Firm Name: Husch Blackwell
Jurisdiction