Robert M. Saunders

Robert M. Saunders is a restructuring, bankruptcy, and distressed transactions attorney in the Los Angeles office of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP. He advises debtors, creditors’ committees, assignees, private equity firms, portfolio companies, lenders, strategic buyers, and other stakeholders in chapter 11 cases, assignments for the benefit of creditors (ABCs), distressed acquisitions, cross-border restructurings, and other special situations matters throughout the United States and in matters with international dimensions.

Rob has served in leading roles in significant restructuring matters, including representing the chapter 11 debtor investment manager Highland Capital Management L.P. and the tort claimants’ committee for abuse survivors in the Boy Scouts of America chapter 11 case. He initiated and helped lead the representation of JRV Group USA, an aftermarket Jeep modifier, in its chapter 11 case and in negotiations with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning an automotive recall. He also served as a principal attorney for paper manufacturer Plainwell in its chapter 11 case, handling complex negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency involving a Superfund site and successfully arguing for plan confirmation over a former site owner’s objection.

Rob is also widely recognized for his work in ABCs, distressed transactions, and governance-sensitive matters. He has substantial experience representing assignees and acquirers in state-law ABCs and serves as an advisor to the Uniform Law Commission’s drafting committee for the Uniform Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors Act. He is co-author of “General Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors: The ABCs of ABCs” (6th Edition), published by the American Bankruptcy Institute, and he holds the NACD Directorship Certification (NACD.DC), reflecting his experience in board-level and distress-related governance issues.

He has held numerous leadership roles in the Turnaround Management Association, including serving as 2023 President of TMA Southern California and later as Vice Chair and Chair of TMA Global’s Chapter Presidents Council. He currently serves as TMA Global’s Vice President, International Relations, and also serves on TMA Global’s Executive Board, Board of Trustees, and Governance Committee, having previously served on its Nominations Committee. Rob is also Secretary and a member of the Board of Governors of the Financial Lawyers Conference, and a board member of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum. He was named the 2023 Lawyer of the Year in Litigation-Bankruptcy for Los Angeles by “Best Lawyers in America”, and has also been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer and as one of Lawdragon‘s top “500 Leading Global Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers”. Rob earned a B.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and is admitted to practice in California, New York, and Florida.