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Education

  • Binghamton University, State University of New York (B.A., summa cum laude, 1978)
  • University of Wisconsin (J.D., cum laude, 1981)

Bar and Court Admissions

  • New York
  • Texas (inactive)

Judith Elkin

Photo of Judith  Elkin
New York
Tel: 212.561.7781

For nearly 40 years, Ms. Elkin has specialized in all aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring, representing debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, lenders, trustees, acquirors, and other parties in interest in reorganization proceedings and out-of-court financial restructurings.

Her experience includes some of the largest, most contentious insolvency cases, including Enron and Adelphia Communications. Certified in mediation for bankruptcy courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and Delaware, Ms. Elkin is one of only eighteen professionals approved by the court to mediate significant mortgage indemnification claims of Lehman Brothers. With extensive crossborder and international experience, Ms. Elkin is a frequent speaker and author on national and international bankruptcy and restructuring. A founding member of International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), she has helped the organization grow from thirty members to a global network of nearly 1500. 

Ms. Elkin has been listed numerous times in The Best Lawyers in America for her work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy, and in Super Lawyers for her work in Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights. Ms. Elkin has also been recognized repeatedly in Who’s Who Legal for Insolvency and Restructuring, as well as by Euromoney Institutional Investor. She has been honored with the Melnik Award for exceptional contributions by an IWIRC member and has earned an “AV Preeminent Peer Rating,” Martindale-Hubbell's highest recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.

Ms. Elkin has served as a delegate on behalf of several NGOs to UNCITRAL Working Group V (Insolvency). 

Ms. Elkin is a graduate of Binghamton University of the State University of New York, and earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin. She is admitted to practice in New York and Texas. Ms. Elkin is resident in our New York office.

Representations

  • Debtor in Mirant Corporation
  • Agent lender in Trinity Coal, Adelphia Communications, Magnolia Energy
  • Lenders in Alpha Natural Resources, MF Global, SemCrude, Extended Stay, Calpine Corporation
  • Defendant in patent dispute in Eastman Kodak Company 
  • Landlords in Borders Group
  • Secured lender in out-of-court restructuring of multi-billion dollar timeshare developer 
  • Creditors' committee chair in Enron Corporation
  • Asset purchasers in National Gypsum, Federal Mogul, and other asbestos cases
  • Insurer in United States Brass
  • Major shareholder and bidder in Delphi 
  • Litigation defending major accounting firm in Southland case (obtained dismissal of $30 million malpractice lawsuit;  successfully defended judgment through denial of petition for writ of certiorari to U.S. Supreme Court)
  • Litigation defending major real estate investment company in postconfirmation lawsuit in Extended Stay
  • Foreign representatives in several U.S. chapter 15 cases

Professional Affiliations

  • • Board member, membership co-chair, International Insolvency Institute
  • • Co-chair, past education director, American Bankruptcy Institute Mediation Committee
  • • Past co-chair, vice-chair, American Bar Association International Section Insolvency Committee
  • • Past co-chair, vice-chair, International Bar Association Insolvency Section; past co-chair, Creditors' Rights Committee
  • • Past chair, vice-chair, secretary/treasurer, executive committee member, International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
  • • Member, IWIRC New York Network
  • • Past co-chair, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Litigation Section
  • • Member, Bar Association of the City of New York Animal Law Committee
  • • Past board and executive committee member, Dallas Zoological Society
  • • Board of directors, Humane Society of Westchester
  • • Patron, Wildlife Conservation Society

Programs and Lectures

Scaling the Tower of Babel: Stakeholder Communication in Crossborder Cases, ABI International Conference (New York, Nov. 2019); When in Rome: An Interactive Program on the Theory and Practice of Crosscultural Negotiations, 19th Annual International Insolvency Institute (Barcelona June 2019); What Happens in Mediation, Stays in Mediation; or Does It? American Bankruptcy Institute webinar (May 2018); Makewhole Provisions: A Rational Hedge Against Falling Rates or a Shining Example of Corporate Greed? ABA Section of International Law Fall Meeting (Miami Oct. 2017); Sauce for the Goose? Dual Standard Emerging in Crossborder Insolvencies: Domicile Not Enough to Recognize Foreign Proceeding, PLI Current Developments in Bankruptcy & Reorganization (New York April 2016); How Many Lawyers Can Fit on the Head of a Drilling Rig and Other Questions to Ponder in Oil & Gas Industry Insolvencies, ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting (New York April 2016); How Much Momentum Will Momentive Create? Judicial Interpretation and Enforcement of Intercreditor Agreements, American Bankruptcy Institute Northeast Bankruptcy Conference (Falmouth MA July 2015); The Saga of Sean O'Murphy's Grill and Its Journey Through the Insolvency Safe-Harbor Provisions of High Finance, the World Bank and UNCITRAL, ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting (Washington DC April 2015); Lender Liability: Present and Future—The U.S. Perspective: An Exercise in Finder Pointing, International Bar Association Annual Meeting (Tokyo Oct. 2014)

Publications

I Meant What I Said and I Said What I Meant: The Enforceability of Make-Whole Provisions in U.S. Loan Agreements and Indentures, ABA Section on International Law Fall Meeting (2017)

Sauce for the Goose? Dual Standard Emerging in Cross Border Insolvencies: Domicile Not Enough to Recognize Foreign Proceeding, in program handbook for Bankruptcy & Reorganizations (Practising Law Institute 2014, 2015, 2016)

The Law of Unintended Consequences: Application of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, ABA International Law Section Spring Meeting (2015)

Lender Liability in the US: An Exercise in Finger Pointing, 9 Insolvency & Restructuring Int'l 9 (April 2015)

Events

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