Lawyer Overview

Mitch Appelbaum is a partner in the firm's Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring and Real Estate Practice Groups. He joined the firm in 1991. Mr. Appelbaum's practice focuses on matters involving the financial restructuring of corporate clients, including the use of Chapter 11, secured lending, lease arrangements and other commercial transactions for clients.

Practice

Mr. Appelbaum advises a variety of clients on the acquisition of troubled companies through section 363 sales, and has counseled various secured and unsecured creditors with respect to bankruptcy, workout and restructuring matters.

Mr. Appelbaum’s commercial practice includes representing, as borrowers, corporate clients in industries such as retail, manufacturing, Internet, high-tech, telecommunications, financial and consulting services and mining. He also represents institutional and other lenders in negotiating and documenting complex, international and domestic credit facilities, including debtor in possession arrangements.  Additionally, Mr. Appelbaum represents clients in the structuring and implementation of leveraged acquisition financing, receivables securitizations, and aircraft and other equipment financings, and works with the firm's corporate attorneys on Rule 144A offerings.

Recent Highlights

Mr. Appelbaum represented Chapter 11 debtors in the bankruptcies of KB Toys, Network Plus and PhotonEx Corp. He also has advised clients on debt restructurings, including one involving a global supply chain management service provider that was named by the Turnaround Management Association as “International Turnaround of the Year” in 2002.

Professional Activities

Mr. Appelbaum is a member of the Turnaround Management Association and the American, Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations. He lectures on bankruptcy and commercial lending issues for continuing legal education courses, and is an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk Law School, teaching a course on commercial lending and finance.

Mr. Appelbaum also participates in many pro bono activities, including participating in legal clinics for homeless individuals.  Mr. Appelbaum was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of The Lawyers Clearinghouse for Homelessness and Affordable Housing, Inc., a non-profit organization that administers programs to provide access to legal services for low income and homeless individuals and other non-profit organizations.

Honors and Awards

• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2008, 2009 amd 2010 in the area of bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law
• Named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in bankruptcy in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 issues of Boston Magazine
• Recognized for exceptional standing in the legal community in the area of bankruptcy/restructuring in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions
• Recognized as a leading practitioner of bankruptcy and commercial law in the Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers, 6th Edition

Areas of Practice

• Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring
• Corporate and Transactional
• Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights Litigation
• Real Estate
• Distressed Real Estate Solutions

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Law, Commercial Bankruptcy, Estate & Gift Taxation, Property (Ad Valorem) Taxes, Real Estate Law, Reorganizations & Restructuring, Workouts

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts

Education

• Boston University School of Law, 1991
  JD
  Honors: with honors, G. Joseph Tauro Scholar
• Brandeis University, 1988
  BA
  Honors: with Honors

Published Works

• Taking and Enforcing Security Interests in Personal Property, 2007
• While It May Not Yet Be Christmas, Bankruptcy Court Allows "Gifting" to Junior Creditors, 2006
• Commercial Advisor, 2004
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Shareholder Derivative Suit Dismissed for Lack of Jurisdiction following Cancellation of Debtor's Stock in Bankruptcy Case, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2003
• Commercial Advisor, 2002
• Housecraft and Derivative Standing, 2002
• Security Interests In Unregistered Copyrights Governed by Uniform Commercial Code, Not Copyright Act, 2002
• Ninth Circuit Finds Security Interests in Unregistered Copyrights Governed by Uniform Commercial Code, Not Copyright Act, 2002
• Commercial Advisor, 2002
• Privacy Lessons from Bankruptcy Cases, 2000

Address

60 State Street
Boston, MA 02109

Phones

+1 617 526 6713 (Business Phone)

Faxes

+1 617 526 5000 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

www.wilmerhale.com