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Hon. Lisa Beckerman
United States Bankruptcy Judge Southern District of New York View Bio
Lisa G. Beckerman was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York on February 26, 2021. Judge Beckerman received an A.B. from University of Chicago in 1984, an M.B.A. from University of Texas in 1986 and a J.D. from Boston University in 1989. From May 1999 until she was appointed to the bench, she was a partner in the financial restructuring group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. From September 1989 until May 1999, she was an associate and then a partner in the bankruptcy group at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. Prior to her appointment, she served as a co-chair of the Executive Committee of UJA-Federation of New York's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group, a co-chair and as a member of the Advisory Board of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute from 2013 through 2019. Judge Beckerman is a Member of the Board of Directors and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. She is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) and was a member of the 2021 NCBJ Education Committee. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for Boston University School of Law and on the Board of Directors of Tina’s Wish. |
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Hon. Philip Bentley
United States Bankruptcy Judge Southern District of New York View Bio
Philip Bentley was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York on September 7, 2022. He received his B.A. degree cum laude in 1981 from Yale College and his J.D. degree cum laude in 1984 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. Prior to joining the Court, Judge Bentley was a partner in the bankruptcy and restructuring department of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. His practice focused on complex litigation in bankruptcy courts, as well as other federal and state courts. In addition to occasional representations of debtors, trustees and examiners, he frequently litigated on behalf of official committees and creditor groups in large bankruptcies, including Purdue Pharma, Puerto Rico, Residential Capital, Madoff Investment Securities, General Motors, W.R. Grace, Adelphia Communications, WorldCom, Dow Corning and SGL Carbon. Starting in October 2023, Judge Bentley will be handling the chapter 13 docket for Manhattan and the Bronx, in addition to his usual chapter 11 docket. Judge Bentley is a regular speaker on bankruptcy issues. He is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and of the Federal Bar Council’s Bankruptcy Litigation Committee. Prior to his appointment, he served on the advisory board for the American Bankruptcy Institute’s annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference and was a long-time member of the Policy Committee of Human Rights Watch. |
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Ronit Berkovich
Partner Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP View Bio
Ronit J. Berkovich is a partner in Weil’s Restructuring Department. Ronit represents debtors, creditors, lenders, investors, and asset purchasers in all aspects of distressed situations. She has served as debtors’ counsel in several of the largest and most significant chapter 11 cases in history, including General Motors, Lehman Brothers, WorldCom/MCI, and Takata. She also has extensive experience representing large and mid-market companies in out-of-court workouts, international restructurings, and prepackaged chapter 11 cases in a variety of industries and has provided advisory services to Fortune 500 companies and other companies on corporate structuring strategies. She has substantial expertise on restructuring strategies for managing litigation claims, including mass torts and government claims, and has recently developed deep knowledge of insolvency laws as applied to cryptocurrency companies. Ronit actively lectures on various topics relating to restructuring, including for organizations such as PLI, Bloomberg Law, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors, the New York City Bar Association, and Columbia Law School. She is the co-editor of the Weil Bankruptcy Blog and has written extensively on restructuring-related topics, including articles published in The Banking Law Journal, The American University Law Review, Real Estate Finance, and the Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable. Previously, she taught legal research and writing at Harvard Law School for two years and a seminar in economics at Harvard College. Ronit has received several prestigious awards and recognitions for her work. Most recently, in 2023 Ronit was the recipient of the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, a part of The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement, as co-author of the Bloomberg Law article: “Crypto Downturn Will Bring Legal, Regulatory Clarity.” She was named “Highly Regarded” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 (2021-2023) and was previously named a “Rising Star” by IFLR1000 (2019-2020). She was recommended for restructuring by Legal 500, named among the 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers by Lawdragon (2020, 2022-2023), and was recognized as a “Northeast Trailblazer” by The American Lawyer in 2022. In 2021 she was named among Notable Women in Law by Crain’s New York Business and named among “Women in Business Law Guide” by Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides (2020-2022). She was awarded 2019 Dealmaker of the Year by The American Lawyer for her work as counsel to Takata in its global restructuring and $1.6 billion asset sale to Key Safety. She was named an “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts (2019) and was previously named as one of its Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers on multiple occasions. In 2018 Ronit was named an MVP for Bankruptcy by Law360. In 2015 she was named a “Rising Star” in Bankruptcy by Law360 and named among the “Top Women” for Creditor Debtor Rights in New York by Super Lawyers. Ronit serves as co-Chair of Women@Weil in New York, on TOWER (Taskforce on Women’s Engagement and Retention), and on Weil’s Hiring Committee. Ronit received a mentoring award from the firm in 2022. She is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a non-profit, non-partisan, self-supporting, invitation-only organization of approximately sixty lawyers, law professors and bankruptcy judges who are leading scholars and practitioners in the field of bankruptcy law, the primary purpose of which is to advise Congress on the operation of bankruptcy and related laws and any proposed changes to those laws. She is also active in her community. Among other things, she is a member of its Lawyers Executive Committee and Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group of the UJA Federation of New York and co-chaired its Next Generation Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group for several years. In 2013 she received the James H. Fogelson Emerging Leadership Award from the UJA Federation of New York. |
