Charles Postler

Practice Areas

Charles A. Postler is a shareholder with Stichter, Riedel, Blain & Postler, P.A. (SRBP) and is widely recognized as one of Florida’s leading attorneys in complex business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy matters. Based in Tampa, Florida, he has spent more than four decades advising public and private companies, financial institutions, investors, business owners, and fiduciaries in sophisticated transactions and restructuring engagements involving substantial assets and enterprise value. His practice combines deep transactional experience with extensive knowledge of bankruptcy and insolvency law, allowing him to guide clients through both growth opportunities and distressed situations.

A significant portion of Charles’ practice is devoted to mergers and acquisitions, asset acquisitions, stock purchase transactions, corporate governance matters, financing arrangements, and strategic business transactions. He regularly represents buyers and sellers in transactions involving operating companies and complex assets across a wide range of industries. His experience includes matters ranging from the acquisition and sale of public companies and multinational enterprises to luxury hospitality properties, healthcare businesses, industrial operations, and high-value specialty assets.

Charles is particularly known for his ability to navigate transactions that intersect with financial distress, insolvency, or bankruptcy proceedings. He routinely structures and documents acquisitions, financing transactions, debtor-in-possession financing arrangements, and asset sales in Chapter 11 cases. He also plays a leading role in the preparation and negotiation of plans of reorganization, disclosure statements, confirmation-related agreements, and other critical restructuring documents in some of SRBP’s most significant bankruptcy matters. His ability to combine sophisticated transactional skills with practical restructuring insight makes him a trusted advisor in complex and high-stakes engagements.

Beyond his transactional practice, Charles regularly appears in bankruptcy court and has represented debtors, lenders, creditors, and other stakeholders in major Chapter 11 proceedings. He has led or played a key role in the successful restructuring and reorganization of numerous companies, including publicly traded corporations, healthcare enterprises, manufacturing businesses, transportation companies, telecommunications providers, and resort developments. His experience spans virtually every stage of the business life cycle, from formation and growth through acquisition, restructuring, and exit transactions.

Charles joined SRBP as a partner in 1991 after serving as a partner with Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villareal and Banker, P.A., where he focused on securities law, mergers and acquisitions, banking law, and corporate transactions. His prior experience in securities and corporate law continues to enhance his ability to advise clients on complex governance, financing, and transactional matters.

He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law, where he served as Chief Tax Editor of the University of Florida Law Review. He graduated summa cum laude from Spring Hill College. Charles has received numerous professional distinctions, including recognition in Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers, and Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, and he holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating. He is active in the American Bankruptcy Institute, Turnaround Management Association, American Bar Association, Hillsborough County Bar Association, and Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association.

Clients and peers value Charles for his technical sophistication, practical business judgment, and ability to successfully execute complex transactions and restructurings. His combination of corporate, finance, M&A, and insolvency experience has made him one of Florida’s most respected business and restructuring attorneys and a key leader in SRBP’s nationally recognized transactional and bankruptcy practice.

Professional Memberships

Florida Bar/Business Law Section

Hillsborough County Bar Association

American Bar Association/Section on Corporation, Banking and Business Law

Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association

American Bankruptcy Institute

International Network of Boutique Law Firms

Association for Corporate Growth

Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce

St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce

Real Estate Investment Council of Tampa Bay

Publications

Mr. Postler has participated in the following speaking engagements:

CLE Moderator, Business UNusual: A Practical Overview of Bankruptcy in Florida Amidst COVID-19, The Business Law Section of the Florida Bar COVID-19 & Beyond Virtual CLE Series (May 2020)

“Clash of the Codes: Bankruptcy Tax Issues Made Simple,” 42nd Annual Alexander L. Paskay Bankruptcy Law Seminar, January 2018

“Preparing Corporate and Individual Clients for Bankruptcy,” 40th Annual Alexander L. Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar, April 1, 2016

“The Intersection of Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings, Receiverships and U.S. Bankruptcy Proceedings,” at the Caribbean Insolvency Symposium presented by the American Bankruptcy Institute in San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 2016

“Exculpation Clauses in Chapter 11 Plans,” The Great Debates, 38th Annual Alexander L. Paskay Bankruptcy Law Seminar, March 2014

“Expect the Best, Plan for the Worst: Bankruptcy Issues in IP Licensing,” New Technology Frontiers and Modern Corporate Realities sponsored by the Hillsborough County Bar Association, March 2011

Expert in these Jurisdictions

The Florida Bar (all State courts)

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Work Highlights

Listed as Top Lawyer in Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Business Reorganizations Law, and Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, by Tampa Magazine, 2016, 2017, 2018

Listed as a Florida “Super Lawyer” in the area of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Practice in “Florida Super Lawyers” 2009 – 2025

Ranked, Top 100 lawyer in Florida and Top 50 Lawyer in Tampa Bay by Florida “Super Lawyer” 2019, 2021, 2022

Listed, Tampa Bay’s Best Lawyers – 2009 – 2026

Listed, Best Lawyers in America

Listed by Chambers and Partners, “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” in the area of Bankruptcy/Restructuring

Listed, Florida’s Legal Elite, Florida Trend Magazine 2011, 2016.

Chief Tax Editor, University of Florida Law Review (1983 – 1984)

Rated “AV” (highest rating) by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory

Experience

Charles A. Postler has headed up or been actively involved in the firm’s representation of the following debtors in possession in Chapter 11 cases:

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Axcess Medical Imaging Corporation

American Ship Building Company

Bicoastal Corporation

Biovest International, Inc.

Cargo Transportation Service, Inc.

Doctors’ Hospital of Tampa, Ltd.

GeoPharma, Inc.

JumboSports Inc.

Linc.net, Inc.

Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. Inc

Scrub Island Development Group Limited

Silas Creek Retail, Inc.

Tampa Shipyards, Incorporated

Teltronics, Inc.

Total World Telecommunications, Inc.

U.S. Plastic Lumber Corporation

Viasource Communications, Inc.

Education