There is rarely any hope for commons in cases like this one. The reason is simple, the restructuring will create a new company with a future, and those involved in the restructuring want to own this "new" company. In order to own it they must first get rid of the old owners........get rid of the commons.
Unless there is a shareholder equity committee that is present in court to fight for the shareholders there really is next to no chance for the commons to stay intact.
Also, even if certain shareholders decide to retain counsel don't ever believe that said counsel represents all shareholders. These lawyers only represent those shareholders that hired them and during negotiations will act as such. The creditors are more likely to pay off these shareholders than all shareholders. And yes they can do this, it is not supposed to work this way but it does.
The early bird gets the worm................
But it's the second mouse that gets the cheese...........