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Howard Brownstein
President Brownstein Corporation View Bio
Howard Brownstein is a nationally-known turnaround and crisis management professional, and is the President of The Brownstein Corporation, which provides turnaround management and advisory services to companies and their stakeholders, as well as investment banking services, fiduciary services, and litigation consulting, investigations and valuation services. He was previously a Principal of NachmanHaysBrownstein, Inc. where, in addition to leading turnaround assignments for its clients, ad-vising senior management and fulfilling a senior management role, he had overall responsibility for the firm’s transactional ac-tivities and for the marketing of its services to clients. He has served as Financial Advisor to Debtors and to lenders and Credi-tor Committees in bankruptcy proceedings, and as a litigation expert in several cases including the landmark Merry-Go-Round bankruptcy.Mr. Brownstein recently served as Chief Restructuring Officer in U.S. Mortgage which involved a $138 million mortgage fraud, and led the Plan Administrator team in Montgomery Ward LLC, the largest retail liquidation in history. He serves on the Board and Audit Committee of P&F Industries (NasdaqGM: PFIN), a publicly-held manufacturer and importer of air-powered tools and various residential hardware, and served on the Board of Betsey Johnson LLC, a well-known privately-held designer and retailer of women’s apparel through 70 stores and outlets, with equity sponsor Castanea Partners. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Special Metals Corporation, a $1 billion nickel alloy producer, where he also chaired the Audit Com-mittee and which was sold in 2006 at a substantial gain, and on the Board and Audit Committee of Magnatrax Corporation, a $500 million manufacturer of metal buildings, which was similarly sold in 2007. Howard Brownstein also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Philanthropic Trust, among the fastest-growing charities and largest grant-making institutions nationally (over $1 billion to date), and the largest independent provider of donor advised funds with over $700 million under management. He previously served on the Board of a regional bank, a retail department store, and several nonprofit Boards. Previously, Mr. Brownstein was Managing Director of Enprotech Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of ITOCHU (formerly C. Itoh), one of the world’s largest companies. Enprotech acted as ITOCHU’s acquisition and holding company for engineering service and product businesses with over $1 billion in assets. Mr. Brownstein has served in several senior executive and board positions, including CEO and COO of The Stone Group, a leading multinational manufacturer of comfort and safety equipment for the passenger rail industry with operations in the United States, Spain and England. Prior to becoming a turnaround man-agement consultant, Mr. Brownstein also served on the Board of a regional bank and founded a metals trading firm. Mr. Brownstein is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP). He has served on the International Board of Directors of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and its Executive Committee, and chaired its Audit Committee. Mr. Brownstein received TMA’s “Outstanding Individual Contribution” award in 2007. He also serves on the Board of the American Bank-ruptcy Institute (ABI), co-chairs its Complex Financial Restructuring Program, co-chaired its Mid Atlantic region for several years, and is a Contributing Editor of the ABI Journal. He serves on the Governing Board of the Commercial Finance Associa-tion (CFA) Education Foundation. Mr. Brownstein is a frequent speaker at professional and educational programs, including at Harvard Business School, Villanova Law School, Northeastern University, ABI, the American Bar Association, and TMA. He has authored over thirty articles, and has served on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Corporate Renewal, and serves as a Contributing Editor of abfJournal. Howard Brownstein is a graduate of Harvard University, where he obtained J.D. and M.B.A. degrees, and of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained B.S. and B.A. degrees from the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Brownstein is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Florida, but does not actively practice law. He also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. |
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Jack Butler
CEO Birch Lake Holdings, L.P. View Bio
Jack Butler is one of the most highly regarded dealmakers and thought leaders in the restructuring, corporate reorganization, and M&A communities. His recent transactions at Birch Lake include leadership of merchant banking relationships in the food, consumer electronics, legal tech, life sciences, logistics, and transportation industries, among others. Jack has been credited as one of the principal architects of restructuring solutions for dozens of companies across a diverse range of industries helping to create more than $100 billion in value for stakeholders. Earlier in his career, he co-founded the corporate restructuring practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he was a practice leader for twenty-three years and served on the executive leadership team at Hilco Global. Jack has been inducted into the M&A Advisor Hall of Fame, the Secured Finance Network Hall of Fame, and the Turnaround, Restructuring, and Distressed Investing Industry Hall of Fame. He is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is awarded to Americans who exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives. Jack has also been honored with the Harvey R. Miller Outstanding Achievement Award for Service to the Restructuring Industry and he and his family were honored with the Anti-Defamation League’s Jerold S. Solovy Freedom Award. A founder and past chairman of the Turnaround Management Association, Jack has served in leadership positions for many other industry organizations, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, American Board of Certification, INSOL International, New York Institute of Credit and Secured Finance Network, and its Education Foundation. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and International Insolvency Institute. Jack received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. In addition to serving in leadership positions with numerous civic and charitable organizations, he officiated high school and college football for many years and is a lifetime member of the American Football Coaches Association. |
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Hon. Shelley Chapman (RET.)
