WWRP Announces the Addition of New Bankruptcy Attorney

Williams, Williams, Rattner & Plunkett, P.C., is pleased to announce the addition of Salvatore Barbatano.

Mr. Barbatano is internationally recognized in the bankruptcy field with more than 30 years of experience representing business clients in commercial disputes and bankruptcy litigation. He has been counsel to creditors' committees in a number of large cases including World Kitchens and Lancer Partners, L.P. (the first hedge fund Chapter 11 in U.S. history). He has also advised domestic and international banks and other financial institutions, pension funds, creditors' committees, trustees in bankruptcy, insurance companies, manufacturing companies, health care providers, and real estate developers regarding the structure of secured, credit-enhanced, and securitized asset-based transactions.

Mr. Barbatano is a former senior lecturer and adjunct professor at Loyola University Law School in Chicago and served as a member of the Illinois State Bar Association President's Select Committee in Bankruptcy Law Amendments in 1982 and 1983. He was listed in the Best Lawyers in America (1995-6 edition). Mr. Barbatano was also selected for inclusion in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Michigan Super Lawyer® lists for his work in bankruptcy, creditor and debtor rights. In 2012 and 2013, Mr. Barbatano was selected as a Leading Illinois Lawyer and a Chicago Magazine Leading Chicago Lawyer. He has been given an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell.  Mr. Barbatano is a member of the Board of Visitors of Northern Illinois University College of Law and the Editorial Advisory Board of Thomson Reuters Accelus Business Currents publication. Recently, Mr. Barbatano was appointed to an American Bar Association Business Bankruptcy Committee working group which will draft at proposed Model Bankruptcy Code.

A 1974 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Mr. Barbatano served as law clerk for the Circuit Court in Portage, Wis., and worked with the U.S. Department of Labor, where he investigated alleged violations of federal laws in the management and investment practices of the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. Mr. Barbatano has represented corporate clients in federal and state investigations. He received a B.A. in history from Oberlin College in 1969. He frequently lectures on bankruptcy law issues and has written or co-authored numerous articles.

Mr. Barbatano is admitted to practice in Michigan, New York, Wisconsin and Illinois federal and state courts, the Seventh and Ninth Circuit Courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

“We are delighted to have Sal Barbatano join our firm,” says R. Jamison Williams, Jr., managing partner of Williams, Williams, Rattner & Plunkett, P.C.  “The addition of Sal Barbatano, who is internationally recognized in the bankruptcy field, fits in well with our firm’s strategic growth initiatives.”