Bruce J.L. Lowe

Bruce concentrates his practice in business bankruptcy, creditor’s rights law and commercial litigation. Over a nearly 30-year period, Bruce has counseled and represented virtually every type of major constituent party in interest in complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and out-of-court workouts, and related litigation proceedings. He is also a member of the newly formed Distressed Company Task Force that was created to assist borrower clients in every way, including how to navigate discussions with their lenders and in addressing concerns over suppliers and stakeholders.

Bruce has represented commercial and retail landlords and tenants in connection with complex bankruptcy-related and litigation matters, and he has also handled substantial representations in a wide variety of complex commercial and business litigation matters. He has handled a variety of complex matters involving receiverships and the enforcement of secured lender’s rights against complex, major commercial properties and assets. He has also handled a wide variety of complex business, construction and real estate litigation matters, and has regularly represented a variety of parties in interest to bankruptcy matters involving construction companies and/or projects.

Bruce has served as Honorary Legal Advisor to Her Majesty’s Consul and is currently Chair Emeritus of the British-American Chamber of Commerce, Ohio, and a member of the Executive Committee of the British-American Business Council. Bruce is also President of the Greater Cleveland International Lawyers Group. Bruce leads the firm’s relationship with the Interlex Group, a worldwide association of leading law firms that cooperate to provide a complete range of international legal and business services to clients.

Bruce’s significant recent engagements include the successful representation of a major investor and purchaser of assets in connection with Chapter 11 proceedings and related litigation involving the Claddagh Irish Pub and Restaurant chain (S.D. Ohio), a major bankruptcy trustee representation in In re: Richland Hospital, Inc. (N.D. Ohio), resulting in 100% recovery for unsecured creditors and substantial recoveries for other claims. Before that, Bruce represented General Electric Company, General Electric Capital Corporation, and Minnesota Power, Inc. in connection with multi-million dollar claims in the LTV Steel Company Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases (N.D. Ohio), and acted as local counsel for Minnesota Power in connection with its successful purchase of LTV’s power generation plants in Northern Minnesota. Bruce was also significantly involved in the representation of the Superintendent of Insurance in Ohio in his capacity as the Liquidator of the P.I.E. Mutual Insurance Company, which until its liquidation proceedings, was the nation’s largest medical malpractice insurance carrier. Bruce was also lead counsel to the unsecured creditors committee in the Chapter 11 cases of Economy Lodging Systems Inc., and ELS Lodging, Inc., f.k.a. Knights Lodging, Inc. (N.D. Ohio), the owners/franchisors of the Knights Inns motel chain. These were the most significant Chapter 11 cases in Cleveland during the second half of the 1990’s, and achieved a distribution of almost 50% on allowed unsecured creditors claims.

Speeches

Panelist, Global Cleveland – Sister Cities Conference 2020, Oct. 2, 2020

Participant, Oxford University’s Leadership in Law and Practice Conference, June 2019

Participant, Transatlantic Conference of the British-American Business Network, held in Birmingham, England, June 2019

Presenter, Irish American Law Society of Cleveland “Brexit and the Potential Implications Regarding the Irish Border,” May 2019

Speaker, OKIMP Retail Development & Law Symposium, “Assumption, Rejection or What’s Behind Door No. 3: What’s a Landlord to Do About Sales of Leases in a Retail Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?” Feb. 2019

Publications

Taft Construction Law Bulletin: “Contractor Payments: Take the Money and Run, Even if the Bankruptcy Trustee Later Comes Calling,” Oct. 2015