Richard focuses his practice in matters involving bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related litigation, creditors' rights, secured transactions, workouts, reorganizations and restructurings. He has extensive experience representing clients in major business, commercial and real estate bankruptcy, workout and reorganization matters and has also served as a Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Trustee, as a court appointed Examiner and as a mediator in bankruptcy adversary proceedings and claims resolution proceedings. He is available to mediate complex bankruptcy, business and commercial dispute matters.

Richard has been honored by being selected as a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy where he is a member of the Board of Directors. He is a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy and workout-related topics.

A wealth of experience with different types of businesses enables Richard to offer clients impressive knowledge together with proven successful performance. Richard's work includes the full range of bankruptcy and workout representation of creditors (secured and unsecured), creditors' committees, trustees, Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession, troubled companies, and prospective purchasers of assets from companies in bankruptcy.

Significant cases include Richard's role as counsel to the stalking horse purchaser and successful acquiring party in a contested 363 sale of First Mariner Bank in the bank holding company’s Chapter 11 case, his role as special litigation counsel to a Chapter 7 Trustee in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia with respect to fiduciary duty claims against former directors and officers of the debtor company and aiding and abetting claims against the debtor's parent company his service as a Chapter 11 trustee in eighteen real estate-related cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (In re New 118th LLC, et al.), his role representing the Enron bankruptcy estate as special litigation counsel and representing creditors' committees in cases in the Eastern District of Virginia (In re Workflow Management, Inc.) and the Northern District of Texas (In re DLH Master Land Holding, LLC), and his service as a mediator in various Circuit City preference avoidance actions and disputed claims resolution matters.

In addition to extensive experience in high profile bankruptcy litigation matters, Richard has experience with real estate, financial products and services, construction, telecommunications, health care, hospitality, retail, marketing, distribution, telemarketing, government contracts and technology companies in bankruptcy and workouts.

Richard also provides experience advising corporate boards on significant reorganization and restructuring alternatives and working together with corporate management and other outside advisors including investment bankers, accountants, and public relations consultants.

Richard has been involved in numerous reported court decisions including:

  • In re New 118th, Inc., 398 B.R. 791 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009)
  • In re Enron Corp. (Enron Corp. v. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.), 325 B.R. 671 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005)
  • In re Enron Corp. (Enron Corp. v. Credit Suisse First Boston International), 328 B.R. 58 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005)
  • In re Criimi Mae Inc., 251 B.R. 796 (Bankr. D. Md. 2000)
  • Culver v. Musika (In re Arnold), 305 B.R. 436 (D. Md. 2003), aff'd, 84 Fed. Appx. 294 (4th Cir. 2003)
  • Wasserman v. Village Associates (In re Freestate Management Services, Inc.), 153 B.R. 972 (Bankr. D. Md. 1993)
  • In re Arundel Housing Components, Inc., 126 B.R. 216 (Bankr. D. Md. 1991)
  • In re Constant Care Community Health Center, Inc., 99 B.R. 697 (Bankr. D. Md. 1989)
    • Education

      J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1973

      A.B., magna cum laude, Princeton University, 1970

      Admissions

      • Maryland
      • New York
    • Memberships

      • American Bankruptcy Institute
      • American Bar Association
      • American College of Bankruptcy
      • View More
Professional Recognition
  • American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow, Past Director and Past Fourth Circuit Regent
Leadership

  • American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow from 1998 – present and Fourth Circuit Regent from 2014 – 2018, Director 2019 - 2023
  • American College of Bankruptcy Foundation, Director 2018 - 2023
  • The Legal Aid Bureau, Inc. (Maryland Legal Aid), Director from 2004 – present and Treasurer from 2012 – present
  • American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Vice Chair of Bankruptcy Court Structure and Insolvency Process Committee from 2014 – 2019, Committee Member 1990 – 2019 (including its predecessor, ABA’s Task Force on Federal Court Structure)
  • ABA Electronic Discovery (ESI) in Bankruptcy Working Group (now Subcommittee), Chair from 2011 – 2018
  • Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland, Former Director and President from 1990 – 1991
  • Princeton Alumni Association of Maryland, Director from 1980-1998 and President from 1985 – 1987

Publications

  • Editor, 4th edition 2015, 3rd edition 2010, 2nd edition 2005 and Co-author, Editor-in-Chief, 1st edition, 1998, Bankruptcy Appeals Manual
  • Co-Author, August 2013 - Best Practices Report on Electronic Discovery (ESI) Issues in Bankruptcy Cases - The Business Lawyer
  • March 22, 2006 - Inside the Minds: Best Practices for Corporate Restructuring (Aspatore Books 2006). Chapter, "A Step-by-Step Look at Chapter 11" - Richard L. Wasserman
  • September 1, 2002 - Big Business in the World of Insolvency: Buying and Selling Businesses and Assets in Bankruptcy - Richard L. Wasserman, Frank A. Ciatto

Recent Presentations

  • American College of Bankruptcy, Fourth Circuit Fellows Luncheon, 2018
  • Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA), 2017
  • Maryland Bankruptcy Bar Association, 2017
  • Maryland State Bar Association’s Advanced Bankruptcy Institute, 2012, 2014 – 2016
  • Mid-Atlantic Institute on Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice, 1992 – 2007, 2010 – 2016
  • American Bankruptcy Institute, 2014 - 2016
  • American Bar Association, 2012, 2014 – 2016
  • State Bar of Michigan Program, 2015
  • American Inn of Court, Washington, D.C., 2015

rwasserman@wilsav.com Richard L. Wasserman Senior Counsel Willcox & Savage, P.C. (757) 628-5622 (757) 628-5566 https://www.willcoxsavage.com/media/1773/richard-wasserman.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=175&height=175&rnd=132899403770000000
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