Chapter 11 Cases in the Headlines

Lydia R. Webb is a partner with Gray Reed & McGraw LLP in Dallas, where she focuses her practice on representing and advising debtors, creditors, committees and post-confirmation trustees in bankruptcy cases and other insolvency or restructuring scenarios. She has guided clients to successful results in complex cases before courts throughout Texas and many other states, including Oklahoma, Delaware and New York.

Ms. Webb’s cases span the oil and gas, health care, retail, manufacturing and restaurant businesses. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law since 2021 and in Bankruptcy Litigation for 2022, was selected to participate in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Next Generation program in 2019, and has been named a “Rising Star” by Texas Super Lawyers since 2018.

Ms. Webb is an ABI member and is social chair of the DFW Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers. She is also a member of the Dallas Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section, The Hon. John C. Ford American Inn of Court and the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation.

Ms. Webb received her B.B.A. cum laude in finance and economics from Baylor University in 2009 and her J.D. cum laude from Baylor University School of Law in 2012.

Hon. Harlin DeWayne Hale is Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, appointed in November 2002. He previously worked at Strasburger & Price before opening a boutique firm, where he became well versed in bankruptcy law.

Two years before his judicial appointment, Judge Hale was a regional partner in charge of the bankruptcy practice at Baker & McKenzie in Dallas. He is a member of the Texas, Louisiana, American and Dallas Bar Associations, the Dallas Bankruptcy Bar Association, and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.

Judge Hale received his undergraduate degree and J.D. from Louisiana State University, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and an editor of its law review.

Craig S. Ganz is a partner with Ballard Spahr LLP in Phoenix and Los Angeles, and co-leads its Non-Bank Lending Team in the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Industry Group. He is focused primarily in the areas of real property, restaurant/hospitality, and finance/banking law. His experience also encompasses significant trial work on both the state and federal levels.

Recently, Mr. Ganz has focused his efforts on assisting clients with (COVID-19-related) distressed asset workouts on the banking and real estate side. As it relates to his real estate and finance practice, he frequently counsels clients on strategies ranging from asset acquisition and dispositions to leveraged transactions on both the buy and sell side. He often consults with private-equity groups, REITs, hotel operators and family offices to establish internal and external strategies in order to implement a formal protocol to manage the transactional-side acquisition and disposition processes. He also handles pre-litigation workouts for financial institutions and various real estate entities as it relates to distressed-asset scenarios.

On the litigation front, Mr. Ganz defends and prosecutes actions on behalf of corporate clients, including hotels, REITs, private-equity groups and commercial real estate entities, along with balance-sheet and nontraditional lenders and borrowers. These litigation matters typically involve distressed assets, lender-liability claims, fraud actions, securities law violations, RICO actions, enforcement of real estate leases, broker commissions, enforcement of real property purchase agreements, enforcement of commercial contract guarantees, deficiency actions, loan default actions, garnishments, judgment enforcement proceedings and fraudulent transfer actions. In his reorganization practice, he guides clients in prominent retail bankruptcy proceedings. He also represents corporate creditors and debtors, advising clients on debtor financing issues, ? 363 asset purchases, avoidance and preference actions, stay proceedings and claim analysis. In addition, he actively manages the national bankruptcy portfolios of several publicly traded clients and conducts in-house training for finance departments in order to eliminate or reduce insolvency risk.

Mr. Ganz regularly represents creditors’ committees and counsels clients on receivership-related issues. He received his B.A. in 1997 from the University of Arizona and his J.D. in 2001 from Southwestern Law School.

Clients and colleagues alike turn to Steve when a bankruptcy case is not likely to settle. A seasoned trial lawyer, he is widely recognized for his solutions-oriented approach which involves working closely with clients to first see the end result and then, map out a plan to get there. He focuses his practice on business bankruptcy litigation, representing creditors, investors, distressed debt lenders, trustees, committees, and business entities litigating disputes in bankruptcy court.

Steve received his B.S. in multinational business operations from Florida State University and received his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law where he continues to guest lecture. He is board certified by the American Board of Certification in both creditors' rights law and business bankruptcy law and is a member of the Florida, California, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (federal) bars.

Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the American Bankruptcy Institute and the American Board of Certification. He works on several committees and task forces and routinely volunteers and speaks at seminars. Additionally, he serves as the judge advocate to the Coronado Yacht Club in Coronado, California, and volunteers in providing pro bono bankruptcy and insolvency services and training for United States Navy service members, including Judge Advocate General officers and staff.