Attorneys

ALEC P. OSTROW is a partner of Becker, Glynn, Melamed & Muffly LLP and concentrates his practice in bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, creditors' rights and commercial litigation.

Mr. Ostrow has served as lead counsel for many businesses that successfully reorganized in chapter 11 or in out-of-court restructurings, as well as lead counsel for buyers and sellers, trustees, and officers and directors of distressed business in such industries as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, health care, insurance, real estate, reprographics, oil and gas, retail, steel manufacturing, home furnishings, construction, demolition, consumer products, and the record industry. He has also represented banks and insurance companies as creditors in major bankruptcy cases such as Lehman Brothers, Adelphia Communications and Enron, as well as foreign representatives in cross-border cases involving reinsurance and financial services. As a trial lawyer in bankruptcy litigation, Mr. Ostrow has won multiple judgments recovering tens of millions of dollars, and has successfully defended individuals and institutions against claims asserted by debtors, trustees and creditors' committees.

A prolific author and frequent speaker on bankruptcy-related topics, Mr. Ostrow presents to numerous associations, including the American Bar Association and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and has served as panelist for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Judicial Conference of the Second Circuit and the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees.

Since 1999, Mr. Ostrow has been an adjunct professor of law at St. John's University School of Law in the LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program. In 2004, he was elected a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. In 1996, he became a member of the panel of mediators for the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Ostrow also served for eight years as co-chair of the Real Estate Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and has served for several years on the Institute's Advisory Committee for the New York City Bankruptcy Conference. He also speaks Spanish and French.

As published in The New York Times, Mr. Ostrow has been recognized as a New York Super Lawyer from 2006 through 2009 by being selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the state.

Experience

Representative Cases:

• Pereira v. Grecogas Ltd. (In re Saba Enters., Inc.), 421 B.R. 626 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009).
• Spector v. Wendy, 63 A.D. 3d 820, 881 N.Y.S. 2d 465 (2d Dept. 2009).
• Merrill Lynch Bus. Fin. Servs. Inc. v. American Reprographics Co. (In re Louis Frey Co.), 2006 WL 2090083 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 28, 2006), aff’d sub nom. American Reprographics Co. v. Geron (In re Louis Frey Co.), 2007 WL 924206 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2007).
• Geron v. Schulman (In re Manshul Constr. Corp.), 228 B.R. 532 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1999).
• Publicker Indus. Inc. v. United States (In re Cuyahoga Equip. Corp.), 980 F. 2d 110 (2d Cir 1992).
• Fundex Capital Corp. v. Reichard, 172 A.D.2d 420, 568 N.Y.S.2d 794 (1st Dep't 1991).
• Dampskibsselskabet AF 1912 Aktieselskab v. Black & Geddes, Inc. (In re Black & Geddes, Inc.), 35 B.R 830 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1984).
• Rockland Center Associates v. TSW Stores of Nanuet, Inc., 34 B.R. 299 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1983).

Selected Speaking Engagements:

• "Today's Issues for LLC's in Business Bankruptcy." ALI-ABA Telephone Seminar/Audio Webcast, May 14, 2010.
• "Distressed Real Estate: Market Trends and Disposition Strategies in a Difficult Market." Moderator: Real Estate Committee, American Bankruptcy Institute's 28th Annual Spring Meeting. National Harbor, M.D., May 1, 2010.
• "Forensic Solvency Analysis in Bankruptcy" and "Hot Topics in Bankruptcy" National Forensic Accounting Conference, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Orlando, FL, September 24-25, 2009.
• "Do Asset Protection Trusts Truly Protect the Debtor from the Claims of Creditors?" Panelist. American Bankruptcy Institute's Tenth Annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference. New York City, N.Y. May 12, 2008.
• "A Failure of Proof? The Mortgage Industry at a Crossroads." Moderator. Real Estate and Ethics Committees, American Bankruptcy Institute's 26th Annual Spring Meeting. Washington, D.C. April 5, 2008.
• "Opportunities for Buyers and Sellers in Sales of Distressed Assets." Panelist. Distressed Real Estate Investing Summit. New York City, N.Y. February 21, 2008.
• "Distressed Real Estate: Current Topics in Foreclosures and Bankruptcy." New York State Bar Association. New York City, New York. June 27, 2007.
• "Distressed Real Estate: Current Topics in Foreclosures and Bankruptcy." New York State Bar Association. Tarrytown, N.Y. June 5, 2007.
• "Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Jurisdiction." Moderator. American Bankruptcy Institute's Ninth Annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference. New York City, N.Y. May 7, 2007.

