Larry Katz Appointed for SubChapter V Trustee in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Virginia and Maryland 

08.04.2021

Hirschler is pleased to announce that Lawrence (Larry) Katz, co-chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights practice, has been appointed as a trustee under Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Virginia and Maryland. In this role, Katz may be appointed by these courts to assist with the administration of bankruptcy proceedings and advise business debtors through the bankruptcy process under Subchapter V, which became available in February 2020 under the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) to streamline the bankruptcy process and reduce costs for small businesses seeking bankruptcy protections under Chapter 11.

Katz is one of only eight trustees appointed in the District of Columbia and in Maryland, one of only 13 trustees in the Eastern District of Virginia, and one of only four trustees appointed in all three of these U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.

“It is an honor to join the exclusive U.S. Trustee Program in this way and to be entrusted with such an important role in this relatively new bankruptcy process as small businesses work to reorganize and reinvigorate their businesses,” said Katz. “I’ve always likened my practice to a form of legal medicine where I work to help businesses stay healthy or to get healthy if they’re not. This role offers a new opportunity to advise and advocate for businesses as they leverage the new ‘treatment’ of Subchapter V protection to get back on their feet.”

Under the SBRA, Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code offers relaxed requirements for small business debtors whose total unsecured and secured debt does not exceed $2,725,625. The debt limit was increased to $7.5 million under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the increased limit will remain in effect until March 27, 2022 pursuant to the Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act of 2021.

In a legal career spanning more than 40 years, Katz has handled bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matter from every angle, counseling creditors and debtors alike in boardroom negotiations and courtroom proceedings, including successful representation before the United States Supreme Court. He has advised small businesses in significant financial distress, restructured eight-figure debts for large borrowers and counseled creditors and debtors in some of the most newsworthy bankruptcy filings in recent decades, including Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Chrysler, U.S. Airways, Circuit City and more.

Katz is an active leader in his field. He is a past president of the Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association, and he has served on various committees for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), including the Asset Sales Committee, Bankruptcy Reorganization Committee and Commercial Fraud Taskforce Committee. He also has served for the past five years on the ABI Mid-Atlantic Workshop Advisory Board. Katz has earned recognitions from several local and national organizations. Chambers USA has named him a “Leader in the Field” in Virginia’s Bankruptcy/Restructuring category each year since 2015, and Virginia Lawyers Media named him among its “Leaders in the Law” in 2020. He has also been recognized for his practice by Best Lawyers in America, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers, Virginia Business, Washingtonian and more.

Katz earned his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.