John Lucas, resident in the firm’s San Francisco office, concentrates his national practice representing debtors, official committees, trustees, and lenders in corporate bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings. Among his many engagements, John was instrumental in the representation of the creditors’ committee in Boy Scouts of America, the creditors’ committee in Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Mesa Airlines, American Suzuki Motor Corporation, A.M. Castle & Co., Sedgwick LLP, Lehman Brothers, Response Genetics, Silicon Graphics, and numerous national and regional restaurant chains. John is an author on a wide range of bankruptcy topics. John is a board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and a member of its Education Committee. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Los Angeles (1992) and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Oregon School of Law (2004) where he was a member of the Oregon Law Review. After graduating from law school, John clerked for the Honorable Robert D. Drain in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (2004-2006).
Education
- University of California at Los Angeles (B.A. magna cum laude,1992)
- University of Oregon School of Law (J.D. 2004)
Bar and Court Admissions
- 2010, California
- 2005, New York
Clerkships
- Law clerk, Judge Robert D. Drain (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2004-06)
- Chapter 11 debtors: Sedgwick LLP; Kona Grill; Barfly Ventures; Tintri Inc.; A.M. Castle & Co.; Blue Earth; NewZoom Inc.; Response Genetics; Tri-Valley Learning Corporation; Elephant Bar Restaurants; Z’Tejas Restaurants; Highway Technologies; American Suzuki Motor Corporation; Global Aviation; Mesa Airlines; Lehman Brothers Holdings; Champion Enterprises; Heller Ehrman LLP; Lexington Precision; Silicon Graphics
- Chapter 11 creditors: Cottonwood Cajon in Premier Golf Properties; Lehman Commercial Paper Inc. and Lehman ALI Inc. in Palmdale Hills Property LLC (“SunCal”); indenture trustee in Calpine; bondholders in Portrait Corporations of America
- Creditors’ committees: Boy Scouts of America; Uni-Pixel; Rdio Inc.; Yellow Cab of San Francisco; Champps/Fox & Hound Restaurants; Trident Microsystems (Far East) Ltd.
- Trustees: Yashouafar; Evergreen International Aviation; Exigen (USA)
- Section 363 asset sales: Represented buyers in Bartlett Mgt. Services (KFC franchise); Quality Discount Ice Cream; Nurserymen’s Exchange
- Out-of-court restructurings: Security Capital Assurance Ltd. and a professional sports franchise
- Board member, American Bankruptcy Institute (2019-)
- Co-chair, American Bankruptcy Institute Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference (2014-18)
- Advisory Board Member, American Bankruptcy Institute Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference (2011-14)
- Debtor-in-Possession Financing Funding a Chapter 11 CaseAmerican Bankruptcy Institute (2012)
- Creditor’s Self-Interest Precludes Fee Reimbursement From the Estate September 2012
- First Day Motions (3d ed.) A Guide to the Critical First Days of a Bankruptcy CaseAmerican Bankruptcy Institute, June 2012
- “Approval of the DIP Financing Order” in Debtor-in-Possession Financing: Funding a Chapter 11 Case (ABI 2012)
- Coauthor, “The Role and Retention of the Chief Restructuring Officer,” in The Americas Restructuring and Insolvency Guide (2008/2009)
- “The Article 9 Buyer’s Seller Rule & The Justification for Its Harsh Effects,” 83 Oregon Law Review 289 (2004)
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