Steve practices primarily in the areas of business law, insolvency law and commercial litigation and has counseled many companies on all types of business issues over the past thirty years. Steve chairs the Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Litigation Group at Archer and is also Chair of the International Law Group.
His experience includes representing diverse clients in insolvency proceedings, litigation and business matters. Recent engagements include representation of debtors (as lead and local counsel), creditor’s committees, trustees, foreign representatives and fiduciaries, as well as providing general counsel to private and public companies on a variety of litigation, business and corporate issues.
Steve currently represents the creditors committee in bankruptcy proceedings of Fansteel and Wellman Dynamics in Iowa. He also represented the creditors committee in the Mountain Crane bankruptcy proceedings in Salt Lake City, Utah. He represented the creditors committee in a case involving unpaid creditors on the World Trade Center I project in the Southern District of New York.
Steve served as special counsel to the Debtor, Trump Entertainment, in connection with its Delaware bankruptcy proceedings. He currently represents a Delaware Trustee in numerous corporate Chapter 7 cases in Wilmington, Delaware.
Steve is counsel to the foreign representative from Hong Kong in Chapter 15 proceedings of Manley Toys Ltd. in the U.S. He recently represented the first Chapter 15 debtor company from mainland China in ongoing complex cross-border proceedings involving a solar panel manufacturing concern in China known as Zhejiang Topoint. Steve continues to represent the Hong Kong administrator in Chapter 15 proceedings of Decoro Ltd. and the Plan Trustee in related Chapter 11 proceedings of De Coro USA in North Carolina.
Steve’s practice includes an extensive amount of litigation experience in both federal and state courts. He completed a lengthy trial adverse to the IRS involving tax transfer pricing issues. He currently is counsel to several bankruptcy trustees, other fiduciaries and parties in federal and state court litigation involving such issues as substantive consolidation, fraud, alter ego, breach of fiduciary duties, bad faith and fraudulent conveyances. A significant portion of Steve’s practice focuses on fiduciary litigation including representation of parties in director and officer claims and disputes. He has also handled complex commercial litigation where parties have contract and related disputes, several professional malpractice actions, and represented both companies and PACA claimants in PACA proceedings.
Steve has consistently been ranked by Chambers USA in the top tiers for insolvency lawyers. Chambers praises Group Chairman Stephen M. Packman for his “unique, reassuringly confident perspectives that are the result of years of experience” and his skills as “a results-driven tactician and outstanding strategist.” Steve is certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. He is also an inaugural Fellow of INSOL, the international association of restructuring professionals, having completed a rigorous program presented by INSOL and serves on INSOL’s North American Membership Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. He is a member of the Congress of Fellows of CILS (Centre for International Legal Studies) in Austria as well as the Turnaround Management Association. Steve is also a member of NAFER (National Association of Federal Equity Receivers).
Representative Experience
- Represent Unsecured Creditors Committee in Chapter 11 case of Frictionless World, LLC in Bankruptcy Court in Denver, Colorado.
- Counsel to foreign representative and financial administrator of Larisa Ivanovna Markus in contested Chapter 15 proceedings involving claims of embezzlement/defalcation of nearly $2 billion.
- Represent unsecured creditors committee in Chapter 11 case of Mountain Crane in Bankruptcy Court in Utah.
- Counsel to the Hong Kong foreign representative in Chapter 15 proceedings of a world-wide distributor of Toys.
- Represent the Chapter 7 Trustee in Delaware corporate liquidation proceedings.
- Represent the Unsecured Creditors Committee of Fansteel and Wellman Dynamics Corp. in Chapter 11 proceedings pending in Iowa.
- Counsel to the Unsecured Creditors Committee in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of main contractors (Collavino companies) on 1 World Trade Center in Southern District of New York.
- Represented Debtors as special counsel in Trump Entertainment Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware.
- Represent mainland China debtors, Zhejiang Topoing Photovoltaic Company, Ltd, et al, in Chapter 15 contested proceedings in bankruptcy court in New Jersey. Case involves multi-million dollar litigation proceedings.
- Represent Hong Kong-based debtor, Decoro Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary De Coro USA Ltd. in Chapter 15 and Chapter 11 proceedings in the Middle District of North Carolina. Won an important published ruling in this case after an extensive trial which disallowed the IRS tax claim of nearly 13 million dollars. The matter principally involved the trial of complex tax transfer pricing issues.
- Universal Marketing Inc. and consolidated entities. Counsel to the elected Chapter 7 Trustee in this bankruptcy proceeding in Pennsylvania involving 27 consolidated debtor entities. Prosecuted litigation against one debtor’s lender involving breach of contract, bad faith, substantive consolidation, fraudulent conveyances, set-off and other litigation issues.
- Represented a defendant multi-national company in litigation in Pennsylvania Federal Court in a case involving breach of contract, fraud and other claims.
- Represented Trustee in litigation in New Jersey Federal Court in a case which includes trial on issues of alter ego, fraud and fraudulent conveyances.
- Counsel to one of the largest cranberry growing operations in the world.
- Counsel to one of the largest fuel providers in New Jersey.
- Represent a multi-national debtor company and creditors in complex D&O litigation in Pennsylvania with multi-million dollar claims against former officers and directors of the companies.
- Represented Encore Series, Inc. t/a Philadelphia Pops as a debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings in connection with the Philadelphia Orchestra bankruptcy proceedings.
