Hot Topics in Bankruptcy: A Discussion of Where The Legal and Deal Action Is At in 2011 and Where It Is Headed

Keith J. Shapiro is Co-Managing Shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office and Co-Chair of the Business Reorganization & Financial Restructuring Practice. Keith has near 30 years of bankruptcy and restructuring experience. He appears worldwide in corporate restructuring matters and workouts representing troubled companies, financial institutions, creditors' committees, hedge funds and private equity funds. He has played central roles in the bankruptcies and restructurings of Conseco Finance Corp., Ashton Woods USA LLC, United Airlines, DBSI, Inc., Sportsman's Warehouse, Inc., Renew Energy LLC, Tropicana Entertainment, LLC, Kmart Corporation, ICO Global Communications, Montgomery Ward and many others.

A leader in the restructuring community, Mr. Shapiro is a member of the International Board of Directors of the Turnaround Management Association and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. He was previously Chairman of the Board and President of the American Bankruptcy Institute, a member of the Board of Directors of INSOL International, and Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee. 

Keith earned his J.D. from Emory University School of Law and his B.S. from the University of Illinois. He is listed in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500 US and Crain's Chicago Business’ Who's Who in Chicago Business. 
 

Prof. G. Ray Warner is a professor of law and the director of the Masters in Bankruptcy Program at St. John's University School of Law in New York. Prior to joining the St. John's faculty, Professor Warner was the William B. Boreland Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

Professor Warner has practiced law in Atlanta and Chicago and has held leadership positions in several bankruptcy organizations, including service as Secretary to the American Bankruptcy Institute and as Chair of the American Board of Certification. Professor Warner publishes regularly and is a frequent seminar speaker.

Mr. Kaufman has been at Gordian Group since 1990. As the President of Gordian Group, Mr. Kaufman heads the firm’s Restructuring and Distressed M&A practice. Prior to joining the firm, he was the founding Co-chairman of the Committee on Investment Banking of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). With Henry Owsley, Gordian Group’s Chief Executive Officer, he is the co-author of the definitive work in the field, Distressed Investment Banking: To the Abyss and Back. Additionally, Mr. Kaufman has been profiled by The Deal, where he is consistently ranked as one of the 10 leading national investment bankers in financial restructurings. He is national TV’s go-to authority for restructuring and bankruptcy views. 

Prior to joining Gordian Group, Mr. Kaufman was a founding member of First Boston Corporation’s Distressed Securities Group. As an investment banker and attorney, he has more than 25 years experience solving complex financial challenges.

Chief Investment Officer of Versa Capital Management, LLC, a $950 million private equity fund making control investments in distress and special situations. 

Mr. Halpern has invested in, managed and advised companies in special situations for more than 20 years, and has been with the firm since 1995. His experiences cover a wide spectrum of industries in circumstances ranging from underperformers to liquidations. Previously, he practiced insolvency law, specializing in business reorganization of middle market companies. 

He is currently a Director of Allen-Vanguard, Bell+Howell, Bob’s Stores, Central Parking, Holliston, Ohio Community Media, Polartec, and Simplexity. 

Mr. Halpern received a J.D. from Stanford Law School (Order of the Coif) and his B.A. from Reed College (Phi Beta Kappa).