Michael focuses on representing Chapter 11 debtors, creditors and creditors’ committees and advises on virtually every aspect of financial distress and bankruptcy.
In a career of more than 40 years, Michael has appeared in courts in more than 20 states and territories. Prior to moving to Wisconsin and joining Steinhilber Swanson in April 2018, Michael’s legal practice was centered in New York City and the federal, state and bankruptcy courts located in the Southern District of New York (including White Plains), as well as Delaware. Although based now in Wisconsin, he maintains his active bar admission in New York, and continues to appear and represent clients across the nation.
Michael regularly advises and represents clients in out-of-court restructurings, prosecution and defense of creditors’ rights litigation (including preference and fraudulent conveyance cases), individual and group secured and unsecured creditors, landlords, tenants, purchasers of assets under Bankruptcy Code section 363 and other parties in interest. His litigation practice outside the bankruptcy courts includes the prosecution and defense of numerous and varied commercial disputes. In addition, since January 2018, he has taught bankruptcy law as an adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison.
Michael has served as President of the American Bankruptcy Institute (“ABI”) (2004-05), as well as director (1996-2008), chairman of its board (2006-07) and a member of its management and executive committees. He served as chairman of the Section 363 Subcommittee of ABI’s national commission to reform Chapter 11, and co-vice chair of ABI’s National Ethics Task Force. Michael has written and contributed numerous articles on ethics in bankruptcy practice to the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, and over the past 25 years has been an invited speaker/lecturer at hundreds of bankruptcy conferences. Michael is also the founder and a performing member of ABI’s house band, the Indubitable Equivalents, which performs at bankruptcy conferences around the country.
Michael is admitted to practice in numerous federal district courts and circuit courts of appeal, including the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York; and the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin. However, because bankruptcy law is a federal practice he may (and does) appear and represent clients in bankruptcy courts anywhere in the country.