was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder as emergency manager to oversee Detroit financial operations on March 14, 2013 under Public Act 72. On January 24, 2013 Snyder had signed a revised version of a controversial emergency manager law that was rejected by voters during the November election. [17] The new law, Public Act 436, took effect on March 28, 2013 and gave the Detroit emergency manager extraordinary control over all Detroit financial matters, [18] and the ability to recommend to the governor and state treasurer that the government enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy. [19] [20]

Orr began his expected 18-month term as emergency manager on March 25, 2013. [21]

At Orr's recommendation and with the approval of Governor Snyder, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy on July 18, 2013. [2] [22] His former law firm Jones Day was hired to handle Detroit's bankruptcy. The pick has been criticized as a conflict of interest (Jones Day represents several of Detroit's creditors like Bank of America) and the firms billing rates of up to $1,075 per hour and large travel expenses have been questioned. [23] Yet some legal scholars have opined that no conflict existed between Orr and his former employer. [24] Orr has said of his former employer, "if I didn’t have Jones Day, I might have had to hire six to eight additional firms." [25]

On December 3, 2013, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes ruled that Detroit was legally entitled to pursue bankruptcy. [26]

By the summer of 2014, thousands of Detroit residents per week were being denied access to running water in their homes. [27] On July 28, 2014, Orr signed Emergency Manager Order No. 31, further clarifying the roles of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and the Board of Water Commissioners, in part: "the EM has determined that, at the present time, it is in the best interest of the City that the Mayor be granted the power and authority that the mayor would have had with respect to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department ("DWSD") and the Board of Water Commissioners for DWSD ("BOWC") absent PA 436 in order to aid the EM in providing necessary governmental services essential to the public health, safety and welfare" of its residents. [28]

On November 7, 2014, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes approved Orr's plan for the city of Detroit. [29]

On December 10, 2014, Governor Snyder announced that Detroit had emerged from bankruptcy, and that he had accepted Orr's resignation as emergency manager, returning control of Detroit to its elected government.[ citation needed ]

Personal

Orr was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [30] [31] Orr's father, Allen Eugene Orr, was an "A.M.E. minister who marched to support the rights of south Florida's African-American minority in the 1960s and 1970s"; his mother, Dorothy Jackson, was a teacher who eventually became an administrator in the office of Broward County's superintendent of schools. [6] [32]

In 1990, the Miami Herald listed Orr as one of the area's "Most Eligible Men". [30]

Since 2004, he has been married to Dr. Donna Neale, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; they began dating in 1994. [31] [32] They have a son named Kevyn and a daughter named Alexandra. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 81,252, making it the twelfth-most populous city in Michigan. The Flint metropolitan area is located entirely within Genesee County. It is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Michigan with a population of 406,892 in 2020. The city was incorporated in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jones Day</span> US international law firm

Jones Day is an American multinational law firm based in Washington, D.C. As of 2023, it is one of the largest law firms in the United States, with 2,302 attorneys, and among the highest-grossing in the world with revenues of $2.5 billion. It was originally headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The firm has represented over half of the companies in the Fortune 500, including Goldman Sachs, General Motors, McDonald's, and Bridgestone. Jones Day has also represented the campaign of former president Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Bing</span> American basketball player and politician (born 1943)

David Bing is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Public Schools Community District</span> Public school system of Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Michigan, and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, provides services to approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest school district in the state. The district has its headquarters in the Fisher Building of the New Center area of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Snyder</span> American politician and business executive

Richard Dale Snyder is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Detroit</span> Municipal government in Michigan, US

The government of Detroit, Michigan is run by a mayor, the nine-member Detroit City Council, the eleven-member Board of Police Commissioners, and a clerk. All of these officers are elected on a nonpartisan ballot, with the exception of four of the police commissioners, who are appointed by the mayor. Detroit has a "strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets, but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council.

Darnell Earley is an American public administrator and municipal manager. Formerly the city manager of Saginaw, Michigan and emergency manager of Flint, Michigan, Earley served as temporary mayor of Flint after the recall of Woodrow Stanley. Earley was appointed emergency manager of the Detroit Public Schools system in January 2015. He resigned that position in February 2016. In January 2021 he was indicted on felony charges regarding the Flint water crisis.

