Phillip Wang practices in the areas of bankruptcy, creditors' rights and real estate law.

Mr. Wang's bankruptcy and creditors' rights practice includes representing secured and unsecured creditors, financial institutions, business debtors, trustees, and committees in nearly all facets of corporate bankruptcy reorganization cases, such as bankruptcy litigation matters and the purchase or sale of distressed assets in bankruptcy transactions. He handles complex litigation, workout, restructuring and insolvency matters for lenders, loan servicers and borrowers involving securitized commercial mortgage loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities, conventional real property loans, guarantees, and extension and forbearance agreements.

Mr. Wang has extensive experience in multiple jurisdictions with foreclosures and workouts related to troubled loans, distressed assets and prejudgment remedies, such as the appointment of receivers. In particular, he represents special servicers of Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) loans, which service numerous pools of CMBS loans totaling more than $250 billion in principal and relating to real property interests in multiple states. His work in the special servicing area includes complex foreclosure, receivership and bankruptcy matters, workouts, restructurings, forbearances, modifications, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and property sales, often involving complicated intercreditor, co-lender and other participation agreements for B-Notes and mezzanine debt related to the troubled loan or pool of nonperforming loans, as well as applicable pooling and servicing agreements.

In addition, Mr. Wang represents receivers on a national basis utilized in commercial real estate foreclosures to stabilize distressed assets and manage property. The underlying real property assets are varied and include major office towers, multi-family apartment complexes, retail centers, industrial buildings, and hospitality facilities, typically valued between $10 and $300 million.

Mr. Wang's real estate practice includes representation of commercial developers, owners, landlords, tenants, lenders and borrowers in all aspects of disputes and litigation concerning commercial properties, such as complex commercial lease defaults, breaches of guaranty, mortgage fraud, real estate secured transaction issues, lender liability, easements, title and boundary disputes, nuisance abatement and other real estate-related controversies. He also focuses on negotiating and preparing commercial leases and property management agreements; acquisition and disposition of commercial office, retail and multifamily properties; and the financing of such sales together with coordination and oversight of all associated due diligence matters.

Representative Matters

• Represented a special servicer in negotiation of forbearance and modification agreements relating to loans of $122 million, intercreditor and co-lender agreements for B-Notes and mezzanine debt, and applicable pooling and servicing agreements.
• Represented a special servicer of commercial mortgage-backed securities in an action to recoup a $44-million commercial loan default against the guarantor. Following a hearing on cross-motions for summary judgment, the Los Angeles County Superior Court found for the special servicer on its claim for breach of guaranty and awarded it damages of $42 million, plus attorneys' fees and costs.
• Represented the court-appointed receiver in the sale of a 61-unit condominium project in San Mateo, Calif., by Beal Bank, which had a 7-percent interest in the loan on the property, to Presidio Development Partners for $20 million.
• Represented a special servicer in bankruptcy litigation and negotiation of sale of commercial real property collateral for $44 million in the borrowers' bankruptcy proceedings.
• Represented a special servicer in complex foreclosure proceedings, including the negotiation and documentation of sale of multiple notes secured by commercial real property for $127 million.
• Represented a special servicer for approximately $160 million in commercial loans secured by multiple hospitality assets in Innkeepers USA Trust's bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented a special servicer in complex foreclosure and receivership proceedings in the receiver's sale of the office buildings' collateral for approximately $211 million.

Areas of Practice

• Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring
• Creditors' Rights and Advisory Services
• Real Estate

Admissions

• California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Education

• Golden Gate University School of Law, J.D.
  - Associate Editor, Golden Gate University Law Review
• Princeton University, A.B.

Other Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2009-present
• Gordon & Rees, LLP
  - Partner, 2005-2009
  - Senior Counsel, 2004-2005
• Stein & Lubin LLP
  - Associate, 2002-2004
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  - Senior Staff Attorney, 1997-1998
• Hopkins & Carley
  - Associate, 1998-2002
• Santa Clara County Superior Court
  - Research Attorney, 1996-1997

Professional Activities

• Commercial Real Estate Finance Council
• NAIOP - Commercial Real Estate Development Association
  - Board of Directors, 2005-2012
  - Chair or Co-Chair, Legislative Action Committee, 2005-2012
• TEAM A (The Equity Asset Managers Association)
  - Board of Directors, 2011-Present
• State Bar of California
  - Business (and Insolvency) Law Section
  - Real Property Law Section - Executive Committee (2007-2010)
• Bar Association of San Francisco
  - Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section
  - Real Property Section
• Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
  - Board of Directors, 2008-2010
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• California Minority Counsel Program
• Asian American Bar Association
• Turnaround Management Association

Honors / Awards

• Super Lawyer for Northern California, 2009-present
• Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, 2010
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Board Memberships

• NAIOP - Commercial Real Estate Development Association
  - Board Member, 2005-present
  - Chair or Co-Chair, Legislative Action Committee, 2005-present
• Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum

Publications

• "Observations from the Front Lines: Potential Conflicts of Interest Between Senior and Subordinate Investors May Result in Significant Litigation," Structured Finance and Securitization in Context of Bankruptcy, Duane Morris - Risk & Recovery 2011 – Developments in Business Bankruptcy and Commercial Finance Law
• "Commercial Lease Termination Damages - Calculation and Application of the Bankruptcy Cap," California Real Property Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2008
• "Recent Bankruptcy Law Amendments Affecting Commercial Real Estate - A Historical Perspective," California Real Property Journal, Silver Anniversary Edition, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2006
• "Bad Faith Filings and Solvent Tenant Bankruptcies," Business Law News of State Bar of California, Spring 2005
• "Finally, a Limit on a Solvent Tenant's Ability to Use Bankruptcy to Shortchange a Landlord," Real Estate Finance Journal, Spring 2005

Speaking Engagements

• Moderator, "CRE Market Trends and Opportunities in 2013, 2014, 2015," Distressed Debt Summit, CRE Finance Council, Santa Monica, CA, May 13, 2013
• Moderator, "Options and Strategies for Loan Workouts," San Francisco After-Work Seminar, CRE Finance Council, September 13, 2012
• Moderator, "Options and Latest Strategies for Workouts," High Yield Debt Investment Conference, CRE Finance Council, May 8, 2012
• Moderator, "Sunnyvale Town Center: Use of Receivers in Partially Completed Projects," TEAM A (The Equity Asset Managers Association), February 28, 2012
• Speaker, "Purchasing Debt in Today’s Market," Duane Morris Real Estate Roundtable, May 18, 2011
• Speaker, "What Real Estate Lawyers Should Know About Bankruptcy: Overview of Bankruptcy, Treatment of Leases in Bankruptcy, Restructuring Secured Debt in Bankruptcy," Bar Association of San Francisco, Real Estate and Insolvency Sections, November 9, 2010
• Speaker, "The Rise After the Fall in the CMBS World: Restructuring Securitized Debt," The State Bar of California Real Property Law Section 29th Annual Retreat, April 30-May 2, 2010
• Faculty Member, "Real Property Law Boot Camp 2010," State Bar of California Real Property Law Section, February 26-28, 2010
• Speaker, "Interaction of Real Property Law and Bankruptcy in Litigation," 82nd Annual Meeting of the State Bar of California, San Diego, September 12, 2009
• Speaker, "Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Issues in Construction Law," DRI Construction Law Seminar, September 10, 2009
• Speaker, "Trouble in Commercial Leases - Default and Bankruptcy Issues," 27th Annual Retreat for Real Property Law Section of State Bar of California, May 2008
• Instructor, 2008-2009, "Real Property Lawyer Boot Camp - Real Property Law Section of State Bar of California," an intensive 48-hour program to train attorneys on real estate transactions, real estate litigation and bankruptcy issues
• Speaker, "What Commercial Real Estate Owners & Tenants Should Know About the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act," Bar Association of San Francisco, Barristers' Club, Bankruptcy Section, September 2005
• Speaker, "Bankruptcy Issues in the Real Estate Market After the Boom," Bar Association of San Francisco, Barristers' Club, Bankruptcy Section, July 2002