Steven G Howell

Practice Areas

Steve has been practicing for almost 45 years as a bankruptcy and insolvency lawyer providing a broad range of services in the distressed business context. A significant part of Steve's practice is spent counseling lenders in troubled loan matters throughout the workout process, including exit strategies, refinancings, restructures, sales, out-of-court and court proceedings, bankruptcy and liquidation. He is currently serving as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan as lead bankruptcy counsel on behalf of the State of Michigan in the Chapter 9 bankruptcy case filed by the City of Detroit. In addition, he serves as counsel to the Detroit Financial Review Commission which is responsible for reviewing compliance with the City of Detroit’s plan of adjustment confirmed by the bankruptcy court in November of 2014. Steve has also represented borrowers, creditors' committees, creditors and purchasers of financially distressed companies. He has previously served as Practice Department Manager of the Banking, Bankruptcy, and Municipal Finance groups at Dickinson Wright for 8 years. Increasingly, Steve has been called upon to mediate matters in both state and federal courts.

Professional Memberships

State Bar of Michigan; American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan; American Bankruptcy Institute; Turnaround Management Association.

Publications

Drafting and Enforcing Contracts in Light of COVID-19, State Bar of Michigan Webinar, February 2021; Webinar Presentation to a major bank’s legal department and workout bankers, “Automotive Workouts”, December 2019; Turnaround Management Association/West Michigan Chapter, Panelist, “State Governments, Municipalities and Emergency Managers,” February 2018; Webinar presentation to a major bank’s workout bankers and lawyers, “Municipal Bankruptcy: Getting In and Getting Out,” July 2015; Michigan Association of Municipal Lawyers/Public Corporation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan 17th Annual Summer Education Conference, Panelist, “When Worlds Collide – Municipal Finance & Bankruptcy! Has the Dust Settled?” 2015; Turnaround Management Association Annual Spring Conference, Panelist, “Back From The Brink: Detroit’s Turnaround, the Inside Story,” 2015; ABA 19th Annual National Institute on Gaming Law, “Casino Bankruptcies: A Growing Threat to Market Stability,” February 2015; Turnaround Management Association Annual Spring Conference, Panelist, “Death of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy As We Knew It,” 2013.

Education

Awards