Matthew W. Olsen

Matthew W. Olsen concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters, representing bank lenders and agents, investment funds, commercial landlords, manufacturers and other creditors in all aspects of bankruptcy and insolvency law. Mr. Olsen has significant experience in connection with Chapter 11 reorganizations, liquidations, out-of-court workouts, DIP financing agreements, and purchases of assets from financially troubled companies. Mr. Olsen also represents commercial lenders and trade creditors in state and federal litigation, including actions to enforce creditors’ rights, and the defense of lender liability and bankruptcy avoidance claims. Mr. Olsen also frequently advises hedge funds and other financial institutions concerning the bankruptcy and litigation risks of distressed debt trading.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Olsen served as law clerk to the Honorable Stuart M. Bernstein, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Olsen’s representative experience includes:

• Represented a substantial secured lender in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings and out-of-court restructurings of several Las Vegas casinos, including the Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort and casino and Station Casinos, Inc.
• Represented the administrative agent under a $300 million syndicated credit facility in connection with the Chapter 11 proceedings of the Le-Nature’s, Inc. bottling company, and related lender liability litigation.
• Represented the primary secured lender in a $240 million real estate development project in New York in connection with involuntary bankruptcy proceedings.
• Advised hedge funds and financial institutions concerning debt trading in bankruptcy cases of Lehman Brothers, TOUSA Homes, Visteon, Circuit City, General Motors, and Smurfit-Stone, among others.
• Represented the administrative agent under a $280 million syndicated credit facility in connection with the coordinated Chapter 7 and Canadian liquidation proceedings of Progressive Molded Products, formerly a chief supplier of molded dashboards for the Big 3 automakers.
• Defended the administrative agent under a $1 billion syndicated credit facility in connection with lender liability litigation arising out of the Genesis Health Ventures, Inc., bankruptcy proceedings.
• Represented numerous suppliers and creditors of Delphi, Inc., a leading auto parts supplier to General Motors, in connection with Delphi’s Chapter 11 proceedings, claims litigation and bankruptcy avoidance actions.
• Defended numerous prominent media manufacturers in connection with bankruptcy avoidance actions arising out of the Musicland Chapter 11 proceedings.
• Represented the administrative agent in an out-of-court restructuring of a $100 million secured credit facility to Burner Systems International, a global manufacturer of gas appliance components and assemblies.
• Represented Mervyn’s, Inc., a top west-coast discount retailer, in connection with its Chapter 11 liquidation proceedings and related litigation.
• Represented the principal lender in connection with the out-of-court restructuring of a nationally recognized cancer hospital and research center.
• Represented the letter of credit issuing bank for CIT Group, Inc., in connection with the out-of-court restructuring of CIT’s letter of credit portfolio.
• Represented commercial landlords, real estate developers, and shopping center owners in bankruptcy proceedings throughout the United States.

Professional Activities and Publications

Mr. Olsen is a member of the Steering Committee for the Zaretsky Bankruptcy & Commercial Law Center of Brooklyn Law School, and is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, New York State Bar Association and New York City Bar Association. Mr. Olsen is a co-author of "Rule 2019: A Long Neglected Rule of Disclosure Gains Increasing Prominence in Bankruptcy," Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law (July/August 2007).

Education and Bar Admissions

Mr. Olsen received his B.A. from Binghamton University in 1998 and his J.D., summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2002, where he was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and Moot Court Honor Society. He is admitted to practice in New York (2003) and before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.