Four attorneys from Baker Donelson have been named to the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers list: E. Franklin Childress Jr., Jan M. Hayden, Timothy M. Lupinacci and Susan C. Mathews.
A shareholder in Baker Donelson's Memphis office, Mr. Childress has extensive experience in the areas of bankruptcy, representing secured and unsecured creditors and corporate debtors in reorganization and liquidation cases throughout the United States; representing parties in sales of assets in bankruptcy cases; preference litigation; trustee representation; creditors' rights; loan workouts; bank litigation and secured transaction litigation. Mr. Childress was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy in 2013 and was recently elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation. He has been recognized for his work in bankruptcy by Chambers USA since 2010 and by Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2007. He has also been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2007, was named the Best Lawyers 2020 Memphis Bet-the-Company Litigation "Lawyer of the Year," and was named the publication's Memphis Litigation – Bankruptcy "Lawyer of the Year" in 2017 and 2019.
A shareholder in Baker Donelson's New Orleans office, Ms. Hayden concentrates her practice on assisting clients with restructuring and creditors' rights both in and out of bankruptcy proceedings, and she has represented creditors and debtors in mass tort bankruptcies. A Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, as well as the American College of Bankruptcy, Ms. Hayden was recently elected to a second term on the American College of Bankruptcy's board of directors. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1993 and in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2010. Louisiana Super Lawyers has listed Ms. Hayden among the top ten attorneys and top 25 female attorneys in the state of Louisiana. In 2016, Ms. Hayden received The Center for American and International Law's Michelle Mendez Serviam Award, which recognizes bankruptcy professionals in the Fifth Circuit who have demonstrated persistently exceptional contributions to others in the bankruptcy profession and community.
Mr. Lupinacci, chairman and chief executive officer of Baker Donelson, is based in the Firm's Birmingham office. His practice of nearly 30 years is focused on the representation of financial institutions throughout the country in complex issues arising in restructuring. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He has served as a member of the Firm's board of directors, chair of the Financial Services Department, and managing shareholder of the Birmingham office. He serves on the Firm's Diversity Committee and previously served as co-chair of Baker Donelson's Women's Initiative Pathways to Leadership Committee. He is a recipient of both the Firm's Susan E. Rich Award, in recognition of an unflagging commitment to advancement of women at Baker Donelson and to women's issues generally, and the Barry Ford Diversity Award, in recognition of an ongoing commitment to strengthen the atmosphere of inclusion at Baker Donelson.
Ms. Mathews is of counsel in Baker Donelson's Houston office, where she has a state and national bankruptcy practice focused on the representation of secured and unsecured creditors, including banks, equipment finance companies, real estate investment firms, energy companies, and energy-related service companies, in commercial bankruptcy cases and related litigation. She also has represented unsecured creditors' committees, chapter 11 trustees and examiners in bankruptcy proceedings and represents banks and residential mortgage lenders and servicers in commercial litigation. Ms. Mathews has been named among Houston's Top Lawyers by H Texas Magazine in the area of Banking, Bankruptcy and Workout. She currently serves on the board of the Houston Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and the Women's Finance Exchange organization. Ms. Mathews is also a member of the Arthur L. Moller-David B. Foltz American Inn of Court and the American Bankruptcy Association.
Lawdragon, a legal media company that provides free online news and editorial features including guides to the nation's leading lawyers, selected the 500 honorees through submissions, journalistic research and editorial vetting from a board of attorneys' peers and clients.