Bryan M. Kotliar

Partner

Biography

Mr. Kotliar provides efficient and practical advice to debtors, creditors, and other parties in interest in corporate restructurings both in- and out-of-court.

Bryan M. Kotliar has represented debtors and creditors in some of the largest and most complex restructurings of the past decade. In particular, Mr. Kotliar has substantial experience representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, equity holders, foreign representatives, asset purchasers, investors and others in connection with in- and out-of-court restructurings and other distressed situations. He also has significant experience with bankruptcy litigation, including with respect to obtaining confirmation of chapter 11 plans of reorganization and liquidation, approval of contested debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facilities, approval of contested section 363 sales, and recognition of foreign proceedings in chapter 15 cases. Mr. Kotliar was recently named to the 2022 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list for his work in the category of "Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law in New York City.

Select Debtor Engagements*

  • Confidential E-Commerce Business: counsel to middle market e-commerce incubator and aggregator in connection with out of court restructuring of senior secured credit facility and preferred equity.
  • JPA No. 111 Co. & JPA No. 49 Co.: counsel to the debtors, lessors of two state-of-the art Airbus A350 aircraft, in connection with their contested, but ultimately successful section 363 sales and chapter 11 plan of reorganization that paid all creditors in full and made a distribution to the debtors’ equity holder.
  • LATAM Airlines: co-counsel to the debtors, Latin America’s leading airlines, in connection with their successful restructuring in chapter 11 cases
  • Confidential Cruise Ship Company: represented Marshall Islands-based cruise ship company in connection with out of court restructuring of preferred equity and litigation claims
  • Greensill Capital: counsel to the debtor, a supply chain finance business, in connection with its successful section 363 sale of a subsidiary business and confirmation of a chapter 11 plan of liquidation
  • Craftworks: counsel to the debtors, the nation’s leading operator and franchisor of steakhouses and breweries, in connection with its chapter 11 cases filed in the weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Molycorp: counsel to the debtors, a global rare earths and rare metals mining and processing company, in connection with their chapter 11 plan of reorganization
  • NII Holdings: counsel to the debtors, a global telecommunications company, in connection with their successful chapter 11 restructuring
  • Ashley Stewart: counsel to the debtors, a plus-sized women’s clothing company and lifestyle brand, in connection with their section 363 sale and structured dismissal
  • Residential Capital: co-counsel to the debtors, a liquidating mortgage origination and servicing company, in connection with their contested section 363 sale and chapter 11 plan of liquidation

Select Other Engagements*

  • Celsius Network: counsel to an ad hoc group of Custody account holders in connection with key litigation and ultimate settlement involving cryptocurrency property rights and preference claims
  • 96 Wythe Acquisition LLC (The Williamsburg Hotel): counsel to court-appointed Chapter 11 trustee for the debtor, owner of the upscale Williamsburg Hotel, in connection with approval of a section 363 asset sale and confirmation of chapter 11 plan of liquidation
  • Ditech Holding:counsel to prepetition warehouse agent and lender and DIP financing agent for mortgage origination and servicing company in its chapter 11 case
  • Pacific Drilling: counsel to the majority equity owner of an international offshore drilling business in its chapter 11 case
  • Oi S.A.: counsel to the court-appointed trustee for Dutch financing vehicle of a global telecommunications company based in Brazil
  • Ameriforge Group:counsel to an ad hoc group of first lien lenders and DIP lenders in connection with prepackaged chapter 11 cases
  • Answers Holdings: counsel to an ad hoc group of first lien lenders and DIP lenders in connection with prepackaged chapter 11 cases
  • MPM Silicones: counsel to an indenture trustee for 1.5 lien notes issued by a silicone products manufacturer in its chapter 11 case

Published Works

  • Kyle J. Ortiz, Bryan M. Kotliar, and Jared C. Borriello, “SDNY Bankruptcy Court Holds Attorney Client Retainer Sufficient for Chapter 11 Eligibility Purposes and Rejects Alleged Bad Faith Filing”, ABI Litigation Committee, Summer, 2022
  • Frank A. Oswald, Bryan M. Kotliar, John C. Gallego, “Limitations on Business Judgment? The Intersections of §§ 363(b), 365 and 503(b) for Paying Creditors’ Professional Fees,” ABI Journal, March 2021
  • "New Trends Emerge for 'Consensual' Third-Party Releases in the Southern District of New York and District of Delaware, Skadden’s 2020 Insights"
  • "U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Bankruptcy Companies Cannot Rescind Trademark Licenses, Skadden Client Memorandum", May, 2019
  • "Second Circuit Issues Key Cramdown Interest Rate Ruling, Business Restructuring Review", November/December, 2017
  • "LCI Holding: DOJ Fails in its Challenge to Sale, Distressed Mergers & Acquisitions, New York Law Journal, Corporate Update" (assisted), October, 2015
  • "Successor Liability: GM Sale Vulnerable on Due Process Failures, Distressed Mergers & Acquisitions, New York Law Journal, Corporate Update" (assisted), June, 2015
  • "Texas District Court Affirms Bankruptcy Court’s Use of Claim Estimation Process, Business Restructuring Review", July/August, 2015
  • "A New Reading of the Ordinary Course of Business Exception in Section" (student note), 547(c)(2), 21 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 211, 2013

Professional Associations

  • American Bankruptcy Institute (member since 2011)
  • Duberstein Moot Court Competition, Volunteer Brief Grader & Judge (since 2013)
  • Turnaround Management Association (member)
  • Young Catholic Renewal (board member)

*Includes experience obtained while working at prior firms

 

Photo of Bryan M. Kotliar

Bryan M. Kotliar

Partner

Contact:

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of New York

Education

  • St. Johns University Law School
    • J.D. – 2012
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: St. Thomas Moore Scholarship
    • Honors: Research Assistant for Professor Keith Sharfman
    • Law Journal: American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, Articles & Notes Editor
  • St. John’s University, New York, New York
    • B.S. – 2009

Past Positions

  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  • Jones Day
  • Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP
  • Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement (Bankruptcy) (Legal Externship)
Photo of Bryan M. Kotliar

Bryan M. Kotliar

Partner

Contact:

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of New York

Education

  • St. Johns University Law School
    • J.D. – 2012
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: St. Thomas Moore Scholarship
    • Honors: Research Assistant for Professor Keith Sharfman
    • Law Journal: American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, Articles & Notes Editor
  • St. John’s University, New York, New York
    • B.S. – 2009

Past Positions

  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
  • Jones Day
  • Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP
  • Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement (Bankruptcy) (Legal Externship)

Bryan M. Kotliar

Partner

Biography

Mr. Kotliar provides efficient and practical advice to debtors, creditors, and other parties in interest in corporate restructurings both in- and out-of-court.

Bryan M. Kotliar has represented debtors and creditors in some of the largest and most complex restructurings of the past decade. In particular, Mr. Kotliar has substantial experience representing debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, equity holders, foreign representatives, asset purchasers, investors and others in connection with in- and out-of-court restructurings and other distressed situations. He also has significant experience with bankruptcy litigation, including with respect to obtaining confirmation of chapter 11 plans of reorganization and liquidation, approval of contested debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facilities, approval of contested section 363 sales, and recognition of foreign proceedings in chapter 15 cases. Mr. Kotliar was recently named to the 2022 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list for his work in the category of "Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law in New York City.

Select Debtor Engagements*

  • Confidential E-Commerce Business: counsel to middle market e-commerce incubator and aggregator in connection with out of court restructuring of senior secured credit facility and preferred equity.
  • JPA No. 111 Co. & JPA No. 49 Co.: counsel to the debtors, lessors of two state-of-the art Airbus A350 aircraft, in connection with their contested, but ultimately successful section 363 sales and chapter 11 plan of reorganization that paid all creditors in full and made a distribution to the debtors’ equity holder.
  • LATAM Airlines: co-counsel to the debtors, Latin America’s leading airlines, in connection with their successful restructuring in chapter 11 cases
  • Confidential Cruise Ship Company: represented Marshall Islands-based cruise ship company in connection with out of court restructuring of preferred equity and litigation claims
  • Greensill Capital: counsel to the debtor, a supply chain finance business, in connection with its successful section 363 sale of a subsidiary business and confirmation of a chapter 11 plan of liquidation
  • Craftworks: counsel to the debtors, the nation’s leading operator and franchisor of steakhouses and breweries, in connection with its chapter 11 cases filed in the weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Molycorp: counsel to the debtors, a global rare earths and rare metals mining and processing company, in connection with their chapter 11 plan of reorganization
  • NII Holdings: counsel to the debtors, a global telecommunications company, in connection with their successful chapter 11 restructuring
  • Ashley Stewart: counsel to the debtors, a plus-sized women’s clothing company and lifestyle brand, in connection with their section 363 sale and structured dismissal
  • Residential Capital: co-counsel to the debtors, a liquidating mortgage origination and servicing company, in connection with their contested section 363 sale and chapter 11 plan of liquidation

Select Other Engagements*

  • Celsius Network: counsel to an ad hoc group of Custody account holders in connection with key litigation and ultimate settlement involving cryptocurrency property rights and preference claims
  • 96 Wythe Acquisition LLC (The Williamsburg Hotel): counsel to court-appointed Chapter 11 trustee for the debtor, owner of the upscale Williamsburg Hotel, in connection with approval of a section 363 asset sale and confirmation of chapter 11 plan of liquidation
  • Ditech Holding:counsel to prepetition warehouse agent and lender and DIP financing agent for mortgage origination and servicing company in its chapter 11 case
  • Pacific Drilling: counsel to the majority equity owner of an international offshore drilling business in its chapter 11 case
  • Oi S.A.: counsel to the court-appointed trustee for Dutch financing vehicle of a global telecommunications company based in Brazil
  • Ameriforge Group:counsel to an ad hoc group of first lien lenders and DIP lenders in connection with prepackaged chapter 11 cases
  • Answers Holdings: counsel to an ad hoc group of first lien lenders and DIP lenders in connection with prepackaged chapter 11 cases
  • MPM Silicones: counsel to an indenture trustee for 1.5 lien notes issued by a silicone products manufacturer in its chapter 11 case

Published Works

  • Kyle J. Ortiz, Bryan M. Kotliar, and Jared C. Borriello, “SDNY Bankruptcy Court Holds Attorney Client Retainer Sufficient for Chapter 11 Eligibility Purposes and Rejects Alleged Bad Faith Filing”, ABI Litigation Committee, Summer, 2022
  • Frank A. Oswald, Bryan M. Kotliar, John C. Gallego, “Limitations on Business Judgment? The Intersections of §§ 363(b), 365 and 503(b) for Paying Creditors’ Professional Fees,” ABI Journal, March 2021
  • "New Trends Emerge for 'Consensual' Third-Party Releases in the Southern District of New York and District of Delaware, Skadden’s 2020 Insights"
  • "U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Bankruptcy Companies Cannot Rescind Trademark Licenses, Skadden Client Memorandum", May, 2019
  • "Second Circuit Issues Key Cramdown Interest Rate Ruling, Business Restructuring Review", November/December, 2017
  • "LCI Holding: DOJ Fails in its Challenge to Sale, Distressed Mergers & Acquisitions, New York Law Journal, Corporate Update" (assisted), October, 2015
  • "Successor Liability: GM Sale Vulnerable on Due Process Failures, Distressed Mergers & Acquisitions, New York Law Journal, Corporate Update" (assisted), June, 2015
  • "Texas District Court Affirms Bankruptcy Court’s Use of Claim Estimation Process, Business Restructuring Review", July/August, 2015
  • "A New Reading of the Ordinary Course of Business Exception in Section" (student note), 547(c)(2), 21 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 211, 2013

Professional Associations

  • American Bankruptcy Institute (member since 2011)
  • Duberstein Moot Court Competition, Volunteer Brief Grader & Judge (since 2013)
  • Turnaround Management Association (member)
  • Young Catholic Renewal (board member)

*Includes experience obtained while working at prior firms