Overview

Adam has extensive experience in negotiating, structuring, and closing distressed mergers and acquisitions and other asset transactions, secured debt creation and collateral disposition, including public and private sales under Article 9 of the UCC, financial fraud litigation domestically and internationally, auditor malpractice, and bank regulatory matters. Adam also has significant experience representing and opposing receivers appointed by both state and federal courts, litigating significant commercial disputes in state and federal courts, and appellate experience.

Experience

Adam is a former partner at an AmLaw 100 law firm. A summary of his experience includes:

• Assisted leading agribusiness company exiting a $165 million loan portfolio.
• Guided the board of directors of an injected molded plastics manufacturer in the sale of its assets in a successful Article 9 foreclosure sale concluding financing by multiple lienholders.
• Experience negotiating, drafting, and reviewing security agreements, UCC financing statements, purchase and supply agreements, commodity purchase contracts, futures and hedge-to-arrive contracts, agribusiness financing agreements, agricultural liens, central notice filing documents, and incorporating arbitration provisions into existing agreements.
• Lead purchasers, sellers, boards of directors, borrowers, and secured creditors in both ordinary-course and distressed-asset transactions, including structuring, documenting, and enforcing secured financing arrangements and resolving defaults and inter-creditor issues.
• Advised clients in large bankruptcy proceedings in Minnesota, Delaware, Houston, and New York, including the Sports Authority, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Polaroid Corporation bankruptcy cases.
• Prepared disclosures to shareholders in public filings, registration statements, and Form 8-K disclosures.
• Experienced in mandatory arbitration before the National Grain and Feed Association and the American Arbitration Association, including compelling arbitration of disputes, confirming or vacating arbitration awards, and handline arbitration-related appeals.
• Significant experience negotiation experience in more than fifty mediations.
• Advise and represent former banking executive of $2 trillion banking institution against claims by the Comptroller of the Currency of breach of fiduciary duty, Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices (UDAP), Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) in an administrative hearing before the Office of Financial Institution Adjudication.
• Advise and represent a North American professional soccer league in connection with corruption by individuals connected with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) involving collusion between officials of South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
• Litigated through trial multimillion-dollar claims for professional malpractice against auditors.
• General counsel to federal equity receiver and bankruptcy trustee appointed in the $3.5 billion Thomas J. Petters and Petters Company, Inc. Ponzi scheme cases.
• Negotiated and drafted cash collateral documents, debtor-in-possession financing documents, and prepared chapter 11 plans of reorganization or liquidation and related disclosure statements.

In addition to his broad practice experience, Adam also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law where he teaches a general bankruptcy course and an advanced corporate bankruptcy seminar.

Admissions

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D.
• North Dakota State University, B.S., Economics

Thought Leadership

Publications 

• “(Not) For Sale: Chapter 5 Avoidance Actions” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal, September 2022
• “UCC Financing Statement: The Search for Certainty in Collateral Descriptions” Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Volume 30, Issue 3, June 2021
• “Searching for Hidden Treasure: Does Identifying the Security Agreement ‘Indicate’ the Collateral under Article 9?” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal, 2020
• “Consignments and Secured Lenders: What You Know Can Hurt You” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal, 2019
• “Supreme Court Limits Securities Safe Harbor in Bankruptcy Clawbacks” Bench and Bar of Minnesota, July 2018

Presentations

• “The Wonderful World of Third-Party Releases” Minnesota State Bar Association, 2020
• “Agricultural and Bankruptcy Lien Priority Issues” State Bar Association of North Dakota, 2020
• “How to Consign under Article 9: Lessons Learned in the Sports Authority bankruptcy” MSBA Bankruptcy Section Presentation, 2019
• “Should We File It Here or There? Venue Options in Cross-Border Cases” American Bankruptcy Institute–Winter Leadership Conference, 2018
• “Chapter 11 Greatest Hits and One-Hit Wonders” Minnesota Bankruptcy Institute, 2018
• Case Law Update, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2018
• “Federal and State Receivers and Examiners” American Bankruptcy Institute–Central States Workshop, 2018
• “Oops…What Happens When Auditors Miss Fraud?” TAG Alliances International Conference, Quebec City, Quebec, 2017
• “Hot topics for secured lenders in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases” Advanced Lending Seminar, 2017
• “Boxing up the Big Box Retailer” Turnaround Management Association – Minnesota Chapter, 2017
• “Receiverships: Representing Receivers, Creditors, and Parties-In-Interest” Hennepin County Bar Association, 2017
• “Representing Creditors in Wilmington and Manhattan: A Minnesotan’s Guide to America’s Busiest Bankruptcy Courts” Bankruptcy Institute, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2016
• “Secured Lending Issues in Distressed Agricultural Operations” Advanced Lending Seminar, 2016
• “Avoidance Actions 101: Common Chapter 5 Claims and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act” Minnesota Bankruptcy Institute, 2015
• “Avoidable Transfers and Secured Lenders” Advanced Lending Seminar, 2014

Community Involvement & Pro Bono Service

• Privacy Rights: Represented Jerry and Patty Wetterling in a case of first impression seeking to prevent the disclosure of private information contained in the Jacob Wetterling criminal investigative file under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.Youthlink, Minnesota
• Youthlink, Minnesota: Advised inner-city youth regarding numerous law enforcement, drug, civil, landlord-tenant, family law, and consumer credit legal issues.
• Plymouth Christian Youth Center: Counseled students at an alternative high school in numerous law enforcement, drug, civil, landlord-tenant, family law, and consumer credit legal issues.
• Immigration Law Center: Assisted a client with the successful immigration of the client’s wife, daughter, and stepson from Ethiopia to the United States; successfully located biological father residing in a refugee camp and secured father’s consent to minor’s immigration to the United States.
• Volunteer Lawyers Network: Defended bankruptcy debtors in proceedings seeking to revoke their discharge or determine whether a debt is dischargeable.

Recognition

• 40 Under 40 Honoree, American Bankruptcy Institute
• 40 Under 40 Honoree, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
• Attorney of the Year, Petters Bankruptcy Team, Minnesota Lawyer
• Rising Star, Minnesota Super Lawyers, 2014-2018
• North Star Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association

Leadership

• Twin Cities Diversity-in-Practice Board Member (former)
• Hiring Partner & Chair of the Minneapolis Recruitment Committee (former)
• Co-Chair of Ballard Spahr Minneapolis Litigation Department (former)
• Member of Lindquist & Vennum’s Investment Committee ($160MM managed) (former)