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   By Marie Beaudette 
   Of DOW JONES DAILY BANKRUPTCY REVIEW 
 

Judge Robert E. Gerber, the judge who handled the bankruptcy case of cable giant Adelphia Corp., has been assigned to oversee General Motors Corp.'s (GM) Chapter 11 proceedings.

Gerber, a former law firm partner who spent much of his legal career practicing bankruptcy law, faces the daunting task of overseeing one of the largest and most complicated restructurings in history. GM's Chapter 11 filing Monday is the largest ever by the U.S. industrial company and one of the biggest ever.

Gerber was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in 2000. Before he was named to the bench, he was a partner at New York law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, where he specialized in securities and commercial litigation and bankruptcy.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Gerber earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from Columbia University in 1970. He joined Fried Frank right after he graduated from law school and remained at the firm, interrupted by a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force in 1971 and 1972, until he became a bankruptcy judge.

Just two years after being named to the bench, Gerber was assigned the Chapter 11 case of Adelphia, which sought bankruptcy protection in 2002 amid a massive accounting fraud that ultimately led to prison sentences for the company's founder, John Rigas, and his son, Timothy.

Adelphia's bankruptcy case was marked by a bitter struggle between the company's bondholders and bondholders of Adelphia unit Arahova Communications Inc. Adelphia, once the fifth-largest cable company in the U.S., was ultimately sold to Time Warner Inc. (TWX) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) in a deal that brought in $15 billion for the company's creditors.

Gerber is now handling the Chapter 11 cases of chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries AF and consulting firm BearingPoint Inc. (BGPTQ), which recently sold off its major business units.

(Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection.)

-By Marie Beaudette, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review; 202-862-1354; marie.beaudette@dowjones.com