The City of Flint has operated under at least four charters. The City is currently run under its 2017 charter that gives the city a Strong Mayor form of government. It is also instituted the appointed independent office of Ombudsman, while the city clerk is solely appointed by the City Council. The City Council is composed of members elected from the city's nine wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayne Walling</span> American politician

Dayne Walling is an American politician who was the mayor of Flint, Michigan from 2009 to 2015. Although the Flint mayor's office is a nonpartisan position, Walling is a member of the Democratic Party.

Charles Pugh is an American former television journalist, radio personality, and politician from Detroit, Michigan. For ten years, he served as the weekend anchor at WJBK in Detroit. He also served as the radio personality on CoCo, Foolish and Mr. Chase in the Morning and his own talk show, That's What's Up, which both originally aired Sunday evenings on WJLB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Brown (politician)</span> American politician and police officer

Gary A. Brown is an American municipal politician and former police officer. He is currently serving as the Chief Operations Officer for the City of Detroit. Brown was elected as the Detroit City Council President Pro-Tem on November 4, 2009 after receiving the second most votes. He was appointed to the non-elected position of Chief Compliance Officer in June 2013 under the state-appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Following the election of Mike Duggan as Mayor of the City of Detroit in November 2013, Brown was appointed as the Chief Operations Officer under the Mayor, a position he currently serves. The former Deputy Chief of the Detroit Police Department was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 and remains a Detroit resident with his wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jase Bolger</span> American politician

James "Jase" Bolger served as the 71st Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives from January 12, 2011 to the end of 2014 session. Bolger is a member of the Republican Party, and represented Michigan's 63rd house district from 2009 to 2014. After being term limited out, he founded a consulting firm, Tusker Strategies. Bolger was also appointed by former Governor Rick Snyder on December 29, 2016 to the Michigan Civil Service Commission and was elected chair on April 27, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Water and Sewerage Department</span> U.S. state public utility

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is a public utility that provides water and sewerage services for Detroit, Michigan and owns the assets that provide water and sewerage services to 126 other communities in seven counties. It is one of the largest water and sewer systems in the United States. In 2000, the utility utilized five water treatment plants using water from the Detroit River and Lake Huron. In mid 2014, the DWSD had acquired significant debt and delinquent accounts, and talks of privatization were occurring. As of January 1, 2016, under the terms of the City of Detroit's municipal bankruptcy the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) was created with a $50 million annual lease agreement to the City of Detroit for 40 years, while the DWSD bifurcated to focus its services specifically on the water and sewer customers within only the city of Detroit.

Financial emergency is a state of receivership for the State of Michigan's local governments.

Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) is a municipal corporation responsible for distributing water services in the Mid-Michigan and Thumb areas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Members of the authority are the cities of Flint and Lapeer, and the counties of Genesee, Lapeer and Sanilac. Karegnondi is a word from the Petan Indian language meaning "lake" and another early name for Lake Huron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit bankruptcy</span> 2013 municipal bankruptcy filing by the City of Detroit, Michigan, United States

The city of Detroit, Michigan, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013. It is the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history by debt, estimated at $18–20 billion, exceeding Jefferson County, Alabama's $4-billion filing in 2011. Detroit is also the largest city by population in U.S. history to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, more than twice as large as Stockton, California, which filed in 2012. While Detroit's population had declined from a peak of 1.8 million in 1950, its July 2013 population was reported by The New York Times as a city of 700,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemarie Aquilina</span> American judge (born 1958)

Rosemarie Elizabeth Aquilina is an American judge. She is a judge of the 30th circuit court in Ingham County, Michigan. Previously, Aquilina was the 55th District Court Judge, where she served as both a Sobriety Court Judge as well as the Chief Judge. She is best known as the judge who sentenced Larry Nassar in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal.

The New Energy to Reinvent and Diversify Fund or NERD fund was developed through State of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office in 2011. Developed through a 501c4 organization, the purpose of the fund was to subsidize government expenses from unlimited anonymous corporate donations. The fund gathered $1.3 million in 2011 and another $368,000 in 2012. On October 21, 2013, it was announced that the NERD fund would close down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint water crisis</span> Contamination by lead of water supply in Flint, Michigan

The Flint water crisis is a public health crisis that started in 2014 after the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, was contaminated with lead and possibly Legionella bacteria. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint's water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into the water supply, exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels. A pair of scientific studies confirmed that lead contamination was present in the water supply. The city switched back to the Detroit water system on October 16, 2015. It later signed a 30-year contract with the new Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) on November 22, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Craig (police chief)</span> American police chief (born 1956)

James E. Craig is an American law enforcement official who served as the chief of the Detroit Police Department from 2013 to 2021. He previously served as chief of the Cincinnati Police Department and Portland Police Department.

