Money / Chrysler Chrysler Hires Bankruptcy Firm Privately owned automaker preparing for Chapter 11 should feds not help out By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Dec 5, 2008 3:00 PM CST Copied Auto executives, from left, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, and UAW president Ron Gettelfinger, prepare after testifying before a House hearing today. (AP Photo) Chrysler has contracted a law firm to help it prepare for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The hiring of Jones Day suggests the automaker faces immediate failure if Congress decides to deny financial assistance to Detroit automakers. Jones Day has experience in automotive matters and has represented the United Auto Workers in many cases. Chrysler has sought mergers to boost its finances, and had approached General Motors before that firm developed dire cash problems of its own. Chrysler’s CEO, Robert Nardelli, has said he would accept a forced merger with GM as a condition for receiving federal bailout funds. (More Chrysler stories.) Report an error