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Biography

A.J. co-leads the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group and represents clients nationwide in complex financial distress, restructuring, and insolvency matters. He advises companies, lenders, creditors, purchasers, and other stakeholders on strategies to preserve value, manage risk, and achieve practical business outcomes in both in-court proceedings and out-of-court restructurings.

His practice encompasses chapter 11 cases, distressed asset sales and acquisitions, loan workouts and enforcement, creditor remedies, and negotiated restructurings. A.J. regularly represents secured and unsecured creditors, debtors, official committees, financial institutions, borrowers, and purchasers throughout the restructuring process.

A significant focus of A.J.’s practice is automotive and manufacturing distress. He advises original equipment manufacturers and suppliers on continuity-of-supply matters, supplier bankruptcies, emergency funding, customer exits, resourcing, and out-of-court solutions. He is frequently called upon to address time-sensitive disputes in which operational continuity and supply-chain stability are critical.

A.J. also represents financial institutions in workouts and enforcement matters involving conventional and Small Business Administration loans. In addition, he advises clients on Uniform Commercial Code issues, including the creation, perfection, priority, and enforcement of security interests, with particular experience involving healthcare receivables.

A.J. graduated second in his class from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he served as an articles editor of the University of Cincinnati Law Review and authored several publications on bankruptcy and insolvency law. He has been recognized by Chambers USA for Bankruptcy/Restructuring and by other national legal publications for his work in the field.

Other Info About A.J.

Experience

Legal Work Highlights

A.J. has represented clients throughout the country in debtor, committee, senior secured lender, distressed acquisition, automotive distressed supply, and retail/landlord engagements. Representative matters are below.

Debtor Engagements:
Hopedale Mining, LLC (Rhino Energy), JW Resources, Inc., and Cambrian Holding Company, Inc.

Committee Engagements:
Stein Mart, Inc., RGN-Group Holdings (Regus), Gordmans Stores, Inc., Cycle Force Group, LLC, Freedom Industries, Inc., and Goodrich Quality Theaters

DIP Lender/Senior Secured Lender Engagements:
Lectrus Corporation, Sebring Management FL, Glen-Alum Coal Company, and Murray Energy Holdings Co.

Automotive Distressed Supply Engagements:
Stark Manufacturing, First Brands, GST AutoLeather, Dura Automotive, Pace Industries, and Gissing North America, plus numerous out-of-court engagements for OEMs and suppliers

Retail/Landlord Engagements:
Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond, J.C. Penney, Sears, Bon-Ton, J. Crew, Pier 1, RadioShack, Pac-Sun, Aeropostale, Payless, and rue21

Education

Law School

University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 2015, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif
University Prize – Second Highest G.P.A.
University of Cincinnati Law Review, Articles Editor and Associate Member

Undergraduate School

Marshall University, B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude
Outstanding Student in Political Science

Bar Memberships

A.J. is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

Ohio, 2015

Courts

A.J. is admitted to practice before the following court(s):

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Award Selection Methodology

Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, “Up and Coming,” 2025; Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2026

Legal 500 US City Elite – Ohio, Finance & Restructuring, 2025-2026

Selected to Ohio Rising Stars, 2025

The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch®, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency Reorganization Law, 2021-2025

Distinguished Law Student, Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar

University Prize – Second Highest G.P.A., University of Cincinnati College of Law

Commercial Law Award for Highest Scholar in Contract, Commercial, and Bankruptcy Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law

Ernest Karam Prize, University of Cincinnati College of Law

Thompson Hine & Flory Prize, University of Cincinnati College of Law

Outstanding Student in Political Science, Marshall University

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

ABI Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee, Newsletter Editor (2023 – Present)

ABI Central States Bankruptcy Seminar, Advisory Board Member (2022 – Present)

ABI Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, Advisory Board Member (2018 – 2022; 2024 – Present)

American Bankruptcy Institute

American Bar Association

Ohio State Bar Association

Cincinnati Bar Association

Firm Committees

A.J. serves or has served in the following leadership role(s) at FBT Gibbons:

Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice Group Leader

Presentations

A.J. was invited to speak at the following events:

Assignment of Rents Enforcement After a Default: Receivership, Foreclosure, and Bankruptcy Issues, Barbri, February 24, 2026

Liability Management Exercises, ABI: Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, August 12, 2025

Assignment of Rents Enforcement After a Default: Receivership, Foreclosure, and Bankruptcy Issues, Barbri (formerly Strafford), July 8, 2025

Drafting and Enforcing Assignments of Rent: Collateral vs. Absolute Assignments, Receiverships, Bankruptcy Issues, Barbri (formerly Strafford), February 27, 2024

Podcast Guest, “A Game Plan for Dealing with Distress,” Automotive Insiders, February 1, 2024

Commercial Landlord Bankruptcies: Landlord and Tenant Rights and Obligations; Considerations for Real Estate Counsel, Barbri (formerly Strafford), December 7, 2023

Panelist, “Avoidance Actions,” Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, June 10, 2023

Panelist, Commercial Leases in Economic Distress: Pre- and Post-Bankruptcy Strategies for Landlords, Barbri (formerly Strafford), April 7, 2022

Moderator, “Pushing the Envelope in Chapter 11 – How Far Can You Go?,” Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, August 20, 2019

Major Publications

A.J. is an author or contributor to the following publications:

Pay Me Once, Pay Me Twice: Shapiro v. Henson’s Impact on a Debtor’s Fresh Start After Bankruptcy, 83 U. Cin. L. Rev. 625 (2014)

A New Take on an Old Foe: Percentage Fees in Unconfirmed Chapter 13 Bankruptcies, National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees Quarterly (Fall 2015)

Filing Time-Barred Claims in Bankruptcy Subjects Creditors to FDCPA Sanctions in the Eleventh Circuit (and Maybe the Seventh), U. Cin. L. Rev. (January 2015)

Protecting Attorneys and Jeopardizing Creditors: In re Thelen LLP and Rejection of the “Unfinished Business Rule”, U. Cin. L. Rev. (November 2014)

Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out: Smith v. Robbins (In re IFS Financial Corporation), U. Cin. L. Rev. (October 2014)

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