Attorneys

Richard M. Goldberg

Partner rmg@shapirosher.com

36 South Charles Street
Suite 2000
Baltimore, MD 21201

410.385.4274 ph
410.539.7611 fax

Richard M. Goldberg concentrates in bankruptcy, creditors' rights, workouts and commercial litigation. He has achieved favorable results for debtors, creditors’ committees and trustees in numerous large corporate reorganizations, Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 proceedings and complex multi-party, out-of-court workouts. Mr. Goldberg has considerable experience representing financial institutions, developers, retail chains, home builders, commercial landlords, specialty lending institutions, trustees, insurance companies and government agencies in all aspects of Chapter 11 reorganization cases, Chapter 11 liquidations and large Chapter 7 liquidations. He has also successfully represented numerous parties seeking to acquire assets from bankruptcy estates.

In addition to his experience in traditional bankruptcy areas, Mr. Goldberg represents parties in commercial litigation matters, including disputes regarding commercial transactions and the Uniform Commercial Code, in state and federal courts, the appellate courts of Maryland and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Widely respected for the depth of his knowledge, he has been declared and has testified as an expert witness on commercial transactions, commercial litigation and the reasonableness of attorney fees in commercial litigation and transactions.

Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America name Mr. Goldberg among the leading bankruptcy and creditors' rights attorneys in the country.

Mr. Goldberg currently serves as President of the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland, having previously served as Vice President and Treasurer. 

Representative Matters

Mr. Goldberg is currently serving as lead bankruptcy counsel to his partner, Joel I . Sher, who is the court-appointed Trustee in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of TMST, Inc. and its affiliates, formerly known as Thornburg Mortgage, Inc.

Mr. Goldberg currently represents one of the largest developers/ business owners on the eastern shore of Maryland in an out-of-court workout involving approximately $50 Million in several layers of debt and with several lenders.  

Mr. Goldberg currently represents the owners of a national industrial company that manufactures specialty packaging for the food and pharmaceutical industries in an out-of-court workout scenario. 

In 2008 Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Sher successfully represented Fieldstone Mortgage Company, obtaining approval of its Chapter 11 plan. The client became one of the only mortgage lenders to survive bankruptcy proceedings in the wake of the real estate credit crisis.

Mr. Goldberg has served as regular bankruptcy counsel to GEICO, handling bankruptcy-related matters in which the insurer is involved, including disputes with debtors under various contractual agreements.

As counsel to the unsecured creditors committee in the Chapter 11 case of PhyAmerica Physician Group, Inc., a physician practice management company, Mr. Goldberg and the Shapiro Sher bankruptcy team engineered a hostile takeover of the debtor companies that resulted in a payout of 75 percent of the creditors’ claims, an unusually favorable outcome for unsecured creditors.

Mr. Goldberg represented the Chapter 11 trustee in a series of complex bankruptcy cases concerning several related satellite companies owned by an individual under indictment for violation of federal statutes. Mr. Goldberg’s client prevailed in every contested matter, including three appellate decisions.

Deeply experienced in the real estate industry, Mr. Goldberg now assists in representing home builder Caruso Homes, Inc., in its Chapter 11 case. Previously, Mr. Goldberg represented the Chapter 7 trustee of Regency Homes Corporation and 12 subsidiaries in the liquidation of the companies. Regency Homes had been one of the largest home builders in Maryland and Virginia. Upon filing, Regency had more than $50 million in claims against it, including approximately $35 million in secured debt. Mr. Goldberg negotiated and consummated several sales of Regency Homes’ assets that resulted in the reduction of secured and unsecured claims of approximately $35 million.

In 2008 Mr. Goldberg helped engineer a $1.53 million settlement between a Baltimore landlord and ground rent owner, and the trustee in that individual’s bankruptcy case. In this matter, Mr. Goldberg served as counsel to an attorney representing numerous plaintiffs who had brought and obtained multi-million dollar lead paint claims against Nochumowitz.

Mr. Goldberg has extensive experience representing clients in cases that involve government contracting. He is counsel to the Chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy of Information Networks, Inc. (d/b/a Infonetics), a contractor that provided technology services to several federal agencies. This ongoing matter involves factoring agencies and a host of administrative law issues.

Mr. Goldberg has served as bankruptcy counsel to the U.S. Small Business Association in connection with failed Small Business Investment Companies in which the SBA made debt or equity investments pursuant to the Small Business Investment Act. For the SBA, he has successfully navigated disputes involving several franchisees of prominent national restaurant and retail chains, such as Popeyes Chicken, Friendly’s Ice Cream, and Party Land. These disputes have focused on the value and ownership of the equity interests and the respective rights of the debt and equity players. 

News & Publications

January 5, 2012: "Super Lawyers" selects Richard M. Goldberg for inclusion in its 2012 ratings of leading Maryland attorneys. Mr. Goldberg has been included in this list for the past several years.

September 6, 2011: Best Lawyers in America selects Richard Mr. Goldberg for inclusion in its 2012 rankings.

June 15, 2011: Chambers USA 2011 ranks Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler among the top law firms in the country and cites Richard M. Goldberg and three other Firm partners among the country's top lawyers.

June 30, 2010: "What Are a Tenant's Rights When a Landlord Files for Bankruptcy?" Co-authored by Richard M. Goldberg, for Real Estate Law Journal [Vol. 39:1 2010]. 

June 13, 2010: Chambers USA 2010 ranks Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler among the top law firms in the country. The prestigious guide cites four of the Firm's partners, including Richard M. Goldberg, among the leading lawyers in the United States.

January 22, 2010: "Two and a half minutes with Richard Goldberg." The Baltimore Business Journal profiles bankruptcy partner Richard M. Goldberg.

June 30, 2009: Selected for the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America, a highly respected peer-review publication serving the legal profession."