Senior Counsel Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP View Bio
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman (Ret.) is Senior Counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Judge Chapman served as a Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of New York from 2010 until her retirement from the bench on September 30, 2022. She presided over the Lehman Brothers chapter 11 and SIPA proceedings, as well as many other chapter 11 mega-cases and chapter 15 cross-border proceedings, including Boston Generating, Innkeepers, Ambac, LightSquared, Sbarro, NII Holdings, Sabine Oil & Gas, Cumulus Media, Toisa, Nine West, Century 21, and Aeromexico. She has also served as the court-appointed mediator in numerous complex chapter 11 cases, including Windstream, Frontier Communications, OneWeb, Avianca S.A., Purdue Pharma, and Sears. She is currently acting as the Lead Mediator in the Title III case of PREPA/The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Prior to her service as a Bankruptcy Judge, she was a partner at Willkie Farr in the Business Reorganization & Restructuring Department, where her practice included the representation of debtors, creditors, and other parties in interest in major chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings. Judge Chapman received a B.A. with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University in 1978 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, from which she graduated cum laude in 1981. She served as an editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. From 2001 through 2007, she served on the Board of Directors of HerJustice (formerly inMotion), a non-profit organization that provides pro bono legal services to indigent women and children in New York City, primarily in the areas of matrimonial, family, and immigration law. She served as Board Chair from 2004 to 2007, overseeing a broad expansion of the services provided throughout the five boroughs of the city. Prior to her appointment, she also served on the Executive Committee of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group and on the Advisory Board of the ABI New York City Bankruptcy Conference. Judge Chapman is a Conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and a member of the Board of the International Insolvency Institute. She served on an advisory committee of the ABI Commission to Study Chapter 11 Reform, and served as judicial co-chair of the ABI New York City Bankruptcy Conference. In April 2015, she was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to serve as the Chair of the Federal Judicial Center’s Bankruptcy Judge Education Advisory Committee and served in such capacity until March 2020. She continues to act as a mentor judge for the Federal Judicial Center’s Orientation Program for Newly Appointed Bankruptcy Judges. In July 2016, she became a member of the FDIC’s Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee. She also served on the Editorial Board of Collier on Bankruptcy as a Contributing Author and was a member of the Second Circuit Civic Education Committee. She is a frequent lecturer on a variety of U.S. bankruptcy and international insolvency topics at conferences around the country and internationally. |
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Karn Chopra
Partner Centerview Partners View Bio
Karn Chopra has over 18 years of experience advising and executing restructuring, financing and M&A transactions across a wide range of industries. Mr. Chopra’s company-side experience includes representing Ultra Petroleum Corp., Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), Residential Capital, GE Capital, ERA Group Inc., Castleton Resources, Methanex Corp., Prime Clerk, Rayonier Advanced Materials, Sears Corp., Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation/Foxwoods, Simmons Bedding Company (2009 TMA Large Restructuring Transaction of the Year), Vonage Corporation, PHH Corporation, Permian Holdings, THQ, Ambac Assurance, Syncora Holding, ACA Financial Guaranty, The Palisades Center, MagnaChip Semiconductor, American Commercial Lines, ampCNG, St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers, Beacon Manufacturing, Remo Drug, United American Healthcare, and Northland Cranberries. Mr. Chopra has also represented acquirers and creditors in transactions involving Intelsat, McDermott International, PG&E, Covia Holdings Corp., Serta Simmons Bedding, McGraw Hill, GTT Communications, Exela Technologies, Cobalt International Energy, Transworld Systems, Zohar Funds, Walter Investment, Vanguard Natural Resources, Atlas Resource Partners, SandRidge Energy, Magnum Hunter, Energy & Exploration Partners, Midstates Petroleum, Endeavour International, DS Waters of America, Kerzner Resorts and Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village. Mr. Chopra was formerly a Vice President at Miller Buckfire & Co., and prior to joining Miller Buckfire was a Vice President in the turnaround restructuring services group at AlixPartners LLC. Mr. Chopra is a CFA charterholder and has the C.I.R.A. (Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor) designation. Mr. Chopra has an M.B.A. with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan. |
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Greg Corbin
President Northgate Real Estate Group View Bio
Greg Corbin is the President and Founder of Northgate Real Estate Group. In addition to his focus on the sale and workout of properties in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Mr. Corbin also specializes in judicial and UCC foreclosures, loan and REO sales, restructuring, and the disposition of stalled construction sites. He has extensive expertise in these arenas and is widely recognized as one of the most active and sought-after industry leaders. Mr. Corbin has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career, most recently: • 2022 RED Bankruptcy Broker of the Year • 2022 CoStar PowerBroker • 2022 Crain’s Most Influential People in Real Estate • 2022 New York Real Estate Journal Industry Leader • 2021 Property IDX Broker of the Year • 2021 IE Magazine Inspiring Leader • 2021 Connect Media Top Broker Mr. Corbin and his team have been involved in the sale of over $3 Billion of investment properties spanning all major asset classes, including multi-family apartment buildings, development sites, factory/warehouses, transitional housing facilities, bulk condominium packages, industrial, retail, hotel, office, mixed-use, and commercial buildings. Prior to starting Northgate, Mr. Corbin spent 4 years at Rosewood Realty Group as the President of Bankruptcy and Restructuring. While there, he and his team arranged the sale, workout or recapitalization of over 100 buildings, development sites, membership interests and loans totaling $1.1 billion in underlying collateral. Before Rosewood, Mr. Corbin spent a decade at Besen & Associates. Prior to that, he was a Director of Sales at Massey Knakal, now Cushman and Wakefield. Mr. Corbin has been a Co-Chairman of the YJP Real Estate Division since 2012, Co-Founder of the NYIC Real Estate Group, and on the real estate board of the American Bankruptcy Institute. Mr. Corbin is a graduate of Horace Mann and Boston University. He is a native New Yorker and lives on the Upper West Side with his wife and children. |
