Crossover Ethics Topic: Strategies and Risks of Bankruptcy as a Response to State Court Litigation

Nathaniel J. Palmer is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai LLP in Dallas, where he represents plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation, and regularly appears in federal and state courts across the nation in cases involving financial fraud, securities matters, professional/ fiduciary liability, and cross-border financial litigation. He developed the legal theories that led to a $287.5 million judgment against Credit Suisse, which the Dallas Court of Appeals recently affirmed.

Mr. Palmer has experience handling cross-border matters, having worked on cases such as Stanford International Bank, Suntech Power Holdings, American Pegasus SPC and Stewardship Credit Arbitrage Fund. Benchmark Litigation recently named him in its 40 & Under Hot List, and for the last three years, Texas Monthly has named him a “Rising Star” in its Super Lawyers edition.

Mr. Palmer received his B.A. magna cum laude from Wheaton College in Illinois and his J.D. with highest honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review, named vice chancellor of the 2008 class and elected to the Order of the Coif.

Hon. Mike K. Nakagawa is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Nevada in Las Vegas, appointed in September 2006. He served as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge from October 2008-September 2015.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Nakagawa practiced in Sacramento primarily in the area of bankruptcy and business law. Before relocating to Nevada, he was an adjunct professor at both McGeorge School of Law and Lincoln Law School, where he taught bankruptcy law and reorganizations. He also was a member of the Sacramento County Civil Service Commission, which is responsible for administering the personnel system for the county.

Judge Nakagawa teaches bankruptcy law, advanced bankruptcy law and remedies at the Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has been a presenter at numerous continuing legal education programs for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, ABI, the Norton Institutes on Bankruptcy Law, the California Bankruptcy Forum and other organizations.

Judge Nakagawa received his B.A. from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., and his J.D. from the law school at the University of California at Davis, following which he clerked for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Cody J. Jess is a shareholder at Moyes, Sellers & Hendricks Ltd. in Phoenix, where his practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, commercial bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and business law.

Mr. Jess represents businesses, individuals, shareholders, members, officers and directors in complex commercial disputes, including prosecuting and defending breach-of-contract, fraud, business tort, business divorce, employment and intellectual property claims to finality in state, federal, bankruptcy and appellate courts, arbitrations and mediations.

As part of his insolvency practice, Mr. Jess prosecutes and defends receiverships, advises on prejudgment remedies, conducts post-judgment enforcement and collection, and represents both debtors and secured and unsecured creditors in chapters 7, 11 and 15 and subchapter V. He conducts all manner of bankruptcy litigation, including prosecuting and defending preference actions, fraudulent-transfer claims, challenges to bankruptcy filings, discharge, plan confirmation, cash collateral, financing and acquisitions. He also serves as general outside counsel to businesses ranging from startups to well-established companies with annual revenues of upwards of $100 million, and he counsels his business clients on matters ranging from secured transactions to restrictive covenant agreements.

Mr. Jess has been listed in Super Lawyers since 2012, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 2021. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona’s Bankruptcy and Trial Practice sections and ABI, and he is a barrister in the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court. He also provides pro bono assistance to low-income persons and families through Community Legal Services’ Volunteer Lawyers Program.

Mr. Jess received his B.I.S. summa cum laude in political science and justice studies from Arizona State University and his J.D. also from Arizona State University, where he was a 2006 Willard H. Pedrick Scholar at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Michael J. Gomez is a shareholder with Frandzel Robins Bloom & Csato, L.C. in Fresno, Calif., and manages the firm’s Central California office. He is an AV-rated lawyer who focuses his practice in the areas of bankruptcy, debtor and creditor rights, commercial litigation and business litigation; debt-workout negotiations, restructuring and the documentation of commercial lending transactions; and personal property and real estate secured creditors.

Mr. Gomez has represented various entities, including debtors, creditors’ committees, hedge funds, indenture trustees, equipment lessors, receivers, landlords, bankruptcy trustees, judgment creditors, private lenders and institutional lenders in out-of-court workouts, federal and state court litigation, and chapters 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13 bankruptcy cases. He routinely moderates and speaks at educational presentations before clients and trade groups concerning bankruptcy, enforcing judgments, financing distressed borrowers and agricultural lending issues.

Mr. Gomez received his B.A. with honors in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.