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Attorney Practice Areas RI

Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Rights; Insolvency

WSLF’s Creditors’ Rights and Debtors’ Rights practice group provides representation for creditors, debtors, creditors’ committees, state court receivers and federal trustees in bankruptcy. This practice group also advises creditors and debtors concerning enforcement and collection of secured and unsecured claims, creditor remedies and financial restructurings. WSLF’s Attorneys in RI regularly serve as court-appointed fiduciaries, such as state-court receivers and masters, and as counsel to creditors’ committees in federal bankruptcy proceedings, in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Throughout its history, WSLF has been involved in some of the largest business insolvency proceedings in Rhode Island, including the Bess Eaton Chapter 11 proceedings, which resulted in all creditors in excess of $34 million being paid in full and with the company’s owner receiving a multi-million dollar distribution; the insolvency of the Rhode Island Share Deposit Insurance Corporation (RISDIC) (which led to the state-ordered closure of some 54 Rhode Island Credit Unions), Almacs supermarket grocery chain, Narragansett Clothing Store chain, the American Shipyard (Newport, Rhode Island) and the Regatta Club (Newport, Rhode Island).

As court-appointed fiduciaries, WSLF Attorneys in RI are regularly required to seek creative solutions to legal, financial and business problems arising during the operation of businesses in insolvency proceedings. As respected members of the Rhode Island Bar, WSLF’s Attorneys in RI are frequently relied upon by appointing courts to facilitate the preservation of businesses and jobs in Rhode Island and over the years have served as State Court Receiver in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and South Carolina in more than 400 business cases, including hundreds of manufacturing businesses, as well as some 18 nursing home cases.

Our clients and other business professionals regularly seek our advice and representation regarding state-court insolvency and federal bankruptcy processes, and our guidance in managing the risks associated with participating in insolvency proceedings. WSLF also regularly represents clients in the defense of fraudulent transfer and federal bankruptcy preference claims and provides advice to clients regarding multifaceted issues that may arise in connection with bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.