- Represented the Unsecured Creditors Committee in the Chapter 11 proceedings of Autobacs Strauss, Inc. in Delaware Bankruptcy Court.
Professional And Community Involvement
- Inaugural Fellow of INSOL (International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals) and serve on the Association’s North American Membership Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee.
- Member of National Association of Federal Equity Receivers
- Member, Congress of Fellows of the Center for International Legal Studies, Austria.
- Member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Business Reorganization Committee, Unsecured Trade Committee Member, Fraud Committee, Cross-Border Advisory Committee.
- Member, American Board of Certification-Business Bankruptcy Law.
- Member of the Turnaround Management Association.
- Member of the New Jersey Bar Association.
- Chairman of Archer’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Litigation Group; Chair of the firm’s International Law Group.
- Rutgers Pro Bono Bankruptcy Program.
- Member of Beth El Synagogue in Voorhees, NJ.
Awards And Recognition
- INSOL Fellow Member of a select Fellowship of International Insolvency Practitioners
- Recognized as a top Tier 2 bankruptcy attorney in Chambers USA.
- American Board Certified, Business Bankruptcy Law
- Annually selected as a “Super Lawyer” in bankruptcy in N.J
- Recognized in “Best Lawyers in America” (2015)
- Recognized annually as a top lawyer and super lawyer in NJ.
- Recognized as Best Lawyer, Philadelphia (2016)
- Recognized as “Top Lawyer” in SJ Magazine (2019)
- Recognized as an “Awesome Attorney” by South Jersey Magazine (2019)
Articles/Presentations
- Presenter, Reinventing Yourself: How Lawyers Can Adapt to Changes in the Profession, Market Trends, Diversification and Adaptation to Change, presented at the CILS Leading Lawyers: Building Law Firms for the Future conference, Kitzbuhel, Austria, January 26 – January 31, 2019
- Panelist, China’s Enterprise Bankruptcy Law: What You Need to Know Now, presented at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Cross-Border Insolvency Program, New York, NY, November 7, 2019
- ASEAN and Trends in the Development of Global Restructuring Regimes, The Quarterly Journal of INSOL International, Second Quarter 2019 Issue
- Panelist, Conflict of Interest or Competitors in Conflict? The J. Alix Suits Against McKinsey and their Effect on Retained Professionals in Bankruptcy, presented at the 17th Annual TMA Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium, Atlantic City, NJ, June 6, 2019
- Panelist, Litigating D&O Claims: What You Need to Know, presented at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting and Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, May 17, 2019
- Panelist, In re: Manley Toys Ltd., 5th Annual INSOL Fellows forum, INSOL Singapore 2 April – 4 April 2019
- Article, Pleading Fraud and Bad Acts in D&O Claims Litigation, American Bankruptcy Institute
- Article and Panelist, General Data Protection Regulation and Intellectual Property: An Unprecedented Pairing
- Panelist, Adversary Proceedings & Contested Matters in Bankruptcy Courts
- Panelist, Chaos Unleashed: Contested Cash Collateral Dip Financing Hearings
- Court’s Recognition Of Hong Kong Liquidation Could Have Broad Implications For Foreign Bankruptcy Cases, Client Advisory, April 2018. (By: Stephen Packman, Esq. and Doug Leney, Esq.)
- “A&P and Unions in Tough Negotiations” The Record, August 7, 2015
- “Nature of Bankruptcy Work Changing Amid Filing Declines” New Jersey Law Journal. © 2015 May 18, 2015
- The Orchestra & Pops Cases – An Inside View Seminar regarding successful handling of Philly Pops Ch. 11 reorganization.
- Understanding Revel Casino and Chapter 11, SouthJersey.com, Feb. 21, 2013
- Putting the INSOL Fellowship to the Test INSOL World, The Quarterly Journal of INSOL International, Second Quarter 2011 Issue
- In the Wake of Iqbal, a Shift in Federal Pleading Standards The Legal Intelligencer, March 8, 2011.
- Chapter 15: The U.S. Version of The Model of Insolvency Law New Jersey Law Journal, January 12, 2009. 195 N.J.L.J. 61.
- Directors and Owners in the Zone of Insolvency New Jersey Law Journal, Aug. 18, 2008, 193 N.J.L.J. 450.
- The Impact of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Act of 2005 (“BAPCA”) on Small to Mid-Size Business Reorganization Proceedings in the U.S. Insolvency and Corporate Finance Conference, Kitzbühel, Austria, February 7, 2008.
- Increased Cash Requirements Cause Debtor’s Dilemma, New Jersey Law Journal, January 14, 2008, 191 N.J.L.J. 94.
- Appointment of a CRO, Philadelphia Business Journal, May 19, 2006.
- Substantive Consolidation, When Two Become One, New Jersey Law Journal, March 6, 2002, 183 N.J.L.J. 781
- Surety’s Rights Favored Over Debtor’s, New Jersey Law Journal, March 21, 2005, 179 N.J.L.J. 1168
- Bankruptcy Notice, How Critical Is It? New Jersey Law Journal, March 15, 2004, 175 N.J.L.J. 1089
- Restaurants Are Dealers Under PACA; New Jersey Law Journal, February 5, 2001, 163 N.J.L.J. 514
- How Loan Successors Can Benefit from FIRREA Protections, New Jersey Law Journal, January 15, 1996, 143 N.J.L.J 172