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Joseph M. ColemanDirector
jcoleman@krcl.com |
Joe Coleman, a founding director of the Firm, chairs the Insolvency, Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights Section, which focuses on corporate and business reorganization, debt restructuring, and insolvency-related work of all kinds throughout the nation.
From humble beginnings as the Firm's only restructuring lawyer at its founding in 1992, Mr. Coleman and his team have built a nationwide, multi-disciplined restructuring and insolvency practice comprised of ten professionals. Philosophically, Mr. Coleman believes to be the best bankruptcy lawyer, you must sit in every seat around the restructuring table. Whether representing the Lender, Committee or Debtor, he thoroughly comprehends each significant parties' pressure points and strategies, because he has represented such other parties in other matters. In short, one only deeply understands the motivations of the person across the table or opposing counsel in court if you have actually been in that exact position.
KRCL focuses on having deep, thorough experience representing all constituencies in the restructuring process. As a result of this philosophy, Mr. Coleman and his team have represented billions of dollars of secured creditors, confirmed over twenty plans of reorganization representing both public- and privately-held debtors, represented forty-six Creditor Committees in nineteen states (see committee representation link here), participated in more than fifty Section 363 sales and represented over twenty post-confirmation trusts. Mr. Coleman has also been appointed as the post-confirmation trustee and has served as an expert witness in bankruptcy cases. Recently, one bankruptcy Judge even appointed Mr. Coleman as "Chief Marketing Officer" to sell a 3,700 acre ranch in a highly- contentious family dispute in the bankruptcy case.
Mr. Coleman has also represented equity interest holders, state-court receivers, many parties to executory contracts and unexpired leases, trustees, retirees, and virtually every conceivable constituency in bankruptcy, out of court workouts and other insolvency proceedings. Mr. Coleman's work has earned him numerous accolades, including the Turnaround Award (Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year, $25MM to $100MM) by The M&A Advisor for the 2017 Reorganization of Valuepart, Inc., an international distributor of aftermarket parts for off-highway earthmoving tractors and equipment.
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“Joe Coleman followed every thread and left no stone unturned to ensure our Creditors’ Committee got the best possible outcome (and we got a phenomenal outcome)! Our case was very complicated, but Joe handled it like a pro. He is astute and aggressive and he knows exactly what to do at every turn. His approach to the case was comprehensive and zealous. The Committee did extremely well in the end – what Joe achieved was beyond all of our expectations. Joe has all the baseline legal knowledge, but he is also rich with the “street smarts” that is not as common. Moreover, he has a business savvy that many lawyers in private practice lack. He appreciates his client’s budget and measures every course of action against the bottom-line value it will add to the case. But more than anything else I can say about Joe, I have to applaud his integrity. He is extremely well-principled and trustworthy, and he operates with a clear and true “moral compass”. I have no reservations recommending Joe or KRCL to anyone who needs excellent legal counsel, especially in the context of representing creditors. ”
Sam Gasowski, Vice President, General Counsel
Easton Diamond Sports, LLC
Thousand Oaks, California
“I had a great experience with Joe Coleman. He is extremely ethical and he was a dedicated advocate for me throughout the case. He went beyond just doing his job – he was all in, committed to my cause, and available to me anytime day or night. We knew Joe would stand up for us and swing hard. We needed an attorney totally dedicated and committed to us and Joe was that guy. He built a real rapport with opposing counsel, treated them with respect and gained a lot of ground with them. Joe exudes integrity and is so deeply committed to doing things the right way, his influence helped bring the other side around within a few months. We have worked with other attorneys in the past, but Joe Coleman and the team at KRCL have impressed us so much with their dedication and commitment, we would not hesitate to turn to them with any of our legal needs and refer others to them. ”
Andy Elms, Vice President
APOLLO Environmental Strategies, Inc.
Beaumont, Texas
“The first time MFSG worked with Joe Coleman was on a very complex bankruptcy case many years ago. We were not expecting to recover anything but Joe’s relentless pursuit in that case helped us get a surprisingly good recovery. Joe has been our go-to bankruptcy attorney and corporate counsel ever since. Joe gets good results because he’s so driven and passionate about what he does. His integrity is unmatched – I always know he’s being completely honest with me about a case and what we can expect. I trust what he says because I know he has our best interests at heart. I really appreciate the time Joe takes to explain things – he has a great style of communication that really helps us understand what’s happening so we feel comfortable making decisions about a case. We have been through some tough situations together and he has become both a mentor and friend over the years. Joe is one of the most grounded and level-headed people I know. I don’t think you could find a better attorney than Joe Coleman. ”
Dan Pike
MEMA Financial Services Group, Inc.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
“I first met Joe Coleman nearly twenty years ago when he was representing a supplier group in a bankruptcy case as counsel to the unsecured creditors. My company was one of the claimants and I was tremendously impressed watching Joe in action throughout the case. He is very forthright, getting straight to the point when dealing with his clients and with opposing counsel. Most importantly, Joe’s integrity is evident in every interaction and I have the utmost respect for his work. Joe fought hard for us in that case and we were very happy with the outcome. After I moved to a new job at a different company, I found myself dealing with a similar situation. My new employer was the largest creditor in the default of another company. I called Joe to ask for help and he flew to Boston two days later to sit down with me and discuss the case. Joe took on that case for us with zeal and dedication we knew we could expect from him. It took three years to see that case through to the end, but Joe got us the right results. He remains the go-to attorney for the company in any creditors’ rights case. I enjoy watching Joe interact with opposing counsel – he is thoughtful, challenging and I’ve never seen him get caught off-guard. He is ethical, dedicated and provides the highest level of client service. Joe is always well-equipped in defense of his clients; there is no other attorney I would recommend in a bankruptcy case. ”
John Eberhardt
Nikon Inc.
