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Gregory Plotko
OVERVIEW

Gregory G. Plotko

Partner

New York

390 Madison Avenue
12th Floor
New York, NY 10017-2509

P 646-746-2406

F 646-746-2001

Email : gplotko@btlaw.com

With over 25 years of experience, Gregory Plotko advises creditors, distressed investors and corporate debtors on virtually all types of insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy litigation matters. Greg works collaboratively with his clients to understand their strategic goals and helps them achieve such objectives through diligent advocacy and practical solutions.

OVERVIEW

With over 25 years of experience, Gregory Plotko advises creditors, distressed investors and corporate debtors on virtually all types of insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy litigation matters. Greg works collaboratively with his clients to understand their strategic goals and helps them achieve such objectives through diligent advocacy and practical solutions.

Greg provides legal counsel to a diverse range of clients including credit funds, financial institutions (distressed desks), secured and unsecured creditors, debtors and other parties involved in complex Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 bankruptcy cases. He counsels clients on rights and remedies of various debt holders, handicapping legal outcomes, returns on investment (recovery ranges and timing) as well as analyzing capital structures, credit covenants and indenture provisions. Greg also has deep experience in special situations lending, alternative financing, litigation funding and claims trading.

As an advocate for creditors, Greg’s experience includes negotiating and litigating Chapter 11 plans, cash collateral orders, debtor-in-possession and exit financing documents and equity commitment agreements, as well as developing, negotiating and implementing rights offerings.

Greg’s experience with debtors includes assisting companies in navigating the complex legal, financial, and operational issues that arise in Chapter 11, receiverships, and out of court restructurings. He is well-versed in negotiating and obtaining forbearance agreements, and support from trade vendors, negotiating and implementing sales of business segments and companies and negotiating debtor-in-possession financing and confirming Chapter 11 plans.

Prior to joining the Barnes & Thornburg, Greg was a partner with an AmLaw 100 firm in New York.

Professional and Community Involvement

Member, American Bankruptcy Institute

Member, Turnaround Management Association

National leadership council member, Upwardly Global

 

Honors

The Best Lawyers in America, 2025

Legal Aid Society’s Outstanding Pro Bono Immigration Service Award, 2005-2006

EXPERIENCE
Experience
  • Represented numerous credit funds in the purchase and sale of customer account claims in major cryptocurrency exchanges bankruptcy cases.
  • Represented the prepetition lender which resulted in the sale of collateral of a privately owned oil and natural gas company and establishment of a post-confirmation litigation trust.
  • Represented a private equity firm in the sale of distressed loans to the ultimate credit-bid purchaser of the debtor in a subsequent bankruptcy proceeding of a large outdoor distributor.
  • Represented the litigation funder, a leading construction management firm, in connection with a Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceeding.
  • Represented multiple targets of a clawback investigation in connection with a Chapter 15 proceeding pending in the Southern District of New York.
  • Represented distressed investors in connection with the purchase and sale of significant subrogation claims and analysis of post-petition interest and make-whole claims from a major electric and gas company.
  • Represented a group of ad hoc lenders in negotiating a $100 million debtor-in-possession financing facility and subsequent $120 million new money investment that supported the acquisition of the assets of a leading producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States, preserving thousands of jobs. 
  • Represented a portfolio company of a notable investment firm, in connection with defending the priority of the servicer liens against a judgment creditor (case pending New York State Supreme Court).
  • Represented two major financial services companies in connection with formulating their loan-to-own strategies.
  • Represented holders of more than $1 billion principal amount of certificates of participation in the final litigation and settlement of the rights of the holders against one of the largest cities in the Midwestern states and a bond insurer (which insures payment of the certificates of participation) in connection with the valuation of unfunded pension liabilities and the ultimate treatment of the certificate holders under the confirmed plan.
  • Represented several investment funds and issuers of mortgage-backed securities in connection with swap mediation and litigation issues, including valuation disputes in connection with a major American global financial services firm.
  • Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in negotiating the successful sale of two of new operating power plants and four plants under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and assisting in the investigation against the company’s parent corporation in connection with certain dividends paid prior to the bankruptcy filing that lead to a settlement agreement providing creditors with an additional $47 million of cash consideration, a waiver of over $60 million in claims and an initial distribution to unsecured creditors within a year of the bankruptcy filing.
  • Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of the largest automobile manufacturer in the United States and the second-largest in the world, in the fourth-largest bankruptcy case in history.
  • Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in one of the most important and expedited Chapter 11 automobile company restructurings on record and the seventh-largest bankruptcy in history.
  • Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the bankruptcy of a leading producer and marketer of coal in the eastern United States – the third-largest bankruptcy of 2012 – in which the committee was the principal advocate of unsecured creditors on all major facets of the case, including a lengthy trial related to the company’s motions to reduce its active employee compensation and retiree healthcare benefits and an investigation of claims against two global coal companies  related to retiree healthcare benefit liabilities exceeding $1.3 billion.
  • Represented a prominent health care system with operations throughout New York City and surrounding counties in a Chapter 11 case involving complex issues affecting the preservation and disposition of substantial assets, ongoing patient care subject to regulatory oversight by various agencies and a diverse group of creditors (including various classes of secured creditors, union, pension and medical malpractice creditors), resulting in a fully consensual Chapter 11 plan.
  • Represented the Official Employment Related Issues Committee in pursuing the recovery of over $53 million in accelerated deferred compensation payments made to “top-hat” management on the eve of a large American energy, commodities and services company bankruptcy filing.
  • Served as debtors’ counsel to a large telecommunications corporation and its 14 affiliated debtors in their successful Chapter 11 case, through which the company restructured approximately $5 million in debt.
  • Represented, as lead trial counsel, the Unsecured Creditor Committee of a major department chain pursuing recovery of fraudulent conveyances made to former officers and directors and successfully obtaining a judgment in favor of Creditors' Committee, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Represented Official Committee of Unsecured Committees in numerous bankruptcies in the retail industry.
  • Represented a major New York real estate company that focuses on quality affordable housing, in the bankruptcy acquisition and public financing a low-income housing project.
INSIGHTS & EVENTS

Alerts

legal ruling

Kirschner v. JP Morgan: Syndicated Term Loans Are Not Securities, But What About Digital Assets?

Supreme Court 2

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Section 363(m) of Bankruptcy Code, Potentially Reveals View on Equitable Mootness

Bank

Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank Fallout – Legal Considerations for Borrowers, Syndicated Lenders and Trade Creditors

Events

microphone_listing

Recent Confirmation Issues

News

More Than 290 Barnes & Thornburg Attorneys Named to 2025 ‘The Best Lawyers In America®’ List

GPs Struggle Amid Hunt for Liquidity, Barnes & Thornburg’s 2024 Investment Funds Outlook Report Shows

Barnes & Thornburg Welcomes Experienced Bankruptcy Group Led By Partners Frank DeBorde and Lisa Wolgast

Barnes & Thornburg Adds Restructuring Partner Ken Kansa in Chicago

Barnes & Thornburg Welcomes New Restructuring Partner Aaron Gavant to Chicago Office

Barnes & Thornburg Continues to Deepen Bench in New York With Addition of Experienced Bankruptcy Partner, Gregory G. Plotko

Publications

2024 Investment Funds Outlook_Listing

Barnes & Thornburg's 2024 Investment Funds Outlook Report

cpu

WeWork's Potential Bankruptcy Raises Issues for Landlords and Member-Tenants

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