Mike VanNiel is a Partner with BakerHostetler, leading the Ohio Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice. He maintains a bankruptcy and commercial law practice focused on complex insolvency and related commercial and appellate litigation, corporate debtor restructuring, creditors’ committee representations, representation of financial institutions in specialized finance matters, secured lenders, acquirers of distressed businesses and business owners and creditors in workouts and insolvency proceedings.

Throughout his career, Mike has represented every constituency involved in reorganizations, liquidations, workouts, and insolvency-related commercial and appellate litigation. He also acts as a long-time trusted business advisor and outside general counsel for numerous manufacturing, retail, and private equity clients with respect to their day-to-day businesses.

Mike is recognized by Chambers USA® as a leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring lawyer, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He was also a recipient of the 2002 American Bankruptcy Institute Gold Medal of Excellence Award.

Experience

§ Lead counsel to owner/operator of hotels throughout the U.S. in workout, business and lending matters involving traditional, construction and CMBS lenders.

§ Lead counsel to billion-dollar private equity fund and related alternative energy portfolio company in workout, litigation and business matters.

§ Lead counsel to large food manufacturer in workout and business matters.

§ Lead counsel to private equity fund manager in Delaware Chapter 11 proceeding.

§ Lead counsel to American Greetings Corporation in connection with litigation and resolution of matters relating to third-party operator’s closure of retail store operations throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

§ Lead nationwide outside general counsel to replacement window and door manufacturer in all litigation and business matters.

§ Lead outside general counsel and transactions counsel to Midwest-based company engaged in business of environmental clean-up of hazardous and non-hazardous materials at large industrial facilities.

§ Lead nationwide outside counsel to Seoul, South Korea-based manufacturer of children’s and women’s apparel in retail insolvency cases around the U.S. 

§ Lead counsel to creditors’ committee in In re Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas in insolvency proceedings in Kansas. When engagement commenced, the committee’s constituents were expected to receive an approximately 1% distribution on account of nearly $100 million of claims. When matter concluded, constituents received almost 70% distribution on their claims.

§ Lead counsel representing Chapter 7 Trustee of Fair Finance Co. in significant litigation against Fair Finance’s former lenders and owners. The matter involved all issues relating to Ponzi scheme litigation, including state and federal fraudulent transfer and related avoidance laws, as well as state law tort claims.

§ Lead counsel on a team that represented creditors’ committee in large Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of an integrated steel manufacturer. This engagement involved virtually all significant issues that could arise in the context of a creditors’ committee representation under the federal bankruptcy laws, including the successful prosecution and settlement of more than $100 million in breach of fiduciary duty and related state law claims. When the team was retained, the committee’s constituents expected to receive payment of a small fraction of their claims. When the engagement concluded, those constituents collectively received full payment of approximately $165 million.

§ Lead counsel representing national bank in multimillion-dollar commercial workout matters, including specialized finance matters relating to companies that provide processing services for prepaid bank card products issued by client.

Recognition

§ The Legal 500 United States

o Recommended in Finance - Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Corporate (2022)

§ Chambers USA: Bankruptcy/Restructuring in Ohio (2016 to 2022)

o Band 2 (2020 to 2022), Band 3 (2017 to 2019), Band 4 (2016)

§ The Best Lawyers in America®

o Ohio: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2014 to Present)

o Ohio: Litigation - Bankruptcy (2016 to Present)

§ Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent

§ Ohio Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2007, 2009 to 2013)

§ American Bankruptcy Institute: Gold Medal of Excellence (2002)

Admissions

§ U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio

§ U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Ohio

§ U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio

§ U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Ohio

§ U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

§ U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit