Michael Menkowitz

Practice Areas

For 15 consecutive years, Michael has been selected to the Chambers USA Guide list as a ranked attorney in Pennsylvania for bankruptcy and restructuring law. An innovator in his field, he offers strategic legal guidance to businesses suffering from difficult financial circumstances.

Michael is Chair of the firm's Automotive Practice and oversees a team that provides a full range of transactional, corporate and litigation services to automobile dealers.

Michael began his career at Fox Rothschild and served for many years as Chair of the Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Department. He also previously served as Managing Partner of the firm’s Philadelphia office. During his tenure at Fox, he served as the driving force behind complex, high-profile bankruptcy cases, particularly in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

For more than two decades, Michael has represented secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees and debtors in a multitude of workout and bankruptcy matters, including complex Chapter 7 and 11 cases. He is experienced in a variety of industries including health care, retail, manufacturing, financial services, automotive and others. In addition, Michael has represented state and federal receivers, gaining a keen understanding of the many issues and pressures they face.

Michael is a member of the firm's Executive Committee and also serves on the Conflicts Committee.

Career

Active in the Philadelphia community, Michael works closely with the nonprofit, Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP), providing support through supervising attorneys, working closely with law students and serving as a mentor. He is also on the board of directors for the Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia. Additionally, he is a frequent writer and lecturer on creditors’ rights and other related topics.

Professional Memberships

American Bankruptcy Institute | Pennsylvania Bar Association | National Association of Dealer Counsel | Board of Directors, Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Bar Admission: Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Work Highlights

Major Bankruptcy Cases

Family Christian, LLC

Representation of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

The debtors – one of the nation’s largest retailers of Christian books and church supplies – had sales of $216 million from 266 stores in 36 states and about 3,000 employees. The Fox team led by Michael successfully opposed an early sale to an insider stalking horse bidder and later opposed a $42 million auction sale. Ultimately, the Bankruptcy Court approved a $50 million sale in a liquidation plan that effectively protected the creditors’ best interests by ensuring that the stores would remain open and most employees would keep their jobs.

Downey Financial Corporation

Representation of Chapter 7 Trustee

Debtor was the parent of a large savings and loan taken over by the FDIC. A Fox team led by Michael secured a $390 million verdict in the Bankruptcy Court for the benefit of the creditors after several years of hard-fought, complex litigation. The FDIC appealed and Fox defended the judgment before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s judgment and verdict in favor of the Trustee. The Trustee has received payment of the full amount of the verdict for the benefit of the debtor’s estate.

AF-Southeast, LLC, Allied Fiber–Florida, LLC andAllied Fiber–Georgia, LLC

Lead Counsel for Debtors

The Debtors owned and operated a telecommunications network that spanned from Atlanta, Georgia, to Miami, Florida. The purpose of the Debtors’ Chapter 11 cases was to sell their assets as a going concern to the highest and best bidder. Michael led a team that negotiated with lenders and secured court approval for the retention of a chief restructuring officer. In July 2016, three months after the initial filing, the Court approved the sale of substantially all assets to a stalking horse bidder. The Court approved the final plan of liquidation in January 2017.

HMR Foods Holding LP

Representation of Chapter 7 Trustee

Debtors, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of prepared foods sold in premier grocery and club stores, filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Michael negotiated a sale of the assets of the debtor’s Canadian affiliate for $5.2 million, and later won Bankruptcy Court approval to conduct a public auction and sale of approximately 800 lots of equipment at the debtors’ production facility, for additional proceeds in excess of $1.8 million.

Hess Industries, Inc. andHess Engineering

Representation of the Chapter 7 Trustee

Debtor engineered, fabricated and installed custom metal-forming equipment and integrated manufacturing systems primarily for the automotive industry. Hess Industries utilized proprietary patented technologies to develop complex and highly customized spinforming, flowforming and rollforming machines to streamline assembly lines and manufacturing processes. Michael led the Fox team that won Bankruptcy Court approval for a sale of substantially all of the assets of Hess to a Chinese-based company for $19.25 million. The transactions were complex due to the involvement of foreign buyers, which required thorough analysis of Commerce Department and ITAR issues.

TransVantage Solutions, Inc., TransVantage Forwarding, Inc. and TransVantage Transportation, Inc.

Representation of the Chapter 7 Trustee

The Debtors were integrated businesses providing freight transportation, auditing and payment services to its customers. Michael led an investigation of the Debtors and owner, leading to the Trustee’s settlement with the Debtors’ owner for turnover of all real and personal property owned directly or indirectly by the owner and non-debtor affiliated entities, including certain non-debtor insiders. Michael’s team also commenced more than 500 adversary proceedings seeking more than $500 million. Most of the claims settled, generating millions of dollars in proceeds for creditors.

LTC Holdings, Inc.

Representation of the Chapter 7 Trustee

LTC and several related companies filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 in the District of Delaware. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the Debtors were a government construction contractor, with active projects in the United States, Guam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and other countries. Michael led a team that assisted the Trustee and special counsel in an arbitration before the London Court of International Arbitration that resulted in a $21 million settlement. The team also negotiated 35 separate sales of equipment and machinery, as well as interests of the Debtors, generating more than $1.1 million in proceeds.

Education