Long Island, New York
“I’ve worked with Joe Coleman and the team at KRCL on many legal issues, but one big case stands out. Our company had a lease agreement with a customer who wasn’t able to make their payments and tried to cancel their contract with us. They owed us nearly $4.5 million dollars and when the case went into mediation, they made us an offer that didn’t come close to covering the debt when we factored in the interest owed, plus our legal fees and expenses. So we declined the offer and took the case into arbitration. Joe Coleman always gives us a very clear picture of the risks of taking a case to litigation – he warns us that we could incur high expenses and still lose, but we decided to go forward with this case. Robert Lemay handled the arbitration with Joe, and they took an aggressive but pragmatic approach to the case. They gave us good advice and solid options with detailed explanations at each point in the case, and did an exemplary job of representing us before the arbitration judge. It took more than a year and half, but they pressed on and in the end, we won nearly everything we asked for. The judge awarded us a sizable judgment, which covered everything we were owed plus almost all of our fees and expenses. Joe and Robert did an exceptional job representing us in this case. You don’t find a lot of attorneys like Joe Coleman. Even when we believed the other side was not being completely honest, Joe would not take that tack. He believed the facts supported our case and he would not stretch the truth or do anything unethical. His integrity is tremendous, and that’s important to me and to my company. Joe’s approach is very high energy. He’s aggressive and he does not back down, and he has the client’s interest at heart. My company expects a lot of bang for the buck and we need a highly effective law firm, which is why we turn to Joe Coleman and the attorneys at Kane Russell Coleman and Logan again and again. ”
Robert Wright
Murex Ltd.
Plano, Texas
“When my company was involved in a commercial lease dispute that wasn’t going well, we needed to involve a commercial bankruptcy attorney to pursue an aggressive new strategy. When we chose Kane Russell Coleman Logan to handle the case, they were savvy enough to know that this case hinged on the business issues, and I was confident Joe gave us our best chance of winning. Joe understood that Nexion is a quality company committed to providing quality care for people, and he wanted to help us get the right outcome. Joe made me feel like I was his only client and his highest priority. He called me late in the evening sometimes with ideas to discuss or updates on the case. I don’t know how many lawyers would have the fortitude to take on a case this risky, but Joe embraced the fight, he took up our cause and he carried our message into court. Kudos to Joe and KRCL for thinking outside of the box and coming up with a game-changing plan to win this case. The results were far greater than I expected and I attribute that to Joe and the team at KRCL. ”
Fran Kirley
Nexion Health Management, Inc.
Sykesville, Maryland
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Successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro
Dallas White Rock Marathon finisher
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“PPP money helped delay the inevitable but a day of reckoning is coming and it is coming soon for many middle and smaller market companies”, says Joe Coleman
“In my over thirty years as a corporate bankruptcy lawyer, I’ve never before heard of the appointment of a ‘Chief Marketing Professional’ in a bankruptcy case, but I think it is a unique and creative solution agreed to by the parties and approved by the Court. With the benefit of Icon Global’s experience and remarkable marketing efforts, I expect to have the KC7 Ranch sale approved and closed in less than six months from my appointment.”, said Mr. Coleman
Coleman stated: “I interviewed many of the state’s leading ranch brokers and chose Bernard Uechtritz specifically because of his extensive experience and track record in successfully and aggressively selling a diverse range of big-ticket properties, particularly in unique and difficult circumstances, such as we have with the KC7 Ranch, Ltd. Bankruptcy. I have full confidence that this Ranch will be sold in an expedited and timely manner consistent with the approved marketing strategies pursuant to the Court’s order.”
“I cannot imagine anyone better suited for this extraordinary challenge than Judge Houser,” says Joe Coleman, a bankruptcy partner at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan in Dallas. “The Puerto Rico crisis is not a Chapter 11 and it is not a Chapter 9. These are unique, uncharted waters, The resolution of this is going to be a significant challenge.”
“You have a tremendous amount of bond investors with billions of dollars of bond debt and retirement funds invested in Puerto Rico bonds, and investment companies that have tremendous amounts invested,” said Joseph Coleman. “Now there’s a question of when those will be paid and the ripple effect throughout the US and world is significant.”
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