Matthew Ray Brooks

Matt advises debtors, creditors, investors, companies, and boards of directors as they navigate distressed situations. With a proven track record as a tenacious advocate, his clients include bank and non-bank lenders, private equity, CMBS special servicers, insurance companies, family offices, borrowers, and investors. Matt’s practice spans a range of industries, including real estate, cryptocurrency, energy, health care, construction, financial services, aviation, hospitality, insurance, transportation, and media.

Matt helps lender and servicer clients throughout the U.S. collect on defaulted loans, whether through foreclosure, receivership, bankruptcy, or a loan workout. He also represents private equity and other strategic buyers in distressed acquisitions and dispositions, with many of his engagements receiving recognition from leading trade groups and publications. Additionally, Matt represents companies and boards of directors restructure their liabilities and in connection with liability management opportunities. He has also litigated insolvency-related cases in state and federal courts throughout the U.S., including the defense of complex fraudulent conveyance, preference, and lender liability claims.

Matt is the former chair of the bankruptcy section of the Georgia State Bar Association and a frequent author and speaker on M&A and insolvency-related issues. He is well connected within the restructuring community, serving on the events committee for the New York City chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and the Southeast Advisory Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Secured Creditors

• Represents some of the largest U.S. private credit funds in workouts and default litigation involving distressed loans in the real estate, fintech, manufacturing, media, and energy sectors.
• Represents many CMBS special servicers in the enforcement of remedies, including receiverships, foreclosures, and guarantor litigation.
• Counsel to the largest international airline in bankruptcy proceedings and litigation involving credit workouts and enforcement, including Chapter 11 proceedings filed by GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A., Chapter 11 (SDNY), LATAM Airlines Group SA (SDNY), Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (Chapter 15, SDNY), and Western Global Airlines, Inc. (D. Del).
• Counsel to two secured HUD lenders in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Peterson Healthcare (D.Del).
• Counsel to the lead lender and collateral agent in restructuring a high-end senior housing complex located in Atlanta, GA.
• Counsel to a senior secured lender in restructuring a large-scale film and music studio, resulting in successfully defeating a cram-down Chapter 11 plan and obtaining a 95% payout, along with default interest and attorney’s fees.
• Counsel to a U.S. private credit fund in the foreclosure of a renowned motion picture starring Robert Di Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Morgan Freeman.
• Counsel to a senior lender in Chapter 11 restructurings in the retail and jewelry businesses.

M&A and Corporate Engagements

• • Counsel to Priority Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: PRTH) in the 363 acquisition of Plastiq, Inc. (D. Del). This transaction was awarded the 2024 Financials Deal of the Year by M&A Advisor.
  • Counsel to Franchise Group, Inc. in the 363 acquisition of furniture and mattress retailer Furniture Factor Outlet Home (D. Del).
  • Counsel to multiple solar, wind, and hydro power operators develop and execute reorganization strategies that included complex debtor restructurings and negotiations with local, state, and federal regulatory authorities.
  • Counsel to several large U.S. utility providers in restructuring senior credit facilities and addressing potential environmental and tort liabilities.
  • Represented a public company that specializes in traveling exhibitions, including the Titanic artifacts, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, which received a Turnaround Atlas Award for Cross Border Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year.
  • Special counsel to Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. in Chapter 11 liquidation involving more than 4,000 creditors and claims in excess of $9 billion (M.D. Fla.).
  • Counsel to a nonprofit hospital in out-of-court restructuring of senior debt and real estate portfolio.

Trade Creditors, Landlords, and Litigation Matters

• Represented the largest utility provider in the Core Scientific Chapter 11 bankruptcy to obtain a fully recovery on its claim.
• General outside bankruptcy counsel to one of the largest health insurance and managed care providers in the U.S.
• Counsel to multiple consumer-facing companies in the development of bankruptcy-related enforcement protocols and form documents.
• National bankruptcy and litigation counsel to multiple REITs.

• Global M&A Network, “Americas Rising Star” (2022); Top 100 Restructuring Professionals (2024)
• Chambers USA: Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Georgia (2025)
• Best Lawyers in America®: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2023-2026), Litigation – Bankruptcy (2024-2026)
• Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2021)
• Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2016-2018)
• Named to Georgia Trend magazine’s Legal Elite in Bankruptcy Law (2015-2018)