Steve is an experienced bankruptcy attorney and commercial litigator. He has counseled many companies on all types of business issues for over 30 years and has represented clients nationally and internationally. Steve chairs Archer’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Insolvency Litigation Group, serves as Chair of the firm’s International Law Group and Co-Chair of the China Practice Group.
His experience includes representing diverse clients in insolvency proceedings, complex “high stakes” commercial litigation cases and providing corporate advisory services. Recent engagements include representation of debtors (as lead and local counsel), creditor’s committees, trustees, foreign representatives and fiduciaries, plaintiff and defense litigants and companies in need of sophisticated counseling on complex business issues.
Steve is an inaugural Fellow of INSOL, the international association of restructuring professionals, having completed a rigorous program presented by INSOL and served 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 the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER).
Representative Experience
- Represent a commercial seafood enterprise in restructuring of domestic and international companies.
- Represent foreign fiduciaries in connection with Hong Kong and US insolvency and litigation proceedings.
- Represent a major dairy distributor in various insolvency proceedings, acquisition transactions and litigation proceedings in several States.
- Represent numerous insolvency trustees, representatives, liquidators and other fiduciaries in insolvency proceedings and litigation matters (including Director & Officer and fraud cases) in various jurisdictions throughout the United States and internationally.
- Represent a publicly-traded international company in complex commercial litigation proceedings in Idaho and California.
- Represented Chinese creditors in connection with insolvency proceedings in Texas.
- Represent creditors committees in insolvency proceedings throughout the U.S. – current engagements include committee representations in Wilmington, Delaware and Houston, Texas.
- Represent mainland China debtors in insolvency proceedings and litigation matters in the U.S.
- Represent Hong Kong-based debtor in Chapter 15 and Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S.
- Represented a defendant multi-national company in litigation in Pennsylvania Federal Court in a case involving breach of contract, fraud and other claims.
- Represented a party in Federal Court at trial on issues of alter ego, fraud and fraudulent conveyances.
- Counsel to a multi-national UK company.
- Counsel to one of the largest cranberry growing operations in the world.
- Counsel to a large fuel provider in New Jersey.
- Represent a multi-national debtor company in complex litigation proceedings in Pittsburgh, PA.
- Represented Encore Series, Inc. t/a Philadelphia Pops as a debtor in Chapter 11 proceedings in connection with the Philadelphia Orchestra bankruptcy proceedings.
- Represent a publicly-traded foreign company in defense of multiple litigation cases brought by another company and individuals in Idaho involving alleged negligence, fraud and contract claims over $30,000,000.
- Represent a fiduciary in Delaware in prosecution of litigation claims against defendants for fraud and breaches of duty in excess of $100,000,000.
- Represent a company in defense of claims brought by plaintiffs in California in two litigations against client and others for hundreds of millions of dollars of alleged damages relating to alleged environmental contamination of water supply.
- Represent a corporate client in prosecution of a $25,000,000 insurance coverage case in New Jersey and UK against a major insurance company.
- Represent a fiduciary in litigating multimillion-dollar fraud claims against individuals in Colorado.
- Represented claimants in litigating fraud and breach of duty claims against former corporate officers and directors in Pittsburgh.
- Represented a fiduciary in litigation in Iowa against former officers and directors involving breach of duty and fraud claims in excess of $40,000,000.
- Represented multiple foreign petitioning creditors in involuntary bankruptcy litigation cases in Texas.
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
Select Articles
- “From Hibernation to Revitalization: Analysis of Insolvency COVID-19 Response Measures and their Wind-Dow,” INSOL International, the World Bank and the International Association of Insolvency Regulators (May 2022)
- “INSOL International Glossary of Terms – USA” (July 2020)
- “Pleading Fraud and Bad Acts in D&O Claims Litigation,” American Bankruptcy Institute
- “General Data Protection Regulation and Intellectual Property: An Unprecedented Pairing“
- “ASEAN and Trends in the Development of Global Restructuring Regimes,” The Quarterly Journal of INSOL International (2019)
- “Court’s Recognition of Hong Kong Liquidation Could Have Broad Implications for Foreign Bankruptcy Cases,” Archer & Greiner Client Advisory (April 2018)
Past Speaking Engagements and Seminars
- “How to Lay a Foundation to Get Your Evidence Introduced in New York,” National Business Institute (December 2022)
- “Evidence and Experts: Using New Jersey Rules to Your Advantage,” National Business Institute (December 2021)
- “What Is (and Isn’t) Projected Disposable Income in a Subchapter V,” 2021 Bankruptcy Institute (October 2021)
- “What Is (and Isn’t) Projected Disposable Income,” National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Conference (August 2021)
- “Cross-Border Insolvency And Dispute Resolution,” Alumni Association of China Southwestern University of Political Science & Law (SWUPL), SWUPL Shenzhen Alumni Association, and the Greater Cleveland Chinese Chamber of Commerce (July 2020)
- “Reinventing Yourself: How Lawyers Can Adapt to Changes in the Profession, Market Trends, Diversification and Adaptation to Change,” CILS Leading Lawyers: Building Law Firms for the Future Conference (January 2019)
- “China’s Enterprise Bankruptcy Law: What You Need to Know Now,” American Bankruptcy Institute’s Cross-Border Insolvency Program (November 2019)
- “Conflict of Interest or Competitors in Conflict? The J. Alix Suits Against McKinsey and their Effect on Retained Professionals in Bankruptcy,” 17th Annual TMA Mid-Atlantic Regional Symposium (June 2019)
- “Litigating D&O Claims: What You Need to Know,” New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Conference (May 2019)
- “In re: Manley Toys Ltd., “5th Annual INSOL Fellows Forum, INSOL Singapore (April 2019)
- “Adversary Proceedings & Contested Matters in Bankruptcy Courts”
- “Chaos Unleashed: Contested Cash Collateral Dip Financing Hearings“