What's a Creditor to Do? The Standing Doctrine in Bankruptcy Court

Tara J. Schellhorn is a partner with Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP in Morristown, N.J., in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group. Her practice focuses on all aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring, including the representation of debtors, creditors’ committees, trustees, financial institutions, secured lenders, unsecured creditors and other parties in interest in complex chapter 11 cases.

Ms. Schellhorn also has experience in bankruptcy litigation, including prosecuting and defending nondischargeability, preference and other avoidance actions. In addition, she has significant experience representing clients on complex corporate lending issues, including the representation of indenture trustees in default and bankruptcy situations. Her practice also includes civil litigation in both federal and state courts. Ms. Schellhorn is a member of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and co-chairs its New Jersey Network. She also is U.S. Program Committee Co-Director for the IWIRC International Board and is an active ABI member, currently co-chairing ABI’s Young and New Members Committee and overseeing the ABI Journal’s “Building Blocks” column.

Ms. Schellhorn also is a member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, co-chairs the Morris County Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Committee and is a member of the board of advisors of the Widener University Commonwealth Law School. In January 2020, Ms. Schellhorn was appointed to a two-year term as a member of the Chester Township Environmental Commission. Prior to joining Riker Danzig, she clerked for Hon. Raymond T. Lyons in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

Ms. Schellhorn received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Gettysburg College in 2004, and her J.D. magna cum laude from Widener University School of Law in 2007, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Widener Law Journal and received the Widener Law Journal Award for Distinguished Legal Scholarship. In addition, she received a 2007 ABI Medal of Excellence for outstanding performance in her bankruptcy coursework.

Hon. Keith L. Phillips is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond, sworn in on Aug. 26, 2013. Prior to his appointment, he was a principal of the law firm of Phillips & Fleckenstein, PC in Richmond, where he represented debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees and trustees in all chapters of the Bankruptcy Code. He also served as a mediator in bankruptcy-related disputes, as a chapter 7 trustee on the Richmond panel for more than 27 years, and as a chapter 11 trustee, liquidation trustee and state court receiver.

Judge Phillips has been a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy matters for various bar organizations and has served as a representative on the Eastern District of Virginia’s Richmond Division Bankruptcy Bar Liaison Committee. He has been a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference since 1985 and has held multiple positions with the Virginia and Richmond Bar Associations, including chairman. In addition, he is a member of and currently serves on a number of committees for the National Association of Bankruptcy Judges.

Judge Phillips received his undergraduate degree in biology from the College of William & Mary in 1976 and his J.D. from the University of Richmond Law School in 1979, where he was a member and editor of the Law Review and a member of the McNeil Law Society. Following law school, he clerked for Hon. Walter E. Hoffman of the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va.

Alexis A. Leventhal is a member of the Financial Industry Group in the Pittsburgh office of Reed Smith LLP, where she practices in the area of restructuring and bankruptcy. She represents and advises corporate clients on bankruptcy and other insolvency matters, as well as on UCC issues. She also has extensive experience representing equipment lessors in workout and bankruptcy cases, as well as in documenting equipment leasing transactions.

Prior to joining Reed Smith, Ms. Leventhal clerked in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Middle District of Florida. She received her B.A. in 2007 in the growth and structure of cities from Haverford College, her Master’s degree summa cum laude in urban and regional planning in 2010 from the University of New Orleans, and her J.D. cum laude in 2013 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she served on the Journal of Law and Public Policy and was a member of the International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Team.

Christopher A. Jones is a managing partner with Whiteford Taylor & Preston, LLP in its Falls Church, Va., office, where he specializes in all aspects of chapter 11 bankruptcy law and insolvency related litigation. He regularly represents businesses in their restructuring efforts and throughout their liquidation, has served as counsel to official committees in numerous chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, and represents bankruptcy trustees and liquidating agents in litigation matters. Mr. Jones has testified as an expert witness regarding the reasonableness of attorneys’ fees in a chapter 11 case. In addition to his work in the insolvency arena, he also has trial experience in commercial litigation matters in federal court.

Mr. Jones chairs the board of governors of the Bankruptcy Law Section for the Virginia State Bar and is vice chair of the VBA’s Bankruptcy Law Section Council. He also sits on the board of the Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association and is a past president. Mr. Jones has been recognized by Chambers and Partners as a leading bankruptcy attorney in Virginia, and is listed in Virginia Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite – Virginia’s Best Lawyers” and in The Best Lawyers in America. He has also been selected as a Super Lawyer in Virginia. Mr. Jones is AV Peer Review- Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

He received his undergraduate degree in 1992 from Duke University and his J.D. in 1996 from the University of Richmond School of Law.

Hon. Kevin J. Carey is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, first appointed in 2005 and serving as Chief Judge from 2008-11.

He previously served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed on Jan. 25, 2001. Judge Carey serves on ABI’s Executive Committee as Vice President-Membership and is a past global chairman of the Turnaround Management Association. He is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and also serves as an associate editor for the American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

Judge Carey is the Third Circuit representative on the Administrative Office’s Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group and is a member of the Third Circuit Judicial Council’s Facilities and Security Committee. He is also a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy and Collier Forms Manual. Judge Carey is a part-time adjunct professor in the LL.M. in Bankruptcy program at St. John’s University School of Law in New York and at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. He began his legal career in 1979 as law clerk to Bankruptcy Judge Thomas M. Twardowski, then clerked for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Judge Carey received his B.A. in 1976 from Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. in 1979 from Villanova University School of Law.