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Patrick Daniello
Senior Restructuring Advisor Eaton Vance Management View Bio
Mr. Daniello is a member of Strategic Value Partners funds’ Advisory Council and primarily involved in furthering the North American franchise. Mr. Daniello is the President of Daniello Associates, an advisory firm providing wholesale restructuring and workout advice, portfolio management, and case management to credit investors. Prior, Mr. Daniello worked at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. from 1987 to 2018 where he held multiple positions. Most recently he was the Wholesale Chief Risk Officer for JPMorgan Chase’s Consumer and Community Bank, where he was responsible for all facets of Risk Management across $60B of wholesale assets and managed a global team of 450 employees. However, most of his tenure at JPMorgan was in the Corporate & Investment Bank in Special Credits and Special Situations, where he held the position of Global Head of Wholesale Special Credits from 2007 to 2017. Prior to becoming Global Head, Mr. Daniello was Head of Special Credits for EMEA and Asia Pacific, while he and his family were based in London from 2002 to 2007. He has been responsible for managing JPMorgan’s position through many high profile restructurings. Mr. Daniello graduated from Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics with a BS in Finance, received his MBA from the Gabelli Graduate School of Business at Fordham University, and is a member of the Risk Management Association. |
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Hon. Robert Drain (RET.)
Of Counsel Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP View Bio
Before retiring from the bench in 2022, Judge Drain oversaw proceedings ranging from large Chapter 11 corporate restructurings — including Loral, RCN, Cornerstone, Refco, Allegiance Telecom, Delphi, Coudert Brothers, Frontier Airlines, Star Tribune, Readers Digest, A&P, Hostess Brands, Christian Brothers, Momentive, Cenveo, 21st Century Oncology, Tops, Global A&T, Sears, Full Beauty Brands, Sungard, Windstream, Purdue Pharma, Jason Industries, OneWebb and Frontier Communications — to Chapter 15 and other cross-border cases, such as Varig, S.A., Yukos (II), SphinX, Galvex Steel, TBS Shipping, Excel Maritime, Nautilus, Landsbanki Islands, Roust and Untrapetrol. He also served as a court-appointed mediator in numerous cases, including New Page, Cengage, Quicksilver, Advanta, LightSquared, Molycorp, Breitburn Energy, China Fishery and PREPA. In his current practice at Skadden, he advises on U.S. and cross-border Chapter 11 and 15 reorganizations and litigation, out-of-court restructurings, distressed M&A and investments in troubled companies, debtor-in-possession loans and exit financings, as well as potential examiner or trustee roles and mediations. Judge Drain is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member and former board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), and a former board member and officer of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ). He was chair for several years of the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group established by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on home mortgage loss mitigation, and currently serves on the FDIC’s Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee. He was a founding member and chair of the Judicial Insolvency Network, which developed, among other issuances, guidelines that were adopted by courts in the U.S. and abroad for cooperation and communication in concurrent transnational insolvency cases. He also long annually presided over a mock transnational bankruptcy case for the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals’ (INSOL's) training program and is a member of the International Insolvency Institute. He is a member of the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Drain is an adjunct professor at Pace University School of Law and a former adjunct professor in St. John’s University School of Law’s LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program. He has contributed to treatises on bankruptcy law and frequently lectured on bankruptcy law in multiple programs for the Federal Judicial Center, NCBJ, ABI, AIRA, Turnaround Management Association, Practising Law Institute, American College of Bankruptcy, International Insolvency Institute, Federal Bar Council, Columbia University School of Law and national, international and local bar associations, as well as judicial and professional interchanges with judges and practitioners in South America, Europe, China, South Korea, Singapore and India. Prior to his time on the court, Judge Drain spent nearly 20 years in private practice, including 10 years as a partner in the bankruptcy and restructuring practice of another global law firm. |
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Michelle Dreyer
Managing Director CSC Global Financial Markets View Bio
Michelle Dreyer is managing director of CSC Global Financial Markets, leading Independent Director and Restructuring, including bankruptcy remote entity independent directors, distressed directors, litigation and liquidating trustee, successor indenture trustee, disbursing agent services, Section 363 escrows, and loan administration agent. Michelle serves as an independent director for both bankruptcy remote entities and non-bankruptcy remote entities, and in this capacity, has participated in many complex distress matters, including General Growth Properties, Sears Holding Corporation, and Medley LLC. Previously, she served in a variety of roles for CSC’s business, including administrative manager for special purpose vehicles and trust administrator. Michelle is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). She serves as a volunteer for Lake County Humane Society and is an alumni of Delta Zeta sorority. Michelle earned her J.D., Cum Laude, from Taft Law School and her B.S. in finance, with honors, from Kent State University. |