Selected Publications:
• "The Odd Free and Clear Sale, or Clear-Channeling the Spirit of Subsections (3) and (5) of Section 363(f)," Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 91, 2009 edition, Norton, William L., Jr., West Services Inc.
• "Lyondell Injunction: Too Big To Flail?" Bloomberg Law Reports. Volume 3, Number 15. Co-author. April 13, 2009.
• "Big Three Bailout and Bankruptcy." Contributing Viewpoint. American Bankruptcy Institute. Bankruptcy Townhall. February 2009.
• "The Equitable Claim in Bankruptcy, or What’s in a Claim: That Which We Call an Equitable Remedy?" Chapter 3. Contributing author. Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law. 2008 edition. (copyright West Services, Inc.)
• "Surviving Life in the Chapter 11 Fishbowl." Contributing author. Inside the Minds: Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Strategies. Aspatore Books. 2008.
• "We Don’t Need the Case Law to Turn the DIP’s Attorney into a Court Informant." American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal. Volume XXVII, No. 4/May 2008.
• "‘Kelo’ Condemnation and the Automatic Stay: Can a Debtor Fight City Hall?" Real Estate Committee, ABI Committee News. Volume 5, Number 1/February 2008.
• "Bankruptcy Business Sales Free and Clear of Antitrust Liability to Private Parties: A Proposal to Encourage Bidding from Competitors." Co-author with Eugene V. Lipkowitz. 2007 Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 209.
• "Forfeiture of Office by Buying Estate Property: The Bankruptcy Crime and the Civil Punishment, Part II." Commercial Fraud Task Force Committee, ABI Committee News. Volume 4, Number 2/May 2007.
• "Forfeiture of Office by Buying Estate Property: The Bankruptcy Crime and the Civil Punishment, Part I." Commercial Fraud Task Force Committee, ABI Committee News. Volume 4, Number 2/April 2007.
• "The Res Judicata Effect of Impermissible but Unlitigated Provisions in Confirmed Plans" 2006 Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 55.
• "Introduction to the Bankruptcy Code." Chapter 2. Contributing author. Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions. Second edition. 2006.
• "Regulatory Considerations: Sale of Assets in Regulated Industries." Chapter 26. Contributing author. Bankruptcy Business Acquisitions. Second edition. 2006.
• "Airline Cases Ground Setoff Rights." Pratt's Journal of Bankruptcy Law. October/November, 2006.
• "There They Go Again! Another Modification of Lessee Rights in Bankruptcy With Questionable Notice." American Bankruptcy Institute Real Estate Committee Newsletter, November 2005.
• "Rethinking Recoupment: Are We Really Sure It's Not a Subset of Setoff?" Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 245, 2005.
• "The New De Minimis Preference Defense: Does It Really Mean What It's Supposed to Mean?" Pratt's Journal of Bankruptcy Law, Vol. 1, No. 3, August/September 2005.
• "My Lips Are Sealed: Sealing Files, Closing Courtrooms and in Camera Inspections in Bankruptcy Cases." Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 203, 2004.
• "Qualitech and Sales Free and Clear of Leesehold Interests: Bankruptcy Process and Due Process." NABTalk, Vol. 19, No. 4, P. 14, 2004.
• "Bankruptcy Adds New Vistas to Real Estate Landscape." Journal of Corporate Renewal, Vol. 17, No. 8, P. 16, August 2004.
• "The 'Animal Farm' of Administrative Insolvency." 11 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 339, 2003.
• "Free and Clear of Successor Liability, or Whose Liability is it Anyway?" Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law 119, 2003.
• "Bankruptcy and Redundant Representation, or How Many Bankruptcy Lawyers Does it Take to Change . . . a Debtor into a Debtor in Possession?" 11 Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice 227, 2002.
• "Jurisdiction and Substance in License Disputes with the FCC." Richard N. Tilton's Business Bankruptcy Acquisitions, Lex. Med. Supp., 2002.
• "Insider Includes? Include Me Out." 7 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 601, 1999.
• "The Involuntary Chapter 11 Case: Why Don't We Do It in the Gap?" No One Will Be Watching Us." 5 Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice 63, 1995.
• "Constitutionality of Core Jurisdiction." 68 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Journal 9, 1994.
• "Mutuality of Obligation for Executory Contracts." New York Law Journal, Oct. 30, 1995. Co-author.  

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D., 1980
Dartmouth College, A.B. magna cum laude, 1977 

Memberships

Court Admissions:

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 Western District of New York
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Professional Associations/Civic Affiliations:

American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow, Elected 2004
St. John's University School of Law, LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program, Adjunct Professor of Law
American Bankruptcy Institute, Real Estate Committee, Co-Chair, 2001-08
New York City Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association
New York County Lawyers Association