Robert J. Stark
Recognized since 2012
New York, New York
Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Litigation - Bankruptcy
Robert Stark, a member of the Firm's Management Committee, focuses his practice on complex corporate restructuring, including in-court Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court workouts. He has extensive experience representing official and unofficial creditor/equity committees, debtors/borrowers, institutional investors, indenture trustees, and other significant parties-in-interest in large corporate insolvency matters.
Robert’s case experience includes the representation of an official or significant ad-hoc creditor/equity committee in the restructuring of American Safety Razor, CEDC, Delta Petroleum, Dolan Company, Endeavour International, Energy Conversion Devices, Evergreen International Aviation, Falcon Products, Fedders, Flying J/Big West Oil, Fruit of the Loom, General Motors, Green Field Energy Services, Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino, Hawkeye Renewables, Hayes Lemmerz International, InSight Health Services, Le-Nature’s, Lionel Trains, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Motor Coach Industries, Newark Group, NV Broadcasting, Oakwood Homes Corporation, Oneida, Owens Corning, Patriot Coal, Refco Capital Markets, Renewable Biofuels, Riverstone Networks, School Specialty, Spansion, Synagro Technologies, TOUSA, Tropicana Entertainment, Visteon, Washington Mutual and York Research. Robert's debtor/borrower engagements include Keys Resort Investors andWells Dairy (Blue Bunny Ice Cream), the principal owner of Centrix Financial, and the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Allied Systems Holdings. He has also represented major creditor interests in the restructuring of C-BASS, Collins & Aikman, Delphi Corporation, Geokinetics, Investment Properties of America, SIRVA/North American Van Lines and Tribune Company. In addition, he has represented post-consummation liquidating trusts in the Chapter 11 cases ofBethlehem Steel, Bricolage Capital, Geneva Steel, Hayes Lemmerz International, Le-Nature’s, Oakwood Homes Corporation and WCI Communities. Robert’s work on several of the above-mentioned engagements has been honored with “Deal of the Year” awards by various restructuring organizations.
Robert is cited in Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation, Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Global M&A Network: Top 100 Restructuring Professionals, Legal 500, Litigation Counsel of America (Fellow), Super Lawyers, and PLC Which Lawyer. The 2012 edition of Chambers USA includes the following client description of Robert: "He is an extremely good strategist; he is thinking two moves ahead; he has relentless drive and will do anything for his clients." The 2013 edition of Benchmark Litigation notes Robert's ability to steer "creditors through challenges once viewed as insurmountable." The 2013 edition of Legal 500 describes Robert as "tenacious and creative." In 2011, he was profiled in a National Law Journal article entitled, “Winning: Successful Litigators. Powerful Strategies.” In 2010, he was again the subject of a lengthy profile published by Bloomberg / BusinessWeek, wherein he was described by opposing counsel as a litigation "serial killer" but also "bottom-line and commercial oriented." In 2011, he was one of 12 attorneys named to the annual list of "Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers" published by Turnarounds & Workouts and, in five consecutive prior years, he was one of 12 attorneys named to that publication’s annual list of "Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers." In 2011, Robert was named "Restructuring Lawyer of the Year" at the Turnaround Atlas Awards.
Robert’s "first chair" trial and appellate work have resulted in opinions of high precedential value including (among many others): In re Visteon Corp., 612 F.3d 210 (3rd Cir. 2010) (described by a leading legal commentator as "the most important [Section] 1114 case ever rendered"); In re Oakwood Homes Corp., 449 F.3d 588 (3rd Cir. 2006); In re School Specialty, Inc., 2013 WL 1838513 (Bankr. D. Del. 2013); In re Patriot Coal Corp., 482 B.R. 718 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2012); In re Eastman Kodak Co., 2012 WL 2501071 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2012); In re Tribune Company, 2011 Bankr. Lexis 4128 (Bankr. D. Del. 2011); In re Washington Mutual, Inc., 442 B.R. 314 (Bankr. D. Del. 2011); In re Spansion, Inc., 421 B.R. 151 (Bankr. D. Del. 2009); In re Oakwood Homes Corp., 394 B.R. 352 (Bankr. D. Del. 2008); In re Oneida Ltd., 351 B.R. 79 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2006); and OHC Liquidation Trust v. U.S. Fire Ins. Co., 2006 WL 2578907 (Bankr. D. Del. 2006).
Robert has also published extensively on bankruptcy and restructuring topics. He was the lead editor of the 400-page legal treatise Contested Valuation in Corporate Bankruptcy (Matthew Bender 2011), part of the Collier on Bankruptcy monograph series. He also contributed chapters to the Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide (Matthew Bender 2014) and Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions (Amer. Bankr. Inst. 2006). He has also written articles (cited in published appellate and trial court opinions) appearing in the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, Bankruptcy Strategist, Business Lawyer, California Bankruptcy Journal, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Journal of Corporate Renewal, Journal of Corporation Law, Norton Bankruptcy Law Journal, Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law and the Real Estate Finance Journal. In addition, he has delivered papers, been an invited speaker and guest lectured at numerous restructuring seminars (both domestic and abroad) and graduate schools of high academic esteem, including programs sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute, Columbia Business School, Georgia State University Law School, NYU Stern School of Business, University of Pennsylvania Law School, University of Texas School of Law, and the New York City Bar Association.
- Seven Times Square
New York, NY 10036
- Vanderbilt University, J.D., graduated 1995
- New Jersey, United States
- New York, United States
42 The Best Lawyers in America® awards
21 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Litigation - Bankruptcy
- COVID-19
- Oil and Gas Law
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