Bankruptcy Time Travel: Can Debtors Obtain Nunc Pro Tunc Relief and Delay Post-Petition Rent Payments into the Future (Pending the Pandemic and Beyond)?

Felice R. Yudkin is a member in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Department. Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, an internationally recognized publication ranking attorneys based on extensive client and peer interviews and reviews, described Felice as “a favorite among clients. ‘She is a very attentive and a careful draftsman with tremendous control of the facts of the case.’” Well recognized for the quality of her legal work, Felice has been selected for inclusion in the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars in Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. See Award Methodology.

Felice counsels Chapter 11 debtors, unsecured creditors’ committees, secured and unsecured creditors, commercial landlords and other parties-in-interest in complex Chapter 11 reorganizations, workouts, creditors’ rights, avoidance actions and other bankruptcy-related litigation.

Jennifer McLain McLemore advises commercial creditors, business creditors, banks and credit unions in bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation matters. She frequently represents clients in matters involving debtor-in-possession financing arrangements and asset identification and recovery matters. She also represents clients in bankruptcy litigation situations involving avoidance actions, claim objection disputes and discharge/dischargeability claims.

Jennifer has handled bankruptcy cases for numerous clients, including business owners, corporate entities and contract counterparties; commercial and retail landlords; banks and other lenders; Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors; Chapter 7 trustees; Chapter 11 trustees; and debtors.

Jennifer is listed in The Best Lawyers in America? for Bankruptcy & Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency & Reorganization Law (2013-present). She is listed in Virginia Super Lawyers for Bankruptcy Law (2014-present), Chambers USA for Bankruptcy/Restructuring (2021) and has been named among Virginia’s “Legal Elite” by Virginia Business for Bankruptcy/Creditors’ Rights (2011-2017, 2019-present).

Jennifer is a past chair of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). She founded IWIRC’s Virginia network in 2006, and, in 2012, she received the IWIRC’s Melnik Award, which is awarded to a member who has made an exceptional contribution to IWIRC, either through efforts over the past year or for the culmination of efforts over a period of years.

She currently serves on the board of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and served as co-chair of the ABI’s Southeastern Bankruptcy Workshop Advisory Board from 2019-2021. She was a member of Leadership Metro Richmond’s Class of 2016 and is a sustainer for the Junior League of Richmond.

Jennifer earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, where she served as an associate editor for the University of Richmond Law Review. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude and with university honors, from Miami University.

Ivan Gold is of counsel in our San Francisco office. Ivan represents clients in all areas of real estate-related litigation in state and federal courts, as well as contested matters and adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court. He has extensive experience in breach of lease and unlawful detainer litigation and pre-litigation counseling and negotiation involving a wide variety of commercial real estate, including neighborhood and regional shopping centers, office buildings, warehouse and industrial properties, data centers, restaurants, and hotels. Ivan represents shopping center developers and landlords of office and data center properties in major bankruptcy proceedings throughout the United States. He has utilized alternative dispute resolution in a wide variety of disputes, including arbitration, mediation and private judge proceedings.

Prior to joining Allen Matkins, Ivan was senior counsel at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP and a partner in the San Francisco law firm of Berg, Ziegler, Anderson & Parker.

Ivan has spoken at continuing education programs sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers, State Bar of California, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the California Continuing Education of the Bar, on topics such as landlord-tenant disputes, the treatment of leases in bankruptcy proceedings, alternative dispute resolution, and real estate-related litigation. Recent presentations have included "Should The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 Make You Change Your Lease Form?" at the 2006 CLE International Negotiating Leases Conference, "Designate This! Designation Rights and Lease Dispositions after the New Bankruptcy Amendments" at the 2008 International Council of Shopping Centers U.S. Law Conference and "The Impact of Bankruptcy on Real Property Transactions," 2008, 2010, and 2012 programs for California Continuing Education of the Bar.

Josh Sussberg is a partner in the Restructuring Practice Group. Josh represents debtors, creditors, equity holders, sponsors, boards of directors and investors in all aspects of restructuring stressed and distressed companies.

The 2020 edition of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Business Lawyers noted that clients consider Josh to be an “outstanding lawyer.” The 2020 edition of Chambers USA, America’s Leadings Lawyers for Business ranked Josh as a top lawyer both nationally and in New York, with one source noting “[h]e is an experienced attorney with tremendous depth in restructuring from a legal and commercial perspective. He makes things happen and moves mountains at times.” Other sources added “[h]e is the quintessential big-case advisor,” and “very bright and incredibly diligent.” The 2020 edition of The Legal 500 U.S. cited Josh as a consumer and retail expert, with one source noting he is “as good as it gets in the bankruptcy area.”

Most recently, Josh was chosen as one of five bankruptcy attorneys nationwide as a Law360 2019 MVP. Josh was recognized in the 2019 Legal 500 and the 2019 IFLR1000 and Josh was also named an Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer by Turnarounds & Workouts in December 2018, recognizing 15 lawyers nationwide who are leaders in the bankruptcy field. Josh was also recently recognized by The Deal as the 2018 Consumer/Retail Lawyer of the Year following representations of companies including Toys R Us, BCBG, Gymboree, Mood Media and Charming Charlie. The 2018 Legal 500 recognized Josh as “tireless and super bright” and a key member of “one of the most pre-eminent law firms for US restructuring.”

Recognized in Chambers each year since 2011, Josh has been described as “masterful,” in the context of a recent particularly daunting corporate bankruptcy filing, where “he found the best outcome for everyone” and did an “extraordinary job.” He is described as “a great lawyer; practical and solution-oriented,” with one source noting: “He is extremely creative, smart and hard-working, and also easy to work with and a great problem solver.” Other editions of Chambers USA describe Josh as “excellent,” with clients praising his industrious work ethic and “very commercial” approach to matters; “practical, easy to work with and deal oriented in the sense he recognizes the best way to get a deal done is to work together.” Chambers USA has also recognized Josh’s “great courtroom presence,” with commentators noting that he is an “absolute pleasure to work with and against.”

In May 2019, Josh was awarded the first ever Young Leadership Award by UJA-Federation of New York Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group. In 2017, Josh was selected to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s inaugural “40 under 40” list, recognizing bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring professionals from around the world. Josh was named an Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer by Turnarounds & Workouts in 2014. Josh was recognized as a "New York Super Lawyer" in Super Lawyers magazine's 2013–2018 rankings. Previously he had been recognized as a "Rising Star" in 2011 and 2012.

Hon. Michael A. Fagone is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Maine in Bangor, appointed in April 2015. He is also a member of the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit, appointed in April 2016.

Judge Fagone previously clerked for Associate Justices Leigh I. Saufley and Robert W. Clifford of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Following his clerkship, he joined Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson in Portland, Maine, and was a member of its Business Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Group from 1998-2000, and from 2001-15, where he represented clients in bankruptcy cases and in out-of-court restructurings. While practicing law, Judge Fagone was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA as one of the top bankruptcy lawyers in Maine. He is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and served on the board of directors of the Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library, and on the board of directors of the Dyer/Library and Saco Museum.

Judge Fagone currently serves on ABI’s Board of Directors and volunteers with Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE), teaching students about the responsible use of credit and the dangers of credit abuse. He also has volunteered as a coach and an evaluator for Maine Law’s teams in the Conrad B. Duberstein Moot Court Competition.

Judge Fagone received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1993 and his J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law in 1997.