Wendy M. Simkulak
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA
Phone: +1 215 979 1547
Fax: +1 215 689 4951
Email: WMSimkulak@duanemorris.com

Wendy M. Simkulak practices in the areas of bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, creditors' rights, commercial finance, secured transactions and international commerce. She represents financial institutions, insurance companies, trade creditors, lessors, liquidating trustees and debtors in debt restructurings and in all aspects of a bankruptcy case. Ms. Simkulak has served as counsel to insurance companies providing prepetition and/or postpetition insurance coverage to debtors in complex chapter 11 cases and has advised mortgagees and assignees of non-residential leases in large chapter 11 cases. In addition to counseling clients regarding out-of-court restructurings, she has advised clients regarding structuring security arrangements and managing risks prior to and during the bankruptcy of a relationship party. Ms. Simkulak has represented debtors from the commencement of case through confirmation of a plan and liquidating trustees in various causes of action. She has represented commercial lenders and borrowers in secured lending, asset-based lending, leasing and other types of commercial transactions and assisted creditors in enforcement of remedies through commercial litigation in federal and state court.

Ms. Simkulak serves as a representative to the Duane Morris Recruitment and Retention Committee.

In 2012, Ms. Simkulak was named as a "Lawyer on the Fast Track" by The Legal Intelligencer, which is an award for being selected as one of the 35 future leaders of the Commonwealth's legal community. Ms. Simkulak was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star by Law & Politics and Philadelphia magazines in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, Ms. Simkulak is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Ms. Simkulak is also a summa cum laude graduate of Muhlenberg College.

Areas of Practice

• Reorganization and Finance Law
• Business Bankruptcy
• Financing and Financial Restructuring Transactions
• Finance
• Commercial Finance
• Creditors' Rights Advisory Services
• Insurance and Reinsurance
• International

Representative Matters

• Counsel to insurers in In re Chrysler LLC, In re General Growth Properties, Inc., In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., In re AMR Corporation (American Airlines), In re Hostess Brands, Inc., In re Dynegy Holdings, LLC, In re Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, In re Perkins & Marie Callender's Inc., In re Lyondell Chemical Co., In re Tribune Co., In re Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc., In re Premier International Holdings, Inc. (Six Flags), In re Texas Rangers Baseball Partners, In re Mesa Air Group, Inc., In re Delphi Corp. and In re Delta Air Lines, Inc.
• Counsel to insurers in In re Jefferson County, Alabama (chapter 9) and In re Hatteras Reinsurance Ltd. (chapter 15).
• Counsel to financial institutions in In re Adelphia Communications Corp.
• Counsel to unsecured creditors in In re Washington Mutual, Inc., In re SemCrude, L.P., In re Refco LLC, In re Enron Corp. and In re Lear Corp.
• Counsel to lessors in In re The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Inc., In re Linens Holdings Co., In re Wickes Holdings, LLC. and In re Urban Brands, Inc.
• Counsel to mortgagees and assignees of leases in In re Federal Mogul, Inc. and In re Heilig-Meyers, Inc.
• Counsel to debtor in In re Bricolage Capital, LLC
• Counsel to liquidating trustees in In re Trico Steel Company, LLC and In re Durango Georgia Paper Company
• Counsel to chapter 7 trustee in In re Image Masters, Inc.
• Counsel to stalking horse purchaser in In re Atlantic Medical Management Services, Inc.

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association
  - International Law Section
  -- former Vice Chair, Secured Transactions and International Insolvency Committee
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Philadelphia Bar Association
• International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
  - Founding Member and Officer, Greater Philadelphia Network
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Turnaround Management Association
• Multilaw

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New York
• New Jersey
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Supreme Court of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

• University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., 2002
• University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, M.P.I.A., 2002
• Muhlenberg College, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1998

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2011-present
  - Associate, 2002-2010
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington, D.C.
  - Economist, 1998

Honors and Awards

• Named as a "Lawyer on the Fast Track" by The Legal Intelligencer, which is an award for being selected as one of the 35 future leaders of the Commonwealth's legal community: 2012
• Listed in Pennsylvania Rising Stars: 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013

Selected Publications

• Co-author, Third Circuit materials, "American College of Bankruptcy: 2007 Circuit Review and Best Practices Reports," LexisNexis, 2007
• Co-author, "Examining Fraudulent Conveyances and Successor Liability," The Legal Intelligencer, February 11, 2005
• Co-author, "Section 510(b) Does Not Apply After Notes Issued," The Legal Intelligencer, April 9, 2004
• Co-author, "Right of First Refusal is Recognized in LLC Dispute," The Legal Intelligencer, January 30, 2004
• Co-author, "Indemnifying Financial Adviser for Negligence Claim 'Reasonable'," The Legal Intelligencer, February 28, 2003
• Co-author, "Claim Sounding In Breach of Contract May Not Be An Unsecured Claim," The Legal Intelligencer, November 7, 2003

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker and Co-author, "Structuring Security Agreements and Managing Risks in an Insured's Bankruptcy Case," Risk Management Association, May 2, 2013
• Speaker, "Managing Risks of an Insured's Bankruptcy Case," May 1, 2013
• Speaker and Co-author, "Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Law: Managing Risks and Strategic Considerations," April 18, 2013
• Speaker and Co-author, "Managing Risks of an Insured's Bankruptcy Case," April 3, 2013
• Speaker and Co-author, "Nuts and Bolts of Commercial Transactions," American Bar Association, Section of International Law, 2011 Fall Conference, Dublin, Ireland, October 14, 2011
• Speaker, "Recent Trends in Business Bankruptcy Law Affecting Commercial Real Estate: Key Issues and Strategies for Weathering Extended Economic Uncertainty," August 17, 2011
• Speaker and Co-author, "Managing Risks of an Insured's Bankruptcy Case," October 4, 2010
• Speaker and Author, "The U.S. Bankruptcy Code and Cross-Border Insolvency," International Insolvency Conference II, Brussels, Belgium, May 16, 2009
• Speaker and Co-author, "Selected Issues to Consider when a Commercial Tenant or Borrower files a Petition for Relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code," February 4, 2009
• Speaker and Co-author, "Structuring Security Arrangements and Managing Risks in an Insured's Bankruptcy Case," July 25, 2007, August 25, 2008, January 13, 2009
• Speaker and Author, "The U.S. Bankruptcy Code," International Insolvency Conference, Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2008
• Speaker and Co-author, "Bankruptcy and Related State Actions," Philadelphia Paralegal Association, October 6, 2006