William E. Kelleher Jr.

Mr. Kelleher chairs the Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Group. His practice concentrates on all aspects of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, financing transactions and commercial law, as well as litigation. He is also a member of the Firm’s Shareholders Council.

Bill focuses his practice on:

• Maximizing creditor recovery in Chapter 11 cases
• Problem loan workouts, debt restructurings and turnarounds
• Specialized collection matters
• Foreclosures and replevin cases in both state and federal courts
• Mechanics’ lien perfection and enforcement
• Lender liability, fraud and other commercial litigation
• Buying and selling troubled companies
• Contract drafting and other preventative planning for creditors
• Secured transactions, purchase money security interests and consignments

Experience

• Achieved full recovery for otherwise unsecured creditor by perfecting mechanics’ lien subsequent to Chapter 11 filing by major hospital conglomerate, which initially paid unsecured creditors only a 5 percent dividend under its Chapter 11 plan
• Obtained $10.5 million jury verdict (then largest jury award in Southern District of Indiana) for fraud and other claims against corporate borrower and its individual principal, and successfully defended and eliminated a $120 million counterclaim
• On behalf of a large unsecured creditor, successfully pursued claim against corporate “directors and officers” insurance policy, notwithstanding Chapter 11 liquidation of insured corporation
• Successfully defended at trial (with verdict affirmed by the Third Circuit) multimillion dollar lender liability claim against commercial finance lender that foreclosed and liquidated all of its collateral
• Obtained substantial recovery, including cash and assignment of claims, for undersecured, subordinate creditor in Chapter 11 case of food and juice processor
• Obtained dismissal of “bad faith” serial bankruptcy filing and an injunction against future bankruptcy filings of any type, which enabled lender client to continue mortgage foreclosure action and obtain full recovery of secured loan
• On behalf of unsecured creditors’ committee, negotiated confirmed Chapter 11 plan that resulted in substantial recovery by unsecured creditors due to “substantive consolidation” of numerous entities and assets outside the bankruptcy estate

Memberships

• Member of Board of Directors of North Hills and North Boroughs YMCA
• Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
• Past Chair, Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association
• Past Adjunct Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law

Representative Publications and Speeches

• Contributing author, West’s Bankruptcy Exemption Manual (Pennsylvania section)
• “Increasing Profitability Through Better Collections”
• Frequent author on various bankruptcy related topics, including Chapter 11, Executory Contracts, Litigating the Automatic Stay, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and Perfecting the Consignment Arrangement
• Interviewed on television and in the print media regarding bankruptcy issues, including WPXI, The Wall Street Journal, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Pittsburgh Business Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Detroit Free Press

Certifications and Recognitions

• Board Certified – Business Bankruptcy Law – American Board of Certification
• Named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer