Ilyse Homer

Practice Areas

Ilyse Homer, a partner on the Business Reorganization Team (BRT) at Berger Singerman in Miami, is a highly-regarded practitioner who brings a formidable capability developed over decades to advise clients from a diverse range of industries, deploying creative and cost-effective solutions for complex business and litigation challenges arising in the context of financially-distressed situations, corporate restructurings, and contentious bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. Homer has extensive expertise in a full range of creditor and debtor-side representations in both the bankruptcy and appellate courts as well as state and federal court receiverships and state court liquidation proceedings. As the team leader of BRT, Ilyse has applied her professional experience in strategic, organizational leadership to develop and manage a team of lawyers which is perennially ranked as one of the finest corporate bankruptcy practice groups in the United States.

Work Highlights

Ilyse regularly counsels clients in a broad range of complex litigation and transactional matters involving corporate restructurings in a wide variety of industries. Her recent representations include serving as counsel to:

- The Assignee of Crystal Cruises LLC in an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors case involving various cross-border issues, more than 12,000 creditors and over $1.4 billion in filed claims.

- The Receiver of Solar Eclipse Investment Funds who was appointed to pursue $1.2 billion in claims held by 23 Funds and to wind down and dissolve the Funds once their assets have been liquidated and distributed in both state court and bankruptcy court. The Funds’ owners and investors are companies including Geico Corporation, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, The Sherwin Williams Company, People’s United Bank, DV VNB Community Renewables Fund LLC, DV VNB Community Renewables Fund III, LLC, and Pardee Solar 1, LLC who invested in DC Solar, a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

- The Trustee of the Piper Aircraft Irrevocable Trust. Prior to representing the Trustee of the Trust, Ilyse represented the debtor who as a result of its reorganization, paid creditors 100% of their claims and created the Trust that thrives today.

- The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW). Prior to its bankruptcy, TBW was the largest independent mortgage originator in the United States. Headquartered in Ocala, Florida, TBW employed approximately 2,500 people across the United States in its main business and employed another 1,500 in various subsidiaries. This case involved an excess of $11 billion in claims.

- Austin Capital BMP Fund. ACM invested in the Rye Select Broad Market Prime Fund, LP (the “Prime Fund”) which was one of the largest “feeder funds” and claimants in the Bernard L. Madoff fraud cases. The Madoff fraud is one of the largest frauds ever committed in the country. The Prime Fund is a Settlement Class Member, as defined in the Stipulation of Partial Settlement dated February 25, 2011 in In re Tremont Securities Law, State Law and Insurance Litigation, District Court Case No. 08 CIV. 11117 (TPG). ACM suffered a total loss of approximately $154 million in the Prime Fund as a result of investments made over eleven years beginning in 1997. Ilyse was instrumental in mediations and confidential settlement discussions that ultimately resulted in the resolution of ACM’s claims in May of 2016, ACM received a very favorable settlement in this matter.

- The Espirito Santo Group of Portugal and its affiliates in the Bankest bankruptcy cases in Florida. These cases involved the largest bank fraud in South Florida history.

- The largest independent minority owned distributor of medical supplies in United States.

- An ad hoc committee of homeowners in a Chapter 7 debtor case, which resulted in a precedential ruling on the issue of standing from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

- The Chapter 7 Trustees including one case where a debtor transferred in excess of $7 million to an offshore asset protection trust.

- Assignees, assignors and secured creditors in various assignment for the benefit of creditor cases

- Debtors in aviation related cases.

- Secured creditors in both state and federal court proceedings.

Professional Memberships

- Bankruptcy Editorial Advisory Board Member at Law360 (2021-2023)

- Bankruptcy Bar Association of Florida

- Business Law Section of The Florida Bar

- The American Bar Association

Publications

-Singerman, P. S., Homer, I. M., Guso, J., & Jarvinen, C. A. (2019, May 8). United States: Restructuring & Insolvency (3rd edition). Restructuring & Insolvency (3rd edition).

- Singerman, P. S., Homer, I. M., Guso, J., & Jarvinen, C. A. (2020, June 7). United States: Restructuring & Insolvency (3rd edition). Restructuring & Insolvency (4th edition).

-Singerman, P. S., Homer, I. M., Guso, J., & Jarvinen, C. A. (2022, July 26). United States: Restructuring & Insolvency. The Legal 500: Country Comparative Guides. https://www.legal500.com/guides/chapter/united-states-restructuring-insolvency/

-Singerman, P. S., Homer, I. M., Guso, J., & Jarvinen, C. A. (2022, December 5). United States: Restructuring & Insolvency. The Legal 500: Country Comparative Guides. https://www.legal500.com/guides/chapter/united-states-restructuring-insolvency/

Expert in these Jurisdictions

- Florida

- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida

- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida

- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

- U.S. District Courts, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida

Languages Spoken

- English

Education

Awards