References

  1. "Kevyn Duane Orr". Lawyers. Justia. 1984. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Williams, Corey (July 19, 2013). "In Despair, Detroit Files for Bankruptcy" (PDF). The Express. Washington, DC. Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. Brush, Mark (March 14, 2013). "Detroit is 'the Olympics of restructuring' says city's new emergency manager". Michigan Radio. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Detroit Cant Wait - Biography of Kevyn D. Orr". Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  5. Burns, Gus (March 14, 2013). "Gov. Rick Snyder and Detroit EFM Kevyn Orr met over a U-M snowball fight". MLive. Detroit: Booth Newspapers . Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Sutton, Dorothy (June 23, 1990). "Attorney addresses Ladies Auxiliary on its anniversary". The News. Boca Raton, FL. p. 13C.
  7. AlHajal, Khalil (March 12, 2013). "Background: Top pick for Detroit emergency manager helped Chrysler through bankruptcy, advised young lawyers not to drink at lunch (video)". MLive. Detroit: Booth Newspapers. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  8. "Jones Day - Professionals - Kevyn D. Orr". Archived from the original on December 17, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. Dawn Kopecki (June 9, 1999). "Congress to Tighten Personal-Bankruptcy Rules". The Wall Street Journal .
  10. "Who is Kevyn Orr?". Southfield, MI: WJBK-TV. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Davey, Monica (March 14, 2013). "Bankruptcy Lawyer Is Named to Manage an Ailing Detroit". The New York Times . Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  12. "Bankruptcy/Restructuring: District of Columbia" (Editorial). Chambers and Partners. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Emergency manager approved to fix Detroit crisis | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com". Webarchive.loc.gov. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. "Bankruptcy expert who helped steer Chrysler LLC restructuring named Detroit emergency manager - The Washington Post". The Washington Post . March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  15. Chapman, Mary M.; Vlasic, Bill (July 30, 2012). "Strong Domestic Sales Help Lift Chrysler's Results". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  16. "Detroit bankruptcy: Kevyn Orr says Rick Snyder 'should be on somebody's short list for 2016'". November 10, 2014.
  17. "New Emergency Manager Law Signed By Michigan Governor Rick Snyder". Huffington Post. December 27, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  18. Oosting, Jonathan (January 2, 2013). "Critics expected to test Michigan's new emergency manager law at ballot box, in court". MLive. Detroit: Booth Newspapers. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  19. "Public Act No. 436 of 2012" (PDF). State of Michigan. December 26, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  20. Pinho, Kirk (February 27, 2013). "Detroit Prepares for EM; Snyder Has Short List of Candidates". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  21. [ dead link ]
  22. Davey, Monica; Walsh, Mary Williams (July 18, 2013). "Billions in Debt, Detroit Tumbles Into Insolvency". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  23. Guillen, Joe. "Pact would reunite Detroit EFM Kevyn Orr with former boss at Jones Day" . Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  24. "Pact would reunite Detroit EFM Kevyn Orr with former boss at Jones Day | Detroit Free Press | freep.com". Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  25. Weiss, Debra. "BigLaw bankruptcy lawyer billed Detroit $34K for travel to and from his vacation home" . Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  26. Dolan, Matthew (December 3, 2013). "Detroit Eligible for Bankruptcy Protection". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  27. "No water for poor people: the nine Americans who risked jail to seek justice | US news". The Guardian . Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  28. City of Detroit. "Emergency Manager Order No. 31" (PDF). City of Detroit. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  29. "Saved! Detroit Approved to Set Bankruptcy Plan in Action". NBC News. November 7, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  30. 1 2 "Most Eligible Men". Miami Herald . February 11, 1990. p. G2.
  31. 1 2 3 "Meet Kevyn Orr, Detroit emergency financial manager | Livingston Daily | livingstondaily.com". March 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  32. 1 2 Dickerson, Brian; Helms, Matt; Spangler, Todd (March 24, 2013). "New Detroit emergency financial manager Kevyn Orr takes on challenge of a lifetime". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 19, 2013.