Bankruptcy and insolvency can be daunting, even to the most sophisticated individuals. Financial failures happen regularly and our substantial, wide-ranging and hands on experience in this area enables us to provide sound counsel when they do. In today’s competitive, complex business environment, more companies facing financial and legal challenges are turning to out of court restructuring or bankruptcy reorganization as a means to reorganize their businesses.
Recent amendments to the Bankruptcy Code that are intended to streamline this process and the passing of the CARES Act, which raises the debt limit of a company seeking to qualify as a small business to $7,500,000, are expected to result in an increase in these methods of obtaining relief.
Clients count on our ability to negotiate workable agreements pertaining to the restructuring of debt from the perspective of both debtors and creditors, and to effectively minimize their losses. We pride ourselves on our ability to work through difficult issues in a cost effective and professional manner, to resolve contested matters without the need for extensive litigation whenever possible, and to litigate issues to judgment and through appeal when necessary. We have the knowledge, experience and talent to regularly assist clients who are confronted with the financial difficulties of others, as well as their own.
While bankruptcy may threaten the viability of one’s business interests, it also offers strategic opportunities. For a lender or creditor, insolvency provides a chance to obtain businesses or specific assets as investments. It grants debtors relief from creditors’ actions and additional time to devise reorganization or orderly liquidation plans.
Debtor and Creditor Perspectives
Our bankruptcy and creditors' rights attorneys have extensive experience representing both debtors and creditors. This experience enables us to understand the perspective, and the competing interests, of all parties involved in all forms of insolvency proceedings. This vantage point enhances our ability to manage diverse client interests.
Broad Creditors' Rights Experience
Our attorneys represent institutional and individual secured and unsecured lenders, investors, mortgagees, venture capitalists, publishers, factors, landlords, credit card companies and processors, sellers, purchasers and employees, among others, as secured and unsecured creditors and parties in interest in small, medium-sized and large cases under Chapters 11, 7 and 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, contested involuntary bankruptcy cases, in "out of court" workouts and in state court insolvency proceedings.
Diverse Insolvency-Related Experience
Our extensive exposure to insolvency cases – in and out of court - has resulted in the creation of a broad base of clientele, including the representation of investors, purchasers of assets in bankruptcy cases, purchasers and sellers of claims in bankruptcy cases, lenders, including those who lend to companies operating as debtors in possession in Chapter 11 cases, boards of directors and members of boards of directors, employees, trustees appointed in Chapter 11 reorganization cases and Chapter 7 liquidation cases and unsecured creditors' committees. We represent individuals in Chapter 11 cases through confirmation and consummation of Plans of Reorganization, and parties to international insolvency matters, both out of court and under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Business Reorganization Experience In A Wide Range Of Industries
Every insolvency matter requires counsel to understand a company's business model, its operations and its financial affairs. It is our business to understand our clients' businesses and/or their individual affairs. When needed, we provide analysis on company operations and management competency, and investigate pre-bankruptcy activities to determine asset recovery probability. We utilize these best practices to enable our attorneys to successfully represent publicly held and privately owned companies as debtors in liquidation cases, debtors-in-possession in business reorganization cases, and in non-judicial debt workouts, liquidations and state insolvency proceedings. We handle matters in diverse industries, including retail sales, manufacturing, commercial real estate, dairy products, graphic design, advertising, medical supply sales, funeral services, MRI Services, flooring supplies, professional services, construction, homeowners and condominium owners associations, and marketing research just to name a few.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Litigation Legal Expertise
Our attorneys actively engage in negotiations, but when litigation is unavoidable, we aggressively pursue remedies for, debtors and parties in interest in court. We litigate an extensive range of bankruptcy and insolvency-related disputes. We also have experience and expertise in many of the matters of state substantive law that arise in the context of bankruptcy and insolvency-related cases. Clients rely on our ability to reconcile diverse interests and build a consensus strategy that will maximize payments for all involved entities. The capability and expertise of attorneys in the firm’s other practice areas, from appellate to tax, enables us to assemble a team of attorneys to successfully address the wide range of issues that frequently arise in insolvency cases.
We handle all forms of insolvency –related matters. Our experience includes:
- Automatic stay litigation
- Cash collateral stipulations
- Chapter 7 liquidations
- Chapter 11 sales of assets and businesses
- Collateral liquidation
- Debtor-in-possession financing
- Involuntary petitions
- Litigation involving executory contracts and unexpired leases
- Out-of-court restructuring
- Purchasing of distressed loans and distressed financial assets Real estate foreclosures
- Specialized insolvency proceedings
- Utilities and other critical vendors
- Valuation proceedings
Bankruptcy and insolvency affect every industry. Each case has its own set of challenges and unique issues. At Fowler White, we pursue the options that best serve the specific needs of our clients. We develop practical, yet innovative solutions to protect and enforce their rights to the greatest extent possible.