Richard A. Bixter Jr.
Partner
Overview
Rick Bixter is a Chicago litigation attorney who focuses his practice in the areas of corporate bankruptcy, cross-border insolvency, financial investigation and asset recovery.
Mr. Bixter represents creditors, debtors and court-appointed trustees, receivers and liquidators in complex corporate restructurings and liquidations in Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 cases, as well as under consensual, out-of-court "workout" agreements. Mr. Bixter has extensive litigation experience in connection with disputes involving financial fraud and distressed companies. He has represented clients in numerous state and federal actions throughout the country in connection with all types of corporate malfeasance claims. In addition, Mr. Bixter has previously served as an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University College of Law, where he has taught a course titled, "Corporate Workouts and Restructuring."
As a member of Holland & Knight's Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors' Rights Practice Group, Mr. Bixter represents creditors and financial institutions, as well as foreign liquidators, in major restructurings and bankruptcy cases throughout the United States, particularly with respect to the finance, energy, technology, maritime and entertainment sectors. He also advises real estate and corporate clients on issues arising in connection with restructuring, bankruptcy and receiverships.
Mr. Bixter has experience in all aspects of the litigation process and routinely acts as counsel on litigation, judgment enforcement, fraud, cross-border insolvency, asset tracing and shipping matters.
Representative Experience
- Represented a holder of $500 million in environmental remediation claims in Peabody Energy Corporation's Chapter 11 case filed in the Eastern District of Missouri and participated in extensive negotiations with the debtor and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the settlement of claims against Peabody and its subsidiary, Gold Fields Mining LLC
- Served as United States counsel for the liquidator of Platinum Partners, appointed by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, in connection with the company's Chapter 15 bankruptcy pending in the Southern District of New York and related litigation
- Represented the Norwegian liquidators of Norske Skogindustrier ASA, the largest paper manufacturing company in the world prior to its bankruptcy filing in Norway
- Represented foreign liquidators in connection with asset investigation and asset recovery matters throughout the United States and as Chapter 15 bankruptcy counsel
- Represented corporate entities and creditors in commercial litigation involving claims of corporate malfeasance, including claims of fraudulent transfers, civil RICO, fraud, conversion and embezzlement
- Represented the secured lender for Implant Sciences Corporation, a defense and security contractor, in connection with the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware Bankruptcy Court and the sale of the company's assets for more than $100 million
- Represented the agent for post-petition debtor-in-possession financing in a number of Chapter 11 cases filed in Delaware and New York Bankruptcy Courts
- Represented the primary lender to the production company for more than 60 television series distributed throughout the United States and Canada in connection with the producer's bankruptcy case filed in Canada under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
- Advised on the acquisition of intellectual property (IP) and licenses in AlphaMetrix's federal receivership filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Represented the pre- and post-petition lender in Marbles Holding Inc., which owned and operated dozens of retail stores nationwide, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in the Northern District of Illinois
- Represented several Chicago-area municipalities in connection with bankruptcy cases filed in the Northern District of Illinois
- Contributed to a team of Holland & Knight attorneys that prepared and submitted an amici curiae brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Husky International Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz on behalf of six bankruptcy law school professors from Columbia University, University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania and University of Southern California; the Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 1, 2016, on grounds advocated by the Holland & Knight team regarding the appropriate definition of the term "actual fraud" in the context of "strong arm" powers created by the Bankruptcy Code
Credentials
- Purdue University, B.A., Communications
- Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D.
- Illinois
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. Supreme Court
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Young & New Member Leadership Committee, 2014-2018
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020
- ABA Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award, 2014
