Ira Herman concentrates his practice on restructuring and bankruptcy matters with emphasis on distressed public debt issues, secured and unsecured loans, cross-border insolvency matters, distressed M&A, and corporate governance.
Restructuring & Bankruptcy
Ira regularly advises his clients, including equity investors and lenders, on the management of bankruptcy risk in their transactions, asset dispositions, inter-creditor issues, and distressed M&A. He also regularly counsels indenture trustees regarding defaulted public debt issue. Additionally, he provides restructuring and bankruptcy advice to financially distressed businesses and their management, including with regard to corporate governance issues.
Mediation & Arbitration
As a court-appointed mediator, Ira has been able to facilitate the resolution of controversies involving U.S. and non-U.S. parties concerning bankruptcy and commercial law issues. He is a skilled listener who is able to solve problems and address the needs of the parties to a dispute by employing his knowledge of the law and creativity.
With all his clients, Ira seeks to be a partner and trusted adviser who works hard to understand a client’s business to achieve the best possible outcomes. He strives to be efficient, cost effective, and proactive in discussing the impact of legal trends on their businesses, managing risk, and making the client’s job as stress-free as possible.
Ira annually updates “Anticipating and Managing Bankruptcy Risk,” a series of articles he has written for the Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy module of LexisNexis Practical Guidance®. He has served for five years on its editorial advisory board and has also served on Law360’s Bankruptcy Editorial Advisory Board. In 2022, Ira updated the chapter titled “Bankruptcy” in the treatise Negotiating and Drafting Commercial Leases (2022, Full Court Press).
During law school, Ira served as the Articles Editor for the Boston University International Law Journal and while earning his bachelor’s degree, he served as editor-in-chief of The Polis, the college political science journal.
RECOGNITIONS
· AV Preeminent®, listed in Martindale-Hubbell®
· Pro Bono Alumni Award, by Boston University School of Law
· Recognized for Providing Pro Bono Assistance, by Legal Services NYC
· Empire State Counsel, by the New York State Bar Association
· Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, New York, listed in Best Lawyers©
· New York Metro “Super Lawyer” in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, listed by Super Lawyers
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Ira is on the Register of Mediators and Arbitrators for the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Delaware, Eastern District of New York, and Southern District of New York, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
He is a member of the following organizations:
· New York City Bar Association Bankruptcy & Corporate Reorganization Committee, as well as chair of its Subcommittee on Out of Court Restructuring and Pre Negotiation
· American Bar Association and its Trust Indentures and Indenture Trustees Committee
· American Bankruptcy Institute, of which he is the current national chair of the Master Class on Bankruptcy Law
· New York State Bar Association, of which he previously served as chair of its Committee on Bankruptcy Law, Business Law Section
· New York City chapter of the Turnaround Management Association
Ira is an active provider of pro bono services to indigent New Yorkers, particularly through the New York City Bar Association.
He is also a board member of the Westchester Hebrew High School.
Admissions
Texas, 2008
New York, 1983
U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court - Northern District of New York
U.S. District Court - Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court - Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court - Western District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
Education
Boston University School of Law (JD, cum laude, 1982)
Yeshiva University (BA, cum laude, 1979, Major: Political Science)