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Education

  • University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A., with high honors, 1977)
  • Hastings College of Law, University of California (J.D. 1981)

Bar and Court Admissions

  • 1981, California

Kenneth H. Brown

Photo of Kenneth H. Brown
San Francisco
Tel: 415.263.7000

Mr. Brown has extensive experience in bankruptcy and commercial litigation. He has represented and advised debtors, unsecured creditors, secured creditors, insurers, creditors’ committees, and trustees in large complex chapter 11 and chapter 15 cases and in related litigation in both state and federal court. Mr. Brown leads the firm’s litigation team in representations of the sex-abuse survivor committees in the chapter 11 bankruptcy cases involving the Roman Catholic Church. These matters involve the intersection of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) with Bankruptcy Code and focus on recovering assets transferred by the debtor prior to filing bankruptcy as part of asset protection scheme to protect the assets from the claims of the victims of sex abuse. The representations also require expertise in identifying, analyzing, and prosecuting claims against the management of the debtor for allowing or facilitating the sexual misconduct and abuse. Mr. Brown led the team that obtained a judgment in one of these cases worth in excess of $100 million. Mr. Brown also specializes in defending employers in WARN Act class-action litigation and advising them on the intersection of the WARN Act and bankruptcy. Mr. Brown also has extensive experience representing professional firms and their principals in dissolutions and bankruptcies.

He is a graduate of U.C. Santa Barbara and received his J.D. at Hastings College of the Law, where he was articles editor for the Hastings Law Journal. Mr. Brown is a former director of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, a former member of the State Bar of California Business Law Section Subcommittee on Debtor/Creditor Relations and Bankruptcy, and frequently serves as a mediator for the Bankruptcy Dispute Resolution Program for the Northern District of California and the San Francisco Bar Association. He holds an AV Preeminent Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell's highest recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. He has been listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America since 2018 for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy. Mr. Brown is admitted to practice in California and is resident in our San Francisco office.

Professional Affiliations

  • Director, Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum (2001-)
  • Mediator, San Francisco Bar Association, Early Settlement Program (1997-2003)
  • Bankruptcy Dispute Resolution Program, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California (1994-)
  • Member, State Bar of California Business Law Section Debtor/Creditor Committee (1999-2002)

Programs and Lectures

Lecturer, American Bankruptcy Institute; Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors; Bar Association of San Francisco; Santa Clara County Bar Association

News

Publications

  • "Discovery in Debt Collection Actions," in Debt Collection Practice in California (2d ed. 2000)
  • "Tenants in Distress: Pitfalls and Opportunities for the Retail Landlord," Shopping Center Business (1998).
  • "Law Firm Break-Ups and Bankruptcies," 3 Legal Malpractice Report (No. 2 1992)
  • Co-author, "Dissolutions of Professional Firms Under State Law," in program materials for the Third Annual Northwest Bankruptcy Institute (1989)

Events

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