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
Show moreEducation
- 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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