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Matthew Dundon
Principal Dundon Advisors LLC View Bio
Matthew Dundon founded the firm in 2016. He has been a global credit, litigation and distressed investment leader for over 13 years (research head at Miller Tabak Roberts Securities 2006-2010, and portfolio manager at Pine River Capital and Advent Capital 2010-2016), including dozens of litigation-intensive investments and trading opportunities. Corporate finance lawyer and analyst 1998-2006. University of Chicago JD, University of California at Berkeley BA. |
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Jared Ellias
Professor of Law Harvard Law School View Bio
Professor Jared A. Ellias writes and teaches about corporate bankruptcy law and the governance of large firms more generally. He has served as a Teaching Fellow and Lecturer at Stanford Law School, a Visiting Associate Professor at Boston University School of Law, the Bion M. Gregory Chair in Business Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and the William Nelson Cromwell Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He joined the Harvard Law Faculty in July 2022. His research on corporate bankruptcy topics has been published or is forthcoming in leading peer reviewed law and social science journals (such as the Journal of Legal Studies, the Journal of Legal Analysis and the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies) as well as in leading student-edited law reviews (such as the California Law Review, the Southern California Law Review, the Yale Journal on Regulation and the Columbia Law Review Sidebar). He has presented papers at a large number of academic conferences (such as the Annual Meeting of the American Law and Economics Association and the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies) and faculty workshops at leading law schools. His work has been selected twice for the Stanford/Yale/Harvard junior faculty forum and for presentation at the Weil, Gotshal & Manges Roundtable at Yale Law School. One of his Articles was designated by Corporate Practice Commentator as one of the Top 10 Corporate and Securities Laws Articles of 2020. He has presented research at a wide variety of bankruptcy lawyer conferences and events. He is widely quoted in the press, including by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, Bloomberg News and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many other media venues. In 2020, he was named to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s “40 Under 40” list for his scholarship and professional leadership. Ellias frequently advises state and federal lawmakers on bankruptcy-related issues and he has testified on corporate bankruptcy issues before the California State Senate and presented research at a wide variety of bankruptcy law conferences and events. He advised the California State Senate on the 2019 bankruptcy of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, one of the top ten largest industrial bankruptcies of all time that touched on many core issues of interest to the State of California. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Professor Ellias served as Professor of Law and the founding Faculty Director of the Center for Business Law at UC Hastings. He has received the UC Hastings Foundation Faculty Award for Faculty Scholarship, the highest research award given by UC Hastings to faculty. Before entering academia, Professor Ellias was an associate in private practice at Brown Rudnick LLP in New York, where he represented financial institutions and ad hoc and statutory creditor committees in corporate restructuring transactions, both in and out of bankruptcy court. Professor Ellias’ current research focuses on the governance of large bankrupt firms and the role played by activist investors and the effect of bankruptcy filings on firms. His research interests include corporate bankruptcy, corporate governance, contract law, empirical methods in social science and law and economics. Professor Ellias received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2008 and his A.B. from the University of Michigan in 2005. |
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Holly Etlin
Partner & Managing Director AlixPartners View Bio
Holly is an experienced executive with over 30 years of experience in providing turnaround services for companies in the retail, distribution, consumer products, financial services, media, and hospitality industries. Holly is a Certified Turnaround Professional; and is admitted to the American College of Bankruptcy and the International Insolvency Institute. In 2007, the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) recognized Holly with its Turnaround of the Year Award for the successful turnaround of Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. In 2011, TMA once again recognized Holly with its Transaction of the Year Award for the successful refinancing of Neff Rental. Holly was named Woman of the Year in Restructuring in 2014. She once again won the TMA Turnaround of the Year award for her work at BCBG MaxAzria in 2017. |
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Richard M. Fels
Managing Director Odeon Capital Group View Bio
Richard Fels is a financial professional with more than thirty years of experience in transactions relating to the event-oriented, distressed and restructuring markets. He has extensive knowledge in representing clients for all their transaction and execution needs. Mr. Fels is currently a member of Odeon Capital’s Capital Markets Group, specifically focused on Restructuring and Distressed M&A . He previously spent many years as a principal of Tradition NA, formerly Asiel & Company. Mr. Fels is also a managing member of Sunset Advisors LLC, an advisory practice. He is currently an active panelist on the Beard Group’s Distressed Investing Conference and has also been on various residential, charitable, and community boards. Mr. Fels is known by clients for his strong commitment to fair and equal dealing. His sense of order and accountability enhances any working group. He holds an A.B. in economics from Franklin and Marshall College and is a graduate of Central High School for Boys in Philadelphia with a B.A. Mr. Fels is, and will always be, a proud Eagle Scout. Mr. Fels is available for engagement on various advisory and creditor committees pertaining to bankruptcy cases, workouts, and litigation throughout the country. He has a special interest in investor and employee issues, where he provides forensic financial consulting and planning. |
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Bill Fitzgerald
Senior Vice President, Head Problem Loan Management First Citizens Bank View Bio
Bill is a 30+ year restructuring professional across many asset classes. He is the Senior Vice President, Head of Problem Loan Management for the First Citizens Bank Commercial Portfolio based in New York. He has significant experience in various real estate and related structured products domestically and abroad. |
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Steve Gidumal
President and Managing Partner Virtus Capital, LP View Bio
Steve Gidumal is the President and Managing Partner of Virtus Capital, LP, a Florida and New York based hedge fund specializing in investing in restructurings and distressed securities. Mr. Gidumal has been investing capital since 1994 first at Bear, Stearns, then at Tribeca Investments, an internal hedge fund of Travelers and Citibank and since 2004 at Virtus Capital LP. In 2007, a $400 million fund managed by Mr. Gidumal was ranked the number one fund in the United States in its category by Hedge Fund Research Institute. Mr. Gidumal was a co-founder of Westside Energy in 2003, an oil and gas exploration company focused on drilling for oil and natural gas in the western counties of the Barnett Shale in Texas. In June 2008, Westside Energy was sold to Crusader Energy for approximately $200 million. Mr. Gidumal was also instrumental in negotiating resolutions to the Eurotunnel restructuring in 2006, the Smartalk litigation in 2008, and as a Board member of the Mirant Recovery Trust (“MCAR”) negotiated the settlement with Southern Energy which paid MCAR $202 million in cash. Mr. Gidumal began his career at Arthur Andersen’s consulting division (now Accenture) and was hired by Polychrome Corp. to be its Materials Manager in its 1980s turnaround, where Mr. Gidumal was promoted to Director of Operations and became the company’s youngest executive. Mr. Gidumal has been a speaker at our Distressed Investing annual conference in New York for the past 17 years. Mr. Gidumal has a Bachelor of Science cum laude from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania where he double-majored in Accounting and Finance and has a Masters’ in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar with highest honors. |
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Mark F. Hebbeln
Partner Foley & Lardner LLP View Bio
Mark F. Hebbeln concentrates his practice in corporate restructuring, focusing on the representation of indenture trustees and other creditors and creditors' committees in chapter 11 cases. He is a partner in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Business Reorganization Practice. Mark has been recognized as one of the top bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys by Chambers USA, which has noted that he is “an unflappable kind of guy who is really calm, and really good at handling tense situations.” Mark has represented indenture trustees and bondholder interests in numerous national bankruptcy cases, including Invacare Corporation, Chesapeake Energy, The Hertz Corporation, Sun Edison, Breitburn Energy, ASARCO, TerreStar, Bally Total Fitness, Energy Future, Exide Technologies, Abitibi-Bowater, Trico Marine, Kaiser Aluminum, Alpha Natural Resources, Extended Stay, Angiotech, Atlas Air, PG&E, Midstates Petroleum, Hawker Beechcraft, Mirant Corporation, BankUnited, and United Airlines. He also has significant experience representing official committees of unsecured creditors in chapter 11 proceedings, including leading the representations of the official committees in the Capitol Bancorp (Detroit) and Shorebank Corporation (Chicago) chapter 11 cases. |
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Evan Hill
Partner Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP View Bio
Mr. Hill’s restructuring experience spans a wide variety of industries, including health care, energy, financial services, shipping and media. He also has experience representing corporate clients, private equity sponsors and investment banks in connection with public and private mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and equity investments, including PIPE investments in de-SPAC transactions. Mr. Hill is an active member of several industry and charitable organizations. For example, he serves as a member of the board of directors and in other leadership positions of the New York City Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). He also is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the New York City Bar Association, where he serves on the Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Committee and formerly served as secretary and treasurer of the Legal History Committee. Mr. Hill also is a member of the leadership of Young Catholic Renewal, a group of professionals in the corporate restructuring industry aged 40 and under who are committed to providing charitable assistance to those in need. Additionally, Mr. Hill actively represents a variety of pro bono clients, with a focus on nonprofit organizations. He has advised dozens of nonprofit organizations in all aspects of corporate governance, commercial transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Hill also is a member of the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance Banking Working Group, which is tasked with examining the practices of banking and financial institutions to determine how best to address elements of the industry that perpetuate racial inequity. Mr. Hill was named to the ABI’s 2022 40 Under 40 list of Emerging Leaders in Insolvency Practice, in addition to being the winner of the TMA’s Emerging Leader Award in 2020. He also was named as the winner of a 2020 Cornerstone Award by the Lawyers Alliance for New York in recognition of providing distinguished pro bono service to nonprofit organizations. |
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Gary E. Hindes
Managing Director The Delaware Boy Company LLC View Bio
Gary E. Hindes is Chairman and Managing Director of The Delaware Bay Company, LLC. Mr. Hindes began his career in 1970 as what is believed to have been the youngest newspaper publisher in the United States. At age 19, Mr. Hindes founded The Evening Standard Group, which published The Oak Forester and three other Chicago suburban weekly newspapers. Mr. Hindes then became editor of the Edmond Sun in Edmond, Oklahoma. From 1973 to 1975, Mr. Hindes was associate editor and chief investigative reporter for the Delaware State News in Dover, Delaware, where he won First Prize for Spot News Reporting and Second Prize (with staff) for investigative reporting from the Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Press Association. From 1976 until 1978, Mr. Hindes served as press secretary to the county executive of New Castle County, Delaware and then as Assistant to the Speaker of the House during the 119th Delaware General Assembly. Mr. Hindes began his career in the securities industry in November of 1978 as a trainee at Blyth, Eastman Dillon & Co. In 1980, he became a Vice President of Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, Inc. In 1981, he was elected a Vice President of Kidder Peabody & Co. and from 1983 to 1986 he was employed in the high net worth unit of Morgan Stanley. At Blyth, Eastman Dillon, Kidder Peabody and Morgan Stanley, Mr. Hindes specialized in researching the securities of bankrupt and distressed companies such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, Chrysler Corporation, Chrysler Financial Corporation, First Pennsylvania Bank, International Harvester Credit Corp., and Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago. In 1986, Mr. Hindes resigned from Morgan Stanley in order to form the Fallen Angels Fund, L.P., a private partnership investing in distressed securities. Also that year, he founded The Delaware Bay Company, Inc., an institutional brokerage firm specializing in distressed securities. Mr. Hindes sold his interest in The Delaware Bay Company, Inc. in 1996 and then served as liquidating trustee of the South Street Funds, a group of hedge funds with over $250 million in assets. In 2000, Mr. Hindes joined Deltec Asset Management, LLC, where he founded and was the sole manager of Deltec Recovery Fund, L.P. until December 31, 2010. In addition to having conducted extensive research into and invested in the securities of bankrupt and distressed companies, Mr. Hindes has also had considerable direct experience in the management and operations of such companies. Mr. Hindes served as chairman of the creditors committee in the McLean Industries bankruptcy and as a member of the creditors committee in the Circle Express and Western Union bankruptcies. He also served on the ad hoc committee of bondholders when the LTV Corporation was in bankruptcy proceedings and was chairman of the Bondholders Protective Committee during the Johns-Manville bankruptcy. In addition, Mr. Hindes was the Chairman of the Meritor/PSFS Bondholder Committee during the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society’s successful exchange offer in 1991. He has been quoted extensively as to bankruptcy-related matters in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Business Week magazine and has appeared on Bloomberg Television, the CBS and NBC Evening News; he also served as the 1998 co-chairman of the American Distressed Investors Conference held in New York City. Mr. Hindes is a former member of the board of directors of Lancer Industries, Inc. (an affiliate of the Joseph, Littlejohn & Levy Funds); Intranet Corp. (owner of Roadrunner Transportation, Inc. and three other over-the-road trucking companies), and Busse Broadcasting, Inc. (owner of the NBC affiliate in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the ABC affiliate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin), all of which are successors-in-interest to bankrupt companies. From 1982 to 2007, Mr. Hindes served as chairman of the board of trustees of Wilmington Head Start, Inc., a not-for-profit pre-school educational program for underprivileged inner-city children, and from 1993 to 2001 served by presidential appointment on the John F. Kennedy Center Advisory Council on the Arts. Mr. Hindes currently serves on the investment management committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is a former member of the boards of directors of the Wilmington Housing Authority and the Delaware Theater Company. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York, the Turnaround Management Association and a life member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the NAACP. |
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Tim Hynes
Global Head of Credit Research Debtwire View Bio
Tim Hynes is Global Head of Credit Research at financial data and analysis firm Debtwire (part of ION Analytics) where he oversees detailed credit research and reports on companies that are stressed, distressed, or restructuring. He leads a team of analysts that provides same-day analysis of market-moving events, bankruptcy filings and related court proceedings, valuation of distressed debt instruments and recovery scenarios. Tim is highly experienced in debt financings and securities. Prior to joining Debtwire in 2014, he held senior positions at Gleacher & Company, Loeb Capital Management, Fairfield Greenwich Group, Schultze Asset Management and Cerberus Capital Management. Based in New York, Tim holds a B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University. |
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Dan Kamensky
Founder Creditor Rights Coalition View Bio
Mr. Kamensky is the Founder of the Creditor Rights Coalition and a Member of the Advisory Board. Mr. Kamensky is the former managing partner of an SEC-registered investment advisory firm that was recognized as a leading manager by Absolute Return Magazine for two consecutive years. Prior to founding his firm, Mr. Kamensky was a Partner at Paulson & Co. Inc., and held various senior positions at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers in their Distressed & Special Situations Groups. Mr. Kamensky started his career as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. He formerly served as Chairman of the Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights Group of the Managed Funds Association and as Co-Chair of the Trade Practices Committee of the Loan Sales & Trading Association. He also served as an advisory board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute Commission to Study Reform of Chapter 11 and has written and lectured extensively on bankruptcy and restructuring topics. |
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Harold L. Kaplan
Partner Foley & Lardner LLP View Bio
Harold L. Kaplan is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, and, among other things, is the leader of the firm's Corporate Trust and Bondholders Rights Team and is a member of the firm's Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice. Over the last three decades, Mr. Kaplan has represented financial institutions, debtors, trustees under the Bankruptcy Code and the Securities Investors Protection Act, foreign liquidators in ancillary proceedings, creditors' committees, and other creditor groups, including specializing in and being nationally recognized for representing Indenture Trustees and bondholder interests. Recent major (multibillion dollar) bond default representations for Indenture Trustees include: Chesapeake, J.C. Penney and Hertz. Mr. Kaplan also recently served as Litigation Trustee in the White Star Oil & Gas case. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS, AFFILIATIONS AND HONORS Mr. Kaplan is a past chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Trust Indentures and Indenture Trustees, as well as serving on several related committees, including the advisory drafting group of the Subcommittee on Revision of the Model Simplified Indenture and currently the American Bankers Association Corporate Trust Committee. He is also a past Chair of the American Bar Association Health Care and Nonprofits in Bankruptcy Subcommittee. He is a frequent speaker and writer (with upwards of 100 articles and presentations) on Corporate Trust, Bond Default, Health Care and related matters. Among other Honors, Mr. Kaplan is recognized as one of Chambers USA's 2006 – 2023 "Leaders in their Field" for bankruptcy, and was named one of 12 outstanding bankruptcy lawyers in the country in 2014, 2005, 2004 and 2003, and one of 13 in 2001, by Turnarounds & Workouts. He has Co-Chaired the Beard Annual Distressed Investing Conference since 2015. REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE Previous and Current Representative Major Bond/Indenture Trustee/Creditor Cases: Digicel Group Holdings, Ltd., Invacare, J.C. Penney, Hertz, Chersapeake, Energy Future, SunEdison, Bristow, Sanchez Energy, Alpha Natural, Walter Energy, Exide Technologies, Altegrity, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, ASARCO, TerreStar Networks, Inc., Trico Marine, Evergreen Solar, Travelport Limited, Hawker Beechcraft, Angiotech, Reddy Ice, AbitibiBowater, Aleris International, Bally Total Fitness, Charter Communications, Primus Telecommunications, Simmons Bedding, Extended Stay, Inc., General Growth, Hartmarx, HRP Myrtle Beach Holdings LLC, Kimball Hill, Remy International, UAL Corp., Northwest Airlines Corp., FLYi, Inc., Mirant Corp., Loral Orion, USGen New England, Atlas Air, Tower Automotive, WHX Corp., Kaiser Aluminum, Conseco, Petro-Geo, HealthSouth, Magellan Health Services, NCS Healthcare, AHERF, Home Products International, Inc., Fleming, Kmart, Redback Networks, USN Communications, Favorite Brands, Southern Mineral, United Companies Financial, ContiFinancial, Sunterra, Crown Vantage, Kitty Hawk, Safety-Kleen, Reliant Building Products, Wheeling-Pittsburgh, Metal Management, Armstrong World Industries, Outboard Marine, Loewen Group, Globe Manufacturing, Pacific Gas & Electric, AMRESCO, Goss Holdings, Thermadyne Holdings, Jacobson Stores, Farmland Industries, Hunt International Resources, Sunshine Mining, Eastern Air Lines, Telemundo, Bally’s Grand, Wedtech, Manville Forest Products, Venture Stores, Rock Island Railroad, Milwaukee Road, and WPPSS |
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Hon. Michael Kaplan
Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge District of New Jersey View Bio
The Honorable Michael B. Kaplan was appointed as a bankruptcy judge on October 3, 2006, for the District of New Jersey and designated Chief Judge on May 1, 2020. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee, as well as a member of the Chapter 7 panel of bankruptcy trustees, where he received case appointments as both a Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 trustee. His private practice included the representation of institutional lenders consumer debtors (under both Chapters 7 & 13), business debtors and individuals undergoing reorganization pursuant to Chapter 11. Judge Kaplan received his A.B. degree from Georgetown University (1984) and his J.D. Degree from Fordham University School of Law (1987). He is licensed to practice law in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Court of International Trade and various federal district courts. Over the past thirty years, Judge Kaplan has spoken to numerous bar associations and business organizations, and authored several articles relating to bankruptcy issues. Judge Kaplan is a co-author of West’s Consumer Bankruptcy Manual and Consumer Bankruptcy Handbook. Additionally, he serves on the Editorial Board and as Business Manager for the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and teaches as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law. Judge Kaplan has been the recipient of the Conrad B. Duberstein Memorial Award given by the New York Institute of Credit, the Judicial Service Award from the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees’ 2006 Distinguished Service Award and New Jersey State Bar Association’s 1999 Legislative Recognition Award. Judge Kaplan has been appointed by the Director of Administrative Office of the Courts (“AO”) to a term as the Third Circuit representative to the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group, in addition to appointments as the Bankruptcy Judge representative on both the Human Resources Advisory Council and Budget & Finance Advisory Council to the AO. He is an officer of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and member of the Turnaround Management Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and the Commercial Law League of America. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as Mayor and Councilman for the Borough of Norwood, NJ, and as a member of the Norwood Planning Board. |
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Josh Katzeff
Head of Special Credits Group Carlyle View Bio
Joshua Katzeff is the Head of the Special Credits Group in Global Credit where he is responsible for workouts and restructurings across the credit platform. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Katzeff was with Deutsche Bank where he focused on stressed and distressed credit analysis and investing in the Distressed Products Group. Previously, Mr. Katzeff worked at UBS and Deutsche Bank in equity research and Fortress Investment Group and DNB in credit. Mr. Katzeff received a BS in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University. |
2023 Recipient of the Harvey R. Miller Outstanding Achievement Award for Service to the Restructuring Industry
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Victor Khosla
Founder & Chief Investment Officer Strategic Value Partners |