Brian P. Welch is a member of the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy practice at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C. His practice is primarily focused in the fields of bankruptcy, business reorganization, debtor’s and creditor’s rights, insolvency, and commercial litigation. Brian’s has represented a diverse group of clients including individual and corporate debtors in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 proceedings, secured and unsecured creditors, estate representatives such as Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees, plan administrators and assignees for the benefit of creditors.

Brian’s bankruptcy litigation experience includes prosecution and defense of lawsuits and contested matters involving:

• avoidance and recovery of fraudulent transfers under the Bankruptcy Code and state law;
• avoidance and recovery of preference payments;
• objections to discharge and dischargeability of debts;
• enforcement and modification of the automatic stay;
• involuntary bankruptcy proceedings;
• objections to proofs of claim; and
• Chapter 11 Plan confirmation.

In addition, Brian has successfully litigated several bankruptcy appeals in the District Court and before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, achieving both reversals and affirmances of Bankruptcy Court decisions.

Brian also has a broad range of experience in commercial disputes in both State and Federal courts, including representation of debtors, creditors and estate representatives in litigation involving:

• breach of fiduciary duty claims;
• alter ego/piercing the corporate veil;
• civil conspiracy to commit fraud;
• lender liability claims;
• breach of contract claims;
• mortgage foreclosure;
• guaranty collection;
• real estate litigation; and
• shareholder disputes.

Brian has been recognized as a “Rising Star” in the field of Business Bankruptcy by Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine and as an "Emerging Lawyer" in the field of Bankruptcy & Workout Law by Illinois Emerging Lawyers Magazine.

While in law school, Brian was a member of The John Marshall Law Review and was elected to the Executive Board of the John Marshall Law School Moot Court Honors Program. Brian participated in several national Moot Court competitions, including the Hon. Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, where Brian’s team received an Outstanding Brief award.

Below is a sampling of some illustrative representative matters handled by Brian:

• Representation of Chapter 11 debtor in six-day trial before Bankruptcy Court on request of secured creditor owed more than $20 million for the appointment of Chapter 11 Trustee. Brian’s contributions helped secure a 43-page written decision denying the secured creditor’s request and allowed the Chapter 11 debtor to remain in control of its business operations through its ultimate successful reorganization.
• Representation of Chapter 11 debtor bank holding company in three-day evidentiary hearing on Plan Confirmation. Prior to the hearing, Brian drafted and filed a Motion in Limine seeking to bar the debtor’s secured lender, which asserted it was owed no less than $19 million, from presenting any evidence at the Confirmation Hearing. The Bankruptcy Court granted the extraordinary relief requested in the Motion in Limine and barred the secured lender from presenting any evidence at the Confirmation Hearing, which facilitated the confirmation of the debtor’s Plan of Reorganization and the debtor’s successful exit from its Chapter 11 case.
• Counsel for Chapter 7 Trustee from investigation through settlement in complex, multi-party fraud litigation resulting in recovery of more than $2 million for creditors in an estate that otherwise had no assets.
• Counsel for Chapter 11 Plan Administrator following discovery of massive fraud by the debtor and its principals in an equipment leasing Ponzi-scheme that defrauded creditors by more than $250 million. Brian conducted an investigation that led to the filing of more than sixty adversary proceedings to avoid and recover fraudulent transfers by the debtor which led to eight-figure recoveries for creditors.

• Illinois Super Lawyers, “Rising Star” in Business Bankruptcy, 2016-2018;
• Illinois Emerging Lawyers, Bankruptcy & Workout Law;
• Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, Outstanding Brief, 2011;
• Pepperdine School of Law National Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition, Quarterfinalist, 2010;
• The John Marshall Law School Moot Court Honors Program, Executive Board Member; and
• The John Marshall Law Review.

Brian is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Illinois State Bar Association (Federal Civil Practice Section Council, Commercial Banking, Collections and Bankruptcy and Young Lawyers Division). Brian was recently appointed to the Bankruptcy Court Liason Committee for the Northern District of Illinois.

Brian has been frequently published in local and national publications and has sat as a lecturer on insolvency-related issues. Brian remains active in the community of the John Marshall Law School, and frequently returns to sit as a judge in the school’s Herzog Moot Court competition and for 1L and 2L students, and to assist 2L and 3L students as they prepare for their participation in national moot court competitions.

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