Ed Rothberg

Edward L. Rothberg has represented debtors, equity holders, secured creditors, unsecured creditors, committees, bankruptcy trustees, lessors, and indenture trustees in numerous out of court workouts as well as large, medium size and complex bankruptcy cases. Additionally, Mr. Rothberg has represented private equity companies in the purchase of companies or distressed assets in or out of the bankruptcy court. He is the former head of the Hoover Slovacek LLP bankruptcy practice and practiced creditor’s rights and bankruptcy law for 40 years. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Rothberg was a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, Tax Division where he represented the IRS in some of the largest bankruptcy cases in Texas including Braniff and Continental Airlines.

It has long been Mr. Rothberg’s practice to ascertain the financial condition of the client and attempt to restructure the company out of court. Financial restructuring, whether involving negotiating with secured creditors and critical vendors, a sale of assets or merger, or for a change in ownership usually results in a win-win situation. These companies are able to continue operations while protecting the positions and livelihoods of multiple stakeholders: including principles, lenders, employees, vendors, and investors, without the high costs associated with a Chapter 11 filing. The filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case is generally used as a last resort or for a specific strategic purpose.

In practice, Mr. Rothberg represented debtors and equity holders at every stage of reorganization, both in and out of court, and in Chapter 11 business reorganizations. Additionally, Mr. Rothberg specialized in resolving tax problems in bankruptcy and related adversarial matters in which creditor rights are being contested. With respect to debtor work, Mr. Rothberg represented a wide variety of debtors and was successful in restructuring debt both inside and outside Chapter 11. In 2016, Mr. Rothberg won the Large Turnaround of the Year Award issued by the Chicago Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association for the out of court workout of the CECO Pipeline Company. With respect to Chapter 11 cases, Mr. Rothberg confirmed the Chapter 11 plans in over 33 different cases in a wide variety of industries including, oil and gas, healthcare, real estate, construction distribution, manufacturing, retail and business services.

Mr. Rothberg was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1980 and was admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for all districts in Texas as well as the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his B.A. in 1977 from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University in 1980, where he served as Editor of the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. Mr. Rothberg was Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Rothberg’s is currently on inactive status with the Texas Bar. From 1995 to 2019, Mr. Rothberg was a member of the Houston Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (“TMA”), an interdisciplinary group of professionals dedicated to the business of corporate renewal, where he served as President, Programs, Chair and on the Board of Directors.