George H. Singer

Partner

Minneapolis

Tel 612.371.2493
Fax 612.371.3207

George Singer practices in the areas of corporate and commercial law, including finance, financial restructuring, capital recovery, and bankruptcy. He negotiates senior and subordinated financing arrangements and has experience with structuring credit facilities, perfecting finance documentation, and closing secured and lease finance transactions. His former experience as a business analyst for Dun & Bradstreet provided a solid foundation for a background in business and the extension of credit. George regularly represents lenders, lessors, funds, committees, business debtors, guarantors, and creditors in financial workouts, restructurings, distressed-sale transactions, intercreditor disputes, lender liability claims, successor liability issues, and preferential and fraudulent transfer litigation.

George has been practicing for over 20 years and regularly advises publicly and privately held companies on corporate governance, debt and equity financings, licensing issues, and risk management. He serves as corporate counsel on behalf of buyers and sellers and venture capitalists in complex merger, acquisition, divestiture, and joint-venture transactions.

Services

Experience

Representative Matters

Corporate Counsel. George serves as corporate counsel to clients in a variety of industries regularly advises on matters of corporate governance, fiduciary duties, capitalization, finance, extensions of credit, collections, and business strategy. George also represents buyers and sellers in a variety of industries in connection with merger and acquisition transactions.
Secured Transactions. George regularly represents banks, commercial finance companies, private equity firms, investors, and borrowers in all aspects of structuring, documenting, and enforcing secured loan arrangements and resolving defaults and intercreditor issues. He also serves as legal counsel to parties in connection with factoring arrangements as well as debt purchase and sale transactions.
Administrative and Collateral Agents. George serves as legal counsel to administrative and collateral agents in connection with national secured and unsecured financing transactions. He also represents agents in bankruptcy cases, including In re Claire's Stores, Inc. (Bankr. D. Del.) and In re Belk, Inc. (Bankr. S.D. Texas 2021).

Loan Participations. George served as counsel for lead lenders in loan participations, and has handled participant disputes as well as the restructuring, workout, and foreclosure of participated loan projects.
Private Equity. George represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies in corporate acquisition matters as well as debt financing. George represented a consortium of private equity firms holding subordinated secured debt and equity instruments in connection with resolution of intercreditor disputes, renegotiation of a senior secured credit facility, and restructuring of debt in the Chapter 11 reorganization of In re M.A. Gedney Co. (Bankr. D. Minn.). George also represented Spell Capital Partners in connection with the acquisition of the Pearson Candy Company. George also represented Communications Systems, Inc. in November 2020 acquisition of the operating assets of privately held IVDesk which provides private cloud services.
Distressed Transactions and Workouts. George served as counsel to an agricultural lender in connection with complex distressed debt restructuring and sale transactions. As bankruptcy and restructuring counsel to a financial institution debtor, George was able to save the subsidiary bank from being closed by federal and state regulators through a recapitalization. George regularly represents lenders and borrowers in out-of-court restructurings and workouts.
Litigation Management. George regularly represents clients across a broad spectrum of industries involved in corporate and commercial disputes in connection with the management and resolution of claims by working collaboratively with in-house corporate counsel and outside legal resources in a manner that leads to informed decision-making and greater control over both outcomes and costs. George serves in the role of trusted advisor to clients and regularly supervises litigation matters, guides strategy, and manages relationships to achieve a positive and efficient outcome for clients.
Secured and Unsecured Creditor Representation. George represents secured lenders and unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 cases and in various state court proceedings. He regularly advises credit departments on matters related to the extension of credit and recovery.
Equipment Lessors. George represents equipment lessors in connection with lease financing transactions, including default issues and protecting their claims and interests in various bankruptcy and collection proceedings, including In re HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. et al. (Bankr. D. Del.), In re S&B Surgery Center (Bankr. C.D. Cal.) and In re Winona Printing Co. (Bankr. D. Minn.).
Chapter 11 Debtor Representation. As bankruptcy, corporate, and M&A counsel to Chapter 11 debtors in In re Polaroid Corp. et al., George oversaw the auction and sale of assets in a contested section 363 sale that generated in excess of $87.6 million for the benefit of creditors. George also represented American Bancorporation in its Chapter 11 as bankruptcy and M&A counsel, resulting in the sale of the debtor's subsidiary, American Bank of St. Paul, and confirmation of a plan that provided a substantial return to the holders of Trust Preferred Securities.
Chapter 11 Trustee and Receiver Representation. George serves as counsel for the Chapter 11 Trustee and Receiver in connection with the Thomas Petters Ponzi scheme and related bankruptcy cases of In re Petters Company, Inc. et al. (Bankr. D. Minn.), which involve claims in excess of $3.8 billion and the prosecution of over 200 "claw-back" actions commenced on behalf of the Trustee.
Distressed Sales. George serves as bankruptcy and M&A counsel to buyers in Section 363 sales throughout the country, including In re Genmar Holdings, Inc. (Bankr. D. Minn.), In re Hitchcock Industries, Inc. (Bankr. D. Minn.), In re Fleming Co. (Bankr. D. Del.) and In re Remington Outdoor Co. (Bankr. N.D. Ala.). He also advises buyers and sellers on all aspects of distressed sale transactions, including sales in the context of a receivership and under Article 9 of the UCC.
Creditors' Committees. George served as co-counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, as well as the designated litigation representative, in the Chapter 11 proceeding of In re Intrepid U.S.A., Inc. (Bankr. D. Minn.), which, along with its affiliated debtors, was one of the largest home health care providers in the United States.
Nonprofits. George serves on the board of directors of a number of nonprofit organizations and also provides legal representation to nonprofits, including with respect to corporate governance, finance and contract matters.
Cooperatives. George represents cooperatives and other business clients in matters relating to capital formation, governance, credit, and contracts.
Agriculture. George represents ag-based lenders and operators in connection with the extension of credit and enforcement of remedies in connection with credit transactions. He represented a secured lender in a $250 million loan involving a one hundred thousand acre farming operation. He also has represented a multi-entity farming operation consisting of 25,000 acres in a complex loan workout.
Energy Industry. George has represented ethanol lenders, bondholders, and creditors in ethanol bankruptcy cases and complex workouts throughout the country, including In re Aventine (Bankr. D. Del.), In re Gateway Ethanol, LLC (Bankr. D. Kan.), In re Northeast Biofuels, LLC (Bankr. N.D.N.Y.), In re Pine Lake Corn Processors, L.P. (PLCP) (Bankr. D. Iowa), In re Otter Tail Ag Enterprises, LLC (Bankr. D. Minn.) and NEDAK Ethanol, LLC (Nebraska). George has also represented lenders and borrowers in the energy industry, including Wells Fargo Energy Capital, Inc., in the oil and gas Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of In re Mountain Divide, LLC (Bankr. D. Mont.).
Consignment Transactions. George represented major consignment vendors in the Chapter 11 retail bankruptcy proceedings of The Sports Authority, Inc. (Bankr. D. Del.), which involved litigation and appeals relating to the rights and priorities of various parties with respect to consignment inventory.
Landlords. George represented landlords and landlord groups in various bankruptcy matters throughout the country, including In re Brooks Brothers Group, Inc. (Bankr. D. Del. 2020), In re CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2020), In re Tailored Brands (Men’s Warehouse/Jos A. Bank) (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2020), In re Sun Country Airlines (Bankr. D. Minn.), In re WorldCom (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.), In re Allegiance Telecom (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.), In re 2nd Swing, Inc. (Bankr. D. Minn), In re Video Update (Bankr. D. Del.) and In re VICORP (Baker's Square) (Bankr. D. Del.).

Professional Highlights

Judicial Clerkships

Hon. Nancy C. Dreher, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota

Hon. William A. Hill, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota

Staff Attorney

National Bankruptcy Review Commission

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

Minnesota Bar Association

Association for Corporate Growth

American Bankruptcy Institute

Turnaround Management Association

Commercial Law League

Recognition & Accomplishments

American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow

U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers Best Law Firms – Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Reorganization Law, highest tier nationally (2018 – 2021)

Ballard Spahr Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020

Minnesota Lawyer, Attorney of the Year, 2016

Speaking Engagements

"Farm Business Law (Idaho Guide)," National Business Institute, 2021

"Keeping Your License and Your Legal Fees: Avoiding Conflicts in Client Representations and Identifying Duties in Closely-Held Business Cases," Minnesota Bankruptcy Institute, 2021

"Agricultural Law & Bankruptcy Law Virtual Seminar," State Bar Association of North Dakota, June 1, 2021

Board Memberships & Community Service

Sojourner Project, Inc., Director and Chair of Board of Directors

Play for Patrick Heart Foundation, Director

Dakota County Conciliation Court, Judicial Referee, Adjunct Judicial Officer

Publications

“UCC Financing Statements: The Search for Certainty in Collateral Descriptions,” Norton Bankruptcy L. & Practice, 2021

"Supreme Court Decides: 'Mere Retention' of Property Does Not Violate Automatic Stay," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, 2021

"New COVID-19 Relief Legislation Amends Bankruptcy Code," Bench and Bar of Minnesota, 2021

"Force Majeure Hitz Home and Excuses Rent Obligation," Bench and Bar of Minnesota, August/September, 2020

Related Insights

Credentials

Education

University of North Dakota School of Law (J.D., with distinction, 1993)

University of North Dakota (B.B.A. 1987)

Admissions

Minnesota

North Dakota

Wisconsin

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota