PRACTICE FOCUS

Paul Baynard has represented business entities in the roles of interim general counsel, outside general counsel and corporate counsel in a broad range of general corporate services. Mr. Baynard, utilizing both his law degree and his MBA, has obtained favorable outcomes for business clients in various types of legal matters.

Mr. Baynard has represented debtors and creditors (secured and unsecured) in corporate workouts, financial reorganizations, and business bankruptcies under Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. He has represented unsecured creditors’ committees in business bankruptcy cases as well as parties in preference and fraudulent transfer actions. For his work in this practice area, Mr. Baynard has been named as a “Legal Elite” by Business North Carolina magazine in the area of Bankruptcy Law, has been selected as a “Super Lawyer^®” by North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine in the area of Bankruptcy Law and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America^® in the area of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law.

At the request of a law firm client, Mr. Baynard has served as the interim general counsel for a manufacturing corporation that has 38 locations across 15 states employing approximately 3,000 people.

As outside general counsel and corporate counsel, Mr. Baynard has represented family-owned businesses, entrepreneurial companies and lower middle market corporations in various corporate matters including, but not limited to, financing with secured lenders, business litigation proceedings, transactions involving mergers and acquisitions, negotiations of contracts and other agreements as well as the preparation of formation and corporate governance documents.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• “Chapter 11 Bankruptcies: An Overview of Selected Topics,” A CLE presentation for the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation, September 2006

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

BANKRUPTCIES

• In re: Portrait Innovations, Inc., et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Represented the Debtor in obtaining a confirmed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for a national professional portrait studio operator with over 119 studios in 31 states.
• In re: Hendricks Furniture Group, LLC et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Represented the Debtor in obtaining a confirmed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for a retailer of furniture and home accessories.
• In re: Plej's Linen Supermarket SoEast Stores, LLC, et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Represented the Debtor in obtaining a confirmed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for a regional retailer of linens and home accessories with approximately 38 stores.
• In re: E-Z Serve Convenience Stores, Inc., et al. (Middle District of North Carolina) - Represented the Debtor in the filing of this Chapter 11 liquidation of a convenience store chain that once operated in more than 600 locations.
• In re: Burch Company (Western District of North Carolina) - Represented a secured lender that provided post-petition financing to a Chapter 11 debtor that had assets that consisted primarily of intellectual property.
• In re: J.A. Jones, Inc., et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Served as local counsel to the Creditors Committee in a case involving a large construction conglomerate in their Chapter 11 liquidation.
• In re: RFS Escuta Inc.,et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Served as local counsel to the Creditors Committee in a case involving a paper mill in its Chapter 11 liquidation.
• In re: Petition of Richter & Partners as Monitor and Interim receiver of Cavalier Specialty Yarn Inc., et al. (Western District of North Carolina) - Represented the Canadian receiver appointed in a Canadian insolvency proceeding in an ancillary case under the former Section 304 of the Bankruptcy Code involving a textile manufacturing facility in Gaston County, North Carolina.
• In re: Bon Worth, Inc. (Western District of North Carolina) – Represented the Debtor in the sale under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code of a women’s retail clothing store chain with approximately 50 locations.