Known for his practical approach to complex commercial restructurings and experience in high-stakes bet-the-company situations, Justin R. Alberto has guided clients through some of the nation’s most notable chapter 11 cases.

Experience

Practicing in the areas of corporate restructuring and litigation, with an emphasis on the representation of debtors, creditors’ committees and other significant stakeholders, Justin has vast experience negotiating and litigating issues involving valuation, inter-creditor and allocation disputes, section 363 asset sales and contested confirmations in proceedings involving an array of industries, most notably retail, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, life sciences and automotive.

Some of Justin’s most notable recent engagements include his representations of the official committees of unsecured creditors of Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt PLC, Silicon Valley Bank and Lumber Liquidators. On the company-side, Justin has led dozen of debtors through complex chapter 11 restructurings and achieved nationwide notoriety for his successful restructuring of True Religion Apparel during the height of Covid-19, which to this day remains an example of one of the few retailers that emerged from bankruptcy during the pandemic and continues to thrive.

In addition, Justin is an experienced litigator with trial experience in state and federal courts involving issues of corporate law and distressed commercial situations. Justin is a certified mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and is included on the Register of Mediators and Arbitrators maintained by the Court.

He is a frequent speaker on issues involving mass torts bankruptcies, retail restructurings, valuation and debtor-in-possession finance. Justin also previously served as a recurring guest lecturer of Commercial Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure at Temple University Beasley School of Law and currently serves as a mentor to law students at Widener University Delaware School of Law and Wilmington University School of Law.

REPRESENTATIVE MATERS

Select Creditors’ committee cases

Justin regularly represents official creditors’ committees in some of the most high-profile chapter 11 cases, including:

• AAC (American Addiction Centers)
• Alex and Ani
• American Apparel
• Armstrong Flooring
• Big Lots
• Brookstone
• Bumblebee Tuna
• Cano Health
• Claire’s Stores
• Fisker, Inc.
• Forma Brands
• Francesca’s
• Insys Therapeutics
• C. Penny
• LL Flooring (formerly Lumber Liquidators)
• L’Occitane
• Mallinckrodt
• Marsh Supermarkets
• MediaMath Holdings
• Pacific Sunwear
• Phoenix Services Topco
• Pier 1
• Purdue Pharma
• Sientra, Inc.
• Soft Surroundings Holdings
• SVB Financial Group (Silicon Valley Bank)
• TPC Group, Inc.

Select debtor cases

Notable recent company-side engagements include the following chapter 11 cases:

• Advantage Rent-a-Car
• Charlotte Russe
• San Jose Fairmont
• Sio2 Medical Products
• True Religion

Education

Justin graduated cum laude from Widener University Delaware Law School. While in law school, Justin clerked for the Honorable Henry duPont Ridgely, former Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. He also served as the Managing Editor of the Widener Law Review and was a member of the Moe Levine Mock Trial Honor Society. Prior to law school, Justin graduated with a B.S. in Business and Economics from Springfield College, where he was a member of the college’s football team.

Honors & Awards

Justin is a Band 2 ranked attorney by Chambers USA for his Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring practice. The publication notes that Justin “comes particularly recommended as a creditors’ committee expert, advising on a range of Chapter 11 filings both within and outside the region” and his “adroit representation of secured lenders” (Chambers USA). In 2020, Justin served as lead counsel to True Religion in its successful reorganization during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The transaction earned wide recognition by several publications, including Turnaround and Workout magazine as a “Successful Restructuring of 2020,” Bloomberg and Law360.

Additionally, Justin has been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a Delaware Rising Star in the practice area of business bankruptcy each year since 2013. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in bankruptcy and restructuring, included in Delaware Law Weekly’s Lawyers on the Fast Track, and regularly featured in Delaware Today magazine’s Top Lawyers list for business bankruptcy.

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