Attorney Profile
Joel I. Sher, Chairman of Shapiro Sher, heads the firm’s financial restructuring and business bankruptcy practice. Cited in Chambers USA as among the leading lawyers in the United States and ranked in their Band 1 for bankruptcy litigation in Maryland, Mr. Sher provides counsel and representation to debtors, creditors, investors, and creditors’ committees in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. He advises clients in complex out-of-court restructurings and negotiations with lenders and has been described in Chambers as “a wonderful attorney…very effective, very smart, knowledgeable and experienced,” and possessing a “formidable track record in corporate restructurings, creditors’ rights mandates, and bankruptcy litigation.”
Mr. Sher has also successfully represented clients in high-stakes litigation matters in federal and state courts throughout the United States, resulting in millions of dollars recovered for his clients. Mr. Sher also serves as a trusted advisor to entrepreneurs and corporate clients regarding their personal business and legal affairs.
Mr. Sher’s career experience covers a wide array of industries and asset classes including commercial real estate, shopping centers, real estate development, general and specialty retail, hotels, mortgage REITS, financial services, health care, government contracting, manufacturing, and telecommunications, as well as representing numerous clients in the sale and acquisition of distressed assets. He has also been appointed an operating trustee and liquidating agent for numerous businesses throughout the United States and Europe.
Notable Representations
- Chapter 11 Trustee for TMST, Inc. (formerly known as Thornburg Mortgage, Inc.), a multi-billion-dollar REIT which was one of the largest residential mortgage originators and servicer. Mr. Sher supervised and sold the company’s mortgage servicing platform, directed litigation against various counterparties and confirmed a plan of liquidation resulting in significant distributions to creditors.
- Counsel in a series of litigation matters brought against eight of the largest investment banks arising from TMST, Inc.’s bankruptcy case concerning the liquidation of mortgage-backed securities and derivatives, resulting in over $115 million in payments and the waiver of over $2.5 billion in claims.
- Counsel to Creative Hairdresser’s Inc., a Chapter 11 case involving the sale of the 800 store Hair Cuttery chain.
- Counsel to a minor league baseball team in an arbitration proceeding concerning its lease at a municipal stadium.
- Counsel to a beneficiary of the trust at issue in the Dauman v. Sumner Redstone litigation concerning the Redstone family holdings in CBS and Viacom.
- Counsel to Novation Companies, Inc., f/k/a NovaStar Financial, Inc. in its successful Chapter 11 reorganization.
- Counsel to Fieldstone Mortgage Company, a mortgage originator that emerged as an operating entity from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
- Counsel to Luminent Mortgage Capital, Inc., a mortgage investor in its successful Chapter 11 case.
- Counsel to the Bankruptcy Trustee in the case of Merry-Go-Round Enterprises, Inc., a 1400-store national retail chain.
- Counsel to the Bankruptcy Trustee in the case of Just For Feet, Inc., a 300-store national retail chain.
- Counsel to Pharmakinetics, a generic drug testing company in its successful Chapter 11 reorganization.
- Counsel to Combined Properties, a Washington, D.C. real estate firm with a diversified portfolio of shopping centers, in its successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
- Counsel to the Bond Holders Committee in the case of National Energy & Gas Transmission, a merchant energy producer and subsidiary of PG&E.
- Counsel to the Creditors Committee in Sunterra Corporation, one of the world's largest timeshare companies.
- Counsel to the Creditors Committee in Frank's Nursery and Crafts, Inc., a retail nursery and garden store chain.
- Counsel to the Creditors Committee in PhyAmerica Physicians Group, Inc., a national physician practice management company.
- Counsel to the Creditors Committee in Railworks Corporation, a supplier to and servicer of the railroad industry.
- Counsel to a regional developer and home builder in its successful Chapter 11 reorganization.
Affiliations
- Member, Past Chair, Baltimore Chapter of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of Maryland
- Member, Maryland State Bar Association
- Member, Baltimore City Bar Association
- Member, Baltimore County Bar Association
- Member, Association for Commercial Finance Attorneys
- Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
- Member, Commercial Law League of America
News & Publications
Barclays Capital, Inc., offers to pay $23 million to settle claims brought by Joel I. Sher, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of TMST, Inc., formerly known as Thornburg Mortgage.
Barclays Capital's motion for summary judgement was denied by the US District Court in Maryland, in litigation brought against Barclays by TMST trustee and Shapiro Sher partner, Joel I. Sher. Law360 reported on this latest development in the long-running case.
The Baltimore Sun interviews Shapiro Sher partner Joel I. Sher
Bloomberg, Dow Jones, Law360 and other media report on a significant development in the Thornburg Mortgage bankruptcy case.
The Deal Magazine quotes Shapiro Sher' partner Joel I. Sher in an article.
Media outlets report on Shapiro Sher partner Joel I. Sher, in his role as U.S. Trustee for Thornburg Mortgage.