Creditors' Rights + Bankruptcy

James-Bates-Brannan-Groover-LLP’s Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights, and Restructuring Practice Group is among the most progressive and sophisticated practices in Georgia. Our attorneys provide valuable knowledge and experience in the areas of traditional bankruptcy representation as well as more complex debtor’s and creditor’s rights matters. 

The group has represented numerous entities from various sectors of the economy such as financial institutions, healthcare entities, real estate and manufacturing business enterprises, private investors, in their roles as secured and unsecured lenders, equity holders, trustees, indentured trustees, agents, debtors, and buyers of distressed assets in all types of debt restructurings, litigation, and bankruptcy reorganization proceedings. The group provides our clients with a multi-disciplinary approach to any matter by collaborating with many complementary practice groups within the firm, such as the Corporate & Transactional, Banking & Financial Institutions, and Real Estate Practice Groups. This approach allows us to offer our clients efficient, customized, and comprehensive services.

Our specialized knowledge in the bankruptcy field is regularly used to counsel our clients with respect to:

• Chapter 7, 11, 13, and 15 bankruptcy cases
• Bankruptcy and insolvency-related litigation such as prosecuting or defending fraudulent transfer and preference actions, etc.
• Negotiating the terms and implementation of debtor-in-possession financing
• Negotiating and litigating the terms of use of cash collateral, adequate protection, and relief from the automatic stay
• Section 363 sales
• Out-of-court commercial debt restructurings
• Loan workouts for both borrowers and lenders
• Distressed M&A sales and acquisitions
• Investments in distressed assets and securities
• Indenture and securitization trustee representation

Our attorneys’ representative experience includes:

• Represented a biofuel manufacturer in connection with its acquisitions of assets through a Section 363 sale in the Southern District of Georgia
• Represented foreign trustees in a Chapter 15 recognition proceedings and dismissals of competing Chapter 11 proceedings in the District of Delaware
• Represented Chinese and German manufacturing companies in prosecution of administrative priority claims and defending alleged preference claims in the District of New Hampshire
• Represented a concrete manufacturer in Chapter 11 resulting in the successful sale of assets as a going concern under Section 363 and continuation of uninterrupted business operations in the Northern District of Georgia
• Represented a telecommunications company in connection with a debtor’s Section 363 sale of assets in the District of Delaware
• Represented a real estate development company in the successful Chapter 11 restructuring resulting in a repayment of all claims in the Northern District of Georgia
• Represented a start-up nutraceutical distribution company in connection with its acquisition of assets  through a Section 363 sale in the Northern District of Georgia
• Represented a major construction company in defending alleged preference and fraudulent actions in the Southern District of New York
• Represented various financial institutions in their capacities as secured and unsecured creditors in Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 cases in Georgia and New York
• Represented major financial institutions in their capacity as trustee for securitized transactions in over 15 Chapter 11 cases in Delaware, New York, California and Florida
• Represented a major financial institution as agent for participating lenders in $200-plus million loan in a Texas-based Chapter 11 of a large retirement home community with nine wholly owned operating subsidiaries
• Represented a German company in the successful purchase of patents from a Chapter 11 debtor in Delaware
• Counseled a major German manufacturing company in a successful jury trial in Oregon of a fraudulent transfer action against a major U.S. company with Canadian and UK subsidiaries, which resulted in an award of over $1.3 billion, including punitive damages
• Counseled a large American corporation in successfully pursuing claims arising out of the Italian bankruptcy filing of Parmalat
• Counseled a wireless phone service provider in its acquisition of over $1 billion in wireless spectrum from a debtor in the Southern District of New York

Our attorneys have been recognized for their expertise in bankruptcy related matters. Members of the group include memberships in and recognitions from the American College of Bankruptcy Attorneys, Super Lawyer in Georgia, the Best Lawyers in America, and Top 10 Bankruptcy Attorneys in Georgia. Furthermore, members of the group have authored various articles and books on bankruptcy-related issues, such as:

• “Trouble in Portfolio Paradise: Governance and Board Liability Issues of Financially Distressed Portfolio Companies,” American Bar Association, April 2014.
• “International Insolvency – Jurisdictional Comparisons,” The European Lawyer Reference Series, 3rd Edition, November 2012.
• “Not-for-Profits in Bankruptcy: Who Doesn’t Love a Charity?” BNA’s Bankruptcy Law Reporter, September 2011.
• “Multinational Enterprise Liability in Insolvency Proceedings,” The European Lawyer Reference Series, 1st and 2nd ed., September 2006, and September 2010.
• “Saving the Going Concern: Must the Crew Abandon the Ship,” International Insolvency Institute, June 2006.
• “Secured Lending to Debtors; Portfolios and Possibilities,” Lex Mundi, May 2006.
• “Cross Border Insolvency Issues and Pre-Packaged Insolvency Plans,” CMS Hasche Sigle, March 2006.
• “Directors’ Liabilities and Corporate Governance in Insolvency and Pre-Insolvency Cases Worldwide,” International Insolvency Institute, June 2004.
• “Distresses Investing,” Institute for International Research, 2003.
• “Administering Assets in the US Owned by Non-US Entities,” International Insolvency Institute, June 2003.
• “Intellectual Property Issues in Bankruptcy,” State Bar of Georgia, November 2000.
• “Buying Assets Through the Bankruptcy Process,” Law Education Institute, January 1999.
• “Asset Protection Planning in Georgia,” National Business Institute, April 1994.
• “Current Bankruptcy Evaluation Issues,” 11th Annual Business Evaluation Conference; American Society of Appraisers, November 1992.

Creditors' Rights + Bankruptcy Attorneys