Clients want more from their attorneys than someone who can simply tell them what their legal options are and then leave the client to make the “business decision.” Instead, clients want attorneys who know their industry, who understand the business pressures they face, and who can partner with them to make the tough decisions. Clients want attorneys who will fight tirelessly when necessary, but also who will seek a practical business solution even when one is not readily apparent. The attorneys in Balch’s Creditors Rights and Bankruptcy Practice do just that.

For decades, Balch has represented financial institutions, utilities, and other creditors faced with troubled credits. Such representation encompasses many facets. It could mean our involvement in structuring a transaction to minimize the impact of future financial trouble. It could mean facilitating an out of court resolution before the first pleading is ever filed. In many situations, it means foreclosing collateral and using state or federal courts to protect a client’s rights. In others, it means using federal bankruptcy law either to enforce claims against a bankrupt obligor or using those same laws to defend efforts to claw back payments made by those obligors.

Related Practices

Our Clients

The industries in which our clients work are extensive. A small sampling includes commercial lending, consumer lending, energy, healthcare, residential and commercial construction, distressed investing, retail, public finance, and manufacturing. Our clients include financial institutions, note buyers, investors, utility companies, factoring companies, commercial landlords and tenants, retailers, industrial suppliers, general contractors, and sub-contractors.

Our Experience

Bankruptcy & Insolvency Litigation

Balch represents creditors, DIP lenders, bidders in 363 sales, and other parties in interest in bankruptcies not only within our firm’s footprint, but throughout the nation. Our work commonly involves automatic stay issues (including defense of stay violation allegations), adequate protection disputes, plan confirmations, claim objections, and defense of claw back claims (e.g., fraudulent transfer and preference actions). We also counsel and advise financial institutions and other creditors in bankruptcy compliance and related regulatory matters.

Deal Structuring & Legal Opinions

Working with members of the firm’s real estate and corporate teams, attorneys in the Creditors Rights and Bankruptcy Practice routinely counsel clients in structuring transactions to minimize the impact of bankruptcy. This work often includes issuance of non-consolidation opinions, true sale opinions, and authority to file opinions.

Distressed Investing

Often working with members of the firm’s corporate and real estate practices, we counsel investment funds and other clients when acquiring interests in distressed companies and when purchasing real estate and other assets both in and out of bankruptcy.

Enforcement of Judgments

Balch is knowledgeable and experienced in locating assets and using garnishments, sheriff/marshal sales, and other collection tactics to turn a judgment into cash. We also are well-experienced in avoiding fraudulent transfers made by debtors.

Intercreditor Disputes

We routinely represent lien holders in both real property and personal property priority disputes arising in bankruptcy and other courts. We also represent banks and other creditor parties to intercreditor agreements, loan participations, and loan syndications.

Landlord/Tenant Disputes

Commercial landlords look to Balch for representation in evicting tenants and collecting unpaid rent.

Loan Workouts & Foreclosures

When it makes business sense and a debtor is cooperative, Balch represents creditors in out of court workouts that avoid the expense that a court battle often requires. In other instances, the firm represents creditors in judicial and non-judicial foreclosure sales of real property as well as conducting UCC Article 9 sales of a vast array of different types of personal property.

Mechanics and Materialman Liens

Whether it is representing a contractor or sub-contractor in filing and enforcing a lien or representing a property owner opposing a lien, Balch is experienced in navigating the world of mechanics and materialmen liens including asserting claims under the Miller Act and the Little Miller Act on public projects.

ORE Management & Disposition

Balch assists financial institutions in obtaining possession of foreclosed properties, managing those properties, and selling those properties.

Public Finance Defaults

Balch represents trustees and bondholders in bond defaults across a wide range of industries.

Real Property Tax Liens

Our attorneys have considerable experience in representing both tax lien purchasers when property is redeemed as well as lenders who hold mortgages on property that has been sold for taxes.

Receiverships

In both state and federal courts, Balch represents creditors seeking the appointment of a receiver, other creditors opposing a receivership, as well as the receiver itself.

Creditors Rights & Bankruptcy