Strategic Restructuring and Financial Recovery

Salazar Law’s Strategic Restructuring and Financial Recovery team is the heavyweight champion in the financial arena, delivering knockout results for clients navigating the toughest financial challenges. With decades of experience, we fight relentlessly in every corner of restructurings, reorganizations, workouts, bankruptcies, liquidations, distressed acquisitions, and sales, as well as cross-border insolvency proceedings when advocating for clients in their most complex and high-stakes bankruptcy and restructuring matters.

Comprehensive Expertise

We represent all stakeholders in bankruptcy and restructuring, including debtors, creditor committees, secured and unsecured creditors, DIP lenders, trustees, boards of directors, and investors.

With over 30 years of experience, our attorneys bring broad and deep experience to the bankruptcy and restructuring arena, representing clients across the full spectrum of financial challenges. Whether it’s stepping into the ring for debtors, creditors, investors, purchasers of distressed assets, secured and unsecured lenders, or fiduciaries such as trustees and examiners, we deliver powerful results. From navigating complex in-court battles to crafting out-of-court solutions, we approach every case with the precision, preparation, and strategy that define champions.

Our team has gone toe-to-toe for clients in leading bankruptcy courts across the United States, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the Southern District of New York, Arizona, and Texas. On the global stage, we’ve battled for client interests and secured victories in insolvency proceedings throughout Italy, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Notable Representations

Salazar Law delivered a heavyweight championship victory in the high-stakes Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Florida Gaming Corp. and the iconic Miami Jai-Alai, a battle that stands as one of South Florida’s largest and most hard-fought reorganizations of the past decade. Stepping into the ring against ABC Funding, the casino’s $135 million lender, the firm fought relentlessly to protect its client’s future. After successfully defending Miami Jai-Alai against the lender’s state court foreclosure, Salazar Law entered the Chapter 11 arena, landing a $35 million summary judgment and a decisive $3 million subordination of the lender’s claim under the Bankruptcy Code. This victory cleared the way for unsecured creditors to be paid in full—an extraordinary outcome in bankruptcy proceedings.

• The showdown reached its climax in a heavily contested, two-day auction, where Salazar Law’s strategic planning and tenacity delivered a $155 million sale of Florida Gaming’s assets, including the casino at Miami Jai-Alai. The win not only preserved the company’s legacy but also safeguarded its creditors and stakeholders, ensuring a knockout result for all involved.
  
  This monumental case garnered national attention and earned Luis Salazar the Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyer award for Bankruptcy. The victory embodies Salazar Law’s fighter ethos—preparation, strategy, and the unwavering will to win in even the most challenging financial bouts.

• When representing debtors, the group proves time and again that preparation and strategy are the keys to success. For example, the team leads the Chapter 11 reorganization of Gaucho Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: VINO), a publicly traded Argentinian luxury and hospitality brand, in its efforts to overcome significant disputes with its lender. Salazar Law also stepped into the ring for JR United, using Chapter 11 to defeat an aggressive judgment holder, and for Robert and Sandra Mockoviak, leveraging bankruptcy protections to invalidate a $7.5 million loan on usury and RICO grounds, as well as for the successful Chapter 11 reorganization of Burt Reynolds and Burt Reynolds Productions. From steering First Foliage, LLC to a $21 million going-concern sale to restructuring $275 million in debt for Fine Air Corporation, the firm continues to demonstrate the ability to deliver when it matters most.
• As tireless advocates for creditors, the team defends claims and recovers assets with unwavering resolve. Representing the Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Innovida Systems, Salazar Law safeguarded creditor interests in a complex, high-tech, transnational dispute. For the Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Big Smith Brands, the firm recovered over 40% of claims in the reorganization of a clothing and uniform manufacturer. The team also fought for investors in Neptune Technologies, executing a hostile takeover of a fish farming startup, and successfully recovered multiple aircraft engines in Mexican insolvency proceedings for a Miami-based repair facility.
• Salazar Law also champions for trustees, skillfully managing asset recovery and liquidation in some of the most high-profile and complex cases. For the Gosman Trustee, the firm’s team uncovered hidden assets, including an oceanfront mansion and millions in artwork, delivering significant returns to creditors. In the Chapter 7 case of Southeast Banking Corp., team members helped achieve a 119% dividend return to creditors through litigation settlements and asset liquidations. We also handled the liquidation of the $250 million Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Reed Slatkin, leading multiple fraudulent transfer actions to ensure creditors received their due. In another notable case, Salazar Law represented the Biomass Processing Trustee, successfully securing and selling a $25 million bio-processing facility.
• In addition to its bankruptcy and restructuring expertise, the team has gone head-to-head in high-stakes litigation. The firm defended the Colombian owner of the Bal Harbour Quarzo luxury hotel development against a $45 million breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim. Salazar Law also successfully protected multimillion-dollar Wynwood real estate assets from fraudulent transfer claims in the Wynwood Development Corp. With each battle, the team demonstrates its ability to outmaneuver opponents, execute winning strategies, and safeguard client interests in court.

A Track Record of Excellence

Our Strategic Restructuring and Financial Recovery attorneys are consistently recognized for outstanding work in bankruptcy and restructuring, underscoring our commitment to delivering high-impact solutions for clients facing financial crises. Our team’s expertise has earned numerous prestigious accolades, including:

• Best Lawyers in America: Recognized for excellence in restructuring and insolvency law.
• Chambers & Partners USA Guide: Featured as a leading law firm for restructuring and insolvency matters, with praise for combining legal acumen with strategic business insights.
• Legal 500 US: Highlighted for our exceptional work in financial restructurings.
• PLC Which Lawyer Guide: Recognized for leadership in cross-border and domestic restructuring and insolvency.
• Finance Monthly Magazine: Named an Insolvency & Restructuring Firm of the Year, USA.
• Super Lawyers Magazine: Consistently acknowledged for exceptional advocacy in bankruptcy and reorganization.
• Florida Trend's Legal Elite: Honored frequently as top-tier attorneys in Florida.
• South Florida Business Journal's Best of the Bar: Celebrated for outstanding contributions to the legal field.
• PLC Cross-Border Handbook: Listed as Leading Restructuring and Insolvency Lawyers.

When the stakes are high, Salazar Law is ready to enter the ring. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can fight for your business and craft solutions tailored to your unique challenges and goals. Let’s step into the arena together.