Saul Burian Managing Director HOULIHAN LOKEY

Mr. Burian is a member of Houlihan Lokey’s world-leading restructuring practice. He specializes in advising public and private companies and creditor groups in complex restructurings, financings, and other transactions. Mr. Burian also specializes in raising capital for troubled businesses and often represents debtor and creditor constituencies in pre-packaged, pre-negotiated, and other bankruptcy proceedings. He is especially proud of his work crafting creative solutions and forging the consensus necessary to effectuate complex solutions without court proceedings.

Mr. Burian is also Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Real Estate, Lodging & Leisure Group, which is a leading independent M&A, capital markets, and strategic advisor to middle-market and larger real estate companies.

Throughout his career, Mr. Burian has been involved as an advisor in a wide range of restructuring and real estate transactions, including Answers.com; Barneys New York; CEVA Logistics; Constellis Holdings, LLC; Extended Stay America; HealthSouth; Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives; JCPenney; J.Crew; Kaisa Group Holdings; Le Cirque; Lehman Brothers; Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals; Mark IV Automotive; MSR Hotels & Resorts Inc.; Nine West Holdings; NPC International; Party City; Payless Shoes; Pinnacle Agriculture; Plymouth Industrial REIT; Production Resource Group; Purdue Pharma; RCS Capital; Sears Holdings; Transeastern Properties, Inc.; TriMark; Toys “R” Us; and Winn-Dixie stores. He has advised investors in acquiring distressed assets and is a frequent speaker on restructuring, M&A, and real estate topics.

Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Burian was a partner in the New York law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, where he specialized in creditors’ rights and bankruptcy. During his 12 years at Kramer Levin, he represented a broad spectrum of clients who were often the primary at-risk constituency in the relevant in- and out-of-court restructurings and bankruptcies, including bank lenders, debtors, creditor committees, and secondary purchasers of distressed indebtedness.

Mr. Burian received a B.A. with honors in Economics from Yeshiva University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.

Hon. Michael B. Kaplan Chief Bankruptcy Judge DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

The Honorable Michael B. Kaplan was appointed as a bankruptcy judge on October 3, 2006, for the District of New Jersey and designated Chief Bankruptcy Judge on May 1, 2020. Judge Kaplan has presided over numerous notable cases, including Revel AC, Inc., Crumbs Bakeshop, Inc., Sur La Table, Inc., LTL Management, LLC, Blockfi, Inc., Rite Aid, Inc., Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, Inc. and the Invitae Corporation. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee, as well as a member of the Chapter 7 panel of bankruptcy trustees, where he received case appointments as both a Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 trustee.

Judge Kaplan received his A.B. degree from Georgetown University (1984) and his J.D. Degree from Fordham University School of Law (1987). He is licensed to practice law in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Court of International Trade and various federal district courts throughout the country. 

Judge Kaplan has been elected as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Judge Kaplan also has been appointed by the Director of Administrative Office of the Courts(“AO”) to a term as the Third Circuit representative to the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group, in addition to appointments as the Bankruptcy Judge representative for the Risk and Finance Management Advisory Council, Human Resources Advisory Council and Budget & Finance Advisory Council to the AO. As a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, Judge Kaplan has served as Treasurer and Executive Board member. He serves currently as a member of the Judiciary Advisory Council for the Rabiej Litigation Law Center.Since 2009, Judge Kaplan has taught courses in bankruptcy, commercial law and corporate reorganization as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University School of Law and Seton Hall University School of Law. He is a co-author of West’s Consumer Bankruptcy Manual and Consumer Bankruptcy Handbook, as well as a contributing author for Collier on Bankruptcy, 16th Ed.

Over the past thirty years, Judge Kaplan has spoken to numerous bar associations and business organizations, including: the Federal Bar Council, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, American Bankruptcy Institute, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, American Legal & Financial Network, American Conference Institute, Turnaround Management Association, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Rabiej Litigation Law Center, the Beard Group, NY Institute of Credit, Bloomberg, L.P., Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers, , Pennsylvania Bar Institute, National Business Institute and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Judge Kaplan has been the recipient of the NCBJ President’s Award for Excellence, the Conrad B. Duberstein Memorial Award given by the New York Institute of Credit, the Judicial Service Award from the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees’ 2006 Distinguished Service Award and New Jersey State Bar Association’s 1999 Legislative Recognition Award. 

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Kaplan served as Mayor and Councilman for the Borough of Norwood, NJ, and as a member of the Norwood Planning Board

Rachael Ringer Partner, Co-Head, Distressed Investing KRAMER LEVIN

Rachael Ringer has played a prominent role in advising on many of the largest restructurings in recent years across a diverse range of industries, including transportation, pharma and health care, retail, oil and gas services, and shipping. She handles high-stakes and complex bankruptcy matters on behalf of creditors’ committees, bondholders/creditor groups and companies.

Rachael’s recent representations include leading the representation of the parent ad hoc claimant group in the cross-border case of LATAM Airlines, which successfully emerged from bankruptcy in November 2023, facilitated by nearly $4 billion in exit capital backstopped by the parent ad hoc claimant group, after prevailing in multiple litigations before the bankruptcy court and appellate courts (including the Second Circuit). Rachael is also currently representing the official creditors’ committees in the Rite Aid and Endo Pharmaceuticals bankruptcies, each of which involves numerous cutting-edge litigations as well as issues attendant to mass tort cases. Rachael also represented the Boy Scouts of America official creditors’ committee and represents the ad hoc committee of governmental claimants in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy cases. She has also recently represented the GenesisCare, Aegerion, Hexion and Toys “R” Us creditors’ committees as well as a large lender in the Nine West bankruptcy. Rachael regularly advises hedge funds in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and sale transactions as well as on investments in distressed credits with complex capital structures.

Rachael previously represented the creditors’ committees in the bankruptcy cases of CHC Group Ltd., (a large commercial helicopter service provider), Arch Coal Inc. (second-largest holder of U.S. coal reserves), NII Holdings Inc. (Nextel branded Latin American mobile communication services provider) and Residential Capital (the largest bankruptcy of 2012). She represented Luxor Capital Group LP in the 2016 bankruptcy of RCS Capital Corp., and represented the RCS Creditor Trust, which was formed for the benefit of unsecured creditors pursuant to the confirmed restructuring plan. She was also involved in the lawsuit on behalf of holders of more than $18 billion in PREPA bonds challenging the constitutionality of Puerto Rico’s proposed bankruptcy statute.

According to Chambers USA, sources say Rachael is “really exceptional. She has the knowledge, wisdom and judgment of somebody with many more years” and “In terms of her mastery of the issues, she is really excellent.” She “is a rising star. Her grasp of bankruptcy law, her commercial intuition, and her ability to get things done are a rare combination,” and she “gets to the heart of the matter immediately and thinks strategically.” Clients also note that Rachael “provides excellent client service.” In 2021, Rachael was named to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s list of 40 Under 40. She was named one of Turnarounds & Workouts’ 2020 Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers, one of Law360’s 2020 Rising Stars and one of M&A Advisor’s 2019 Emerging Leaders. She was also a finalist in Bankruptcy Litigation for the Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Rising Star Award and has been named a Thomson Reuters New York Super Lawyers Rising Star every yearfrom 2017 through 2023.