Current Employment Position(s)

; Financial Institutions and Real Estate

Lawyer Overview

Rich is a shareholder in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association. He is a member of the Financial Institutions and Real Estate Section and the firm’s Bankruptcy Practice Group. With more than 25 years of experience, Rich practices principally in the areas of:

• Bankruptcy and workouts 
• Creditors’ rights 
• Bankruptcy litigation 
• Commercial lending  

Rich has appeared in most of the major Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases commenced in Minnesota in recent years. He has also represented Minnesota clients in bankruptcy cases in Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Texas, Arizona and other jurisdictions. In his practice, Rich represents secured lenders in bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy matters, including commercial workouts; real estate and Article 9 foreclosures; bankruptcy sales, including Section 363 sales; and Chapter 11 issues, including the negotiation and litigation on cash collateral, Chapter 11 plan issues and reorganizations, relief from stay proceedings and claim objections. In addition, Rich also has experience representing PACA creditors and administrative expense claimants in Chapter 11 cases, and landlords and tenants in lease workouts and bankruptcy matters.

Historically, Rich successfully represented a lender in the case that established the basic law governing the relationship between the Bankruptcy Code and Minnesota's foreclosure statute: Johnson v. First National Bank.

Recent representation includes:

• Representation of the secured lender in the Article 9 foreclosure sale of the assets of a major manufacturer of petroleum equipment;
• Representation of a public agency in the acquisition of abandoned industrial property through a Section 363 bankruptcy sale, where subject property emerged as cornerstone of client's commercial redevelopment efforts;
• Representation of the lender in a bankruptcy involving a major ethanol producer;
• Representation of a major advertising agency in a successful Chapter 11 reorganization;
• Representation of a secured lender in the negotiation and preparation of a Chapter 11 reorganization plan for a condominium project located in outstate Minnesota;
• Representation of a secured creditor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, filed by a national food company, involving employment and tax issues and extensive negotiation and litigation with PACA creditors, mezzanine lenders, equity holders and other interested parties;
• Representation of a national commercial real estate developer and landlord in retail bankruptcy cases located throughout the country; and
• Representation of separate franchisee associations in bankruptcy proceedings involving a national restaurant chain and a national automobile supply company.
  

Rich has represented secured creditors and other parties in state court assignment for benefit of creditor proceedings and both entity and asset receiverships receivership actions (including real estate receiverships). Most recently, he handled representation of a secured creditor in the liquidation of an automobile parts manufacturer resolved through a state court receivership proceeding.

Bankruptcy Litigation

Rich has extensive experience representing defendants in bankruptcy preference, fraudulent conveyance actions, as well as other bankruptcy litigation.

Commercial Lending

Rich also assists clients with corporate financing and lending matters. He frequently represents Minnesota lenders in the negotiation and documentation of revolving credit, real estate and term loan facilities.

Admissions, Memberships and Education

Rich is admitted to practice before Minnesota state and federal courts, and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Minnesota State and American Bar associations, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). Rich has been an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law since 1987, where he frequently teaches a bankruptcy course (most recently in 2007). In the community, he provides pro bono services to clients of Legal Corps and the Legal Assistance Program, and is a member of the Hennepin County Bar Association’s ethics committee.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Rich received his B.A. summa cum laude from Macalester College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was elected to Order of the Coif and served as an editor of the Minnesota Law Review. Rich joined Briggs in 1979.

Areas of Practice

• Banking and Finance
• Bankruptcy and Workout
• Commercial Lending
• Real Estate
• Asset-Based Lending

West Practice Categories

Banking & Finance Law, Bankruptcy Law, Bankruptcy Litigation, Commercial Bankruptcy, Commercial Banks, Commercial Leasing, Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Bankruptcy, Credit Unions, Creditors' Rights, Debt Discharge, Foreclosures, Land Use & Zoning, Lending & Secured Transactions, Loan Workouts, Mortgages & Foreclosures, Property (Ad Valorem) Taxes, Public Finance, Real Estate Law, Reorganizations & Restructuring, Residential Real Estate, State & Municipal Bonds & Financing, Transactions, Workouts

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1979

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member
• American Bar Association
• Member
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Member
• Turnaround Management Association
• Member

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, 1979
  J.D.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude Order of the Coif
• Macalester College, 1976
  B.A.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude Phi Beta Kappa

Published Works

• Law360 Column: Sale and Assignment Notices, 2009
• Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, 2005

Address

2200 IDS Center
80 South 8th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Phones

612.977.8640 (Business Phone)

Faxes

612.977.8650 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.briggs.com/