Joseph L. Schwartz is Chair of the Firm’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group. He has over 25 years of experience in commercial bankruptcy and state court insolvency matters, with a focus on corporate restructurings and reorganizations.
Joe also has substantial experience in state and federal receiverships and assignments for the benefit of creditors, as well as out-of-court corporate restructurings, turnarounds, workouts, wind-downs, dissolutions and commercial litigation. He represents a diverse array of clients, including, but not limited to, indenture trustees, debtors, official and ad hoc creditors’ committees, insurance companies, banks, other secured lenders, chapter 7 and chapter 11 trustees, trade creditors, third-party purchasers, and landlords.
Joe also serves as one of the Subchapter V trustees in New Jersey, having been appointed by the Office of the United States Trustee under the Small Business Reorganization Act, and regularly serves as a mediator in bankruptcy cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. He also regularly both prosecutes and defends avoidance actions on behalf of various clients, including preference and fraudulent conveyance lawsuits.
Joe has considerable experience and has taken a leading role in representing various constituents in numerous bankruptcy cases and insolvency-related matters, including complex cases involving the construction, healthcare, mass tort, commodities, mining and metals, real estate, retail, apparel, steel, airline, manufacturing, distribution, telecommunications, and technology sectors.
Joe was elected President of the New Jersey Turnaround Management Association, effective January 2022, and will serve a two-year term, following years of service to NJ TMA. He also serves on the Turnaround Management Association’s Global Membership Council, which addresses global membership goals and strategies for TMA. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and various other insolvency-related associations. In addition, Joe has previously served on the New Jersey Supreme Court District V-C Ethics Committee (western Essex County).
Joe serves on the Corporate Advisory Council of Homeless Solutions, which offers shelter, services, and supportive housing to the homeless and working poor in Morris County through outreach services, a Safe Haven Program for the mentally ill homeless, and a Family Transitional Housing Program.
He also frequently lectures and writes on various insolvency-related topics. While attending law school, Joe served as a member of the Suffolk University Law Review.
