Have We Got a Sale for You!

Nancy A. Peterman is chair of Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Restructuring & Bankruptcy Practice in Chicago and has more than 25 years of experience focusing her practice on complex corporate restructurings and M&A transactions involving special situations and distressed companies, whether implemented in court or out of court. She has represented private-equity funds, debtors, sellers, purchasers, investor groups and creditors in these matters.

Ms. Peterman has experience in numerous industries, including manufacturing, real estate, retail and gaming, with a particular focus on health care. She has served on ABI’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee and co-chair ABI’s Tech and Telecom and Health Care Insolvency Committees.

Ms. Peterman is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. She was co-editor in chief of the Wiley Bankruptcy Law Update, assistant editor for West’s Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice treatise, and an assistant editor and a contributing author for ABI’s Health Care Insolvency Manual.

Ms. Peterman is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification, and is listed in Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America. She received both her undergraduate degree and J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Richard E. Kruger is a partner with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss in Southfield, Mich., in its Finance, Insolvency & Reorganization, and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. He has a national practice focusing on both the transactional and litigation aspects of bankruptcy law, debtor and creditor rights, workouts and financing transactions.

Mr. Kruger’s client representations have included original equipment manufacturers, borrowers, debtors, secured parties, landlords, purchasers, receivers, avoidance defendants and unsecured creditors’ committees. He has presented at seminars and written articles on general bankruptcy issues, collection laws and the intersection of bankruptcy and intellectual property.

Mr. Kruger is a member of the advisory board for ABI’s Central States Bankruptcy Workshop and was listed as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for 2011-12, as well as a dbusiness “Top Lawyer.” He is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan, ABI and the Federal Bar Association.

Mr. Kruger received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. with honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

James A. Bartholomew, CTP, CPA is a partner with Lighthouse Management Group, Inc. in Stillwater, Minn., and has served as a strategic advisor and partner to large and mid-sized companies for more than 30 years. He provides client support in the areas of business turnaround, transition management, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, business wind-down, and bankruptcy and litigation.

Mr. Bartholomew has served in many interim C-suite roles, including CEO. He has also advised dozens of leadership teams on the reorganization or restructuring of their companies or financial obligations, and has served as a federal and state court-appointed receiver and liquidating agent in chapter 11 cases. Mr. Bartholomew was on the private committee that drafted the revised Minnesota statute on Receiverships and Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors, which were both signed into law in 2012. He is the founding director of the Minnesota Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and is a member of the American College of Bankruptcy, the Minnesota Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Mr. Bartholomew has been featured in the Journal of Corporate Renewal. He previously was a senior manager for Deloitte & Touche.

Mr. Bartholomew received his B.S. in accounting with high distinction from the University of Minnesota.

Hon. Janet S. Baer is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, appointed on March 5, 2012. She also acts on a regular basis as the presiding judge in the Northern District of Illinois for naturalization ceremonies. Previously, Judge Baer was a restructuring lawyer for more than 25 years and was involved in some of the most significant chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the country. The majority of her practice focused on the representation of large, publicly held debtors in both restructuring and chapter 11 matters, and she also represented companies in commercial litigation matters, including lender liability, fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Prior to forming her own firm in 2009, Judge Baer was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Winston & Strawn and Schwartz, Cooper, Greenberger & Krauss. She is currently judicial chair of ABI’s Seventh Circuit Eugene R. Wedoff Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ Membership Services and Marketing Committees, a Seventh Circuit representative-elect of the NCBJ Board of Governors, a board member of the Chicago chapter of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, chair of the Northern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Court’s Local Rules Committee, a board member of Chicago CARE (Credit Abuse Resistance Education) and a member of the Chicago Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee. She is also a frequent speaker for ABI, ABA, the Chicago Bar Association, IWIRC and the Turnaround Management Association.

Judge Baer earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and her J.D. from DePaul College of Law.

James R. Irving is the managing partner of the Louisville, Ky., office of Dentons US and co-chairs its Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice group, where he focuses on bankruptcy and restructuring matters, purchasing distressed businesses and their assets, as well as commercial litigation. He has experience representing debtors, creditors, committees, trustees, asset-purchasers and interested third parties in chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcy cases, in addition to representing creditors in foreclosure proceedings and other litigation. He also has practiced commercial litigation with a broad range of experience in state and federal courts and before the American Arbitration Association.

Mr. Irving was named one of Louisville Business First’s Forty Under 40 in 2019, was selected for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Next Generation Program in 2018, and was a member of the 2017 inaugural class of ABI’s “40 Under 40.” In addition, he received the Chicago Bar Association’s Exceptional Young Lawyer Award in 2013.

Mr Irving’s experience with matters of juvenile justice through his pro bono work has led to opportunities to teach CLE sessions and edit publications on the subject for the American Bar Association. He received his B.A. in 2005 in history and political science from Williams College and his J.D. in 2008 from Vanderbilt University Law School.