bankruptcy cases

Mediation in Bankruptcy: A Glimpse | Fox Rothschild LLP

If you were a party to a lawsuit or a contested matter in a bankruptcy proceeding, would you be interested in working towards settlement with the assistance of an impartial third party, that is, a mediator, rather than take on the significant cost of litigation and going to trial? More and more parties in bankruptcy cases are answering this question with a resounding yes.  See generally, Mediation Matters: The Use of Mediation in Large Chapter 11 Cases (Part I), ABI Journal, August 2023.

It is difficult to track the use of mediation in bankruptcy cases, as participation in mediation may occur informally and/or referral to mediation may not appear on the docket.  Reliance on mediation, at least in chapter 11 cases, appears to have been occurring for decades.  The results of a 2009 survey of bankruptcy judges revealed that “81 percent of judges reported using mediation in their chapter 11 cases in some capacity and plan negotiation was the most common reason for mediation.” Id. (citing Ralph Peeples, “The Uses of Mediation in Chapter 11 Cases,” 17 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 401, 406 (2009), available at abi.org/members/member-resources/law-review).

More recently, there is a growing trend of reliance on

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February 23, 2024 by ATTORNEY

Leading Bankruptcy Lawyer Edward M. Fox Joins Emmet, Marvin & Martin, LLP

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Emmet, Marvin & Martin, LLP announced today that Edward M. Fox has joined the firm as a partner in the Creditors’ Rights, Workouts, Restructuring and Bankruptcy Group. A nationally recognized bankruptcy lawyer, Mr. Fox brings 38 years of experience representing clients in some of the largest bankruptcy cases in the country.

Edward Fox

“We are thrilled to welcome Ed to Emmet Marvin,” said Brian D.Obergfell, Chairman of the firm. “Ed is a preeminent bankruptcy lawyer who has built a great practice and won exceptional recoveries on behalf of bondholders and other creditors. His track record of success will be a great complement to our deep bench representing institutional and other creditors in the financial services industry.”

Mr. Fox’s experience includes the representation of debtors, creditors committees, indenture trustees, bondholders, secured creditors, broker/dealers, landlords and other creditors in some of the largest bankruptcy cases in the United States, including Enron, Worldcom, K-Mart, Delphi, The New York Racing Association, Overseas Shipholding Group and Sears Holdings, at times obtaining par plus accrued or other outsized recoveries.

“I am delighted to join the firm. For over two centuries, Emmet Marvin has been a marquee

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December 15, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Law firm tied to bankruptcy judge resignation says former partner lied
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who announced he is stepping down from handling cases, is seen during a virtual interview with Reuters in December 2020

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, who oversees more major Chapter 11 cases than any other U.S. judge, is seen in a screenshot from video shot during a virtual interview with Reuters done from Houston, Texas, U.S. December 11, 2020. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Nov 13 (Reuters) – Texas law firm Jackson Walker was deceived by a former partner who never disclosed she was living with a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston who was handling its cases, the firm said in a court filing on Monday.

Jackson Walker was told by former partner Elizabeth Freeman in 2021 that she had ended her relationship with then-U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones “well in the past” and it was unlikely to rekindle, according to a filing that appeared in multiple bankruptcy cases the firm had worked on, including that of J.C. Penney.

The 500-lawyer firm was responding to an effort by the U.S. Trustee, the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, to force the firm to return millions of dollars earned in cases presided over by Jones, who resigned in October after his relationship with Freeman became public.

Tom Kirkendall, an attorney for Freeman, declined to comment, as did spokespeople for Jackson Walker and

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November 15, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Bankruptcy Clinic Students Save Legacy in Decade-Long Advocacy

The Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic at Miami Law offers pro bono legal services to low-income individuals who are dealing with bankruptcy.




Since 1995, the University of Miami School of Law’s bankruptcy clinic has given current Hurricane law students the opportunity to deliver life-changing pro bono legal services to indigent clients throughout South Florida.

Bankruptcy attorney Patricia “Trish” Redmond founded the clinic at the school where she still serves as an adjunct professor. A 2019 Tobias Simon Pro Bono Award Winner and shareholder at Stearns Weaver Miller, Redmond devotes between 200-400 hours every year to her pro bono work, which benefits thousands of underprivileged and low-income individuals, children, and families.

Bankruptcy cases are far from easy. A simple Chapter 7 can last up to six months while a more complex Chapter 13 can take up to five years, which makes the case Redmond and her team just completed all the more shocking.

“This case came to the clinic around 2010,” Redmond said. “Thirteen years’ worth of law students worked on this case.”

As Redmond explained, the debtor, a construction worker on dialysis, had lost his home in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.

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June 4, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Lawyer for Chris Pettit raises concerns about ‘authenticity’ of $270 million in bankruptcy claims

A lawyer for Chris Pettit, in a letter to the judge presiding over the ex-attorney’s bankruptcies, has raised questions about the “authenticity” of the $270 million in claims submitted by creditors in the cases.

The “obvious concern is that some creditors may take substantially more dividend than they are entitled to the detriment of honest creditors,” San Antonio bankruptcy lawyer Ron Smeberg wrote.

Pettit is in jail awaiting trial in connection with the alleged theft of millions of dollars from his former legal clients. He pleaded not guilty after his indictment on
five counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering
last week.

On ExpressNews.com:

Judge denies Chris Pettit’s release on bond, will remain jailed until his criminal trial

Pettit filed for bankruptcy protection
for himself and his law firm June 1 amid
mounting lawsuits that alleged he had defrauded clients. He subsequently
surrendered his law license
and shuttered his offices.

Smeberg said questions about the creditors’ claims “developed” during a detention hearing Tuesday in federal court in which prosecutors argued Pettit should remain incarcerated pending trial.

FBI agent Thomas Sweatt testified the “current claims” against Pettit were in the range of $30 (million) to $70 million,

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December 19, 2022 by ATTORNEY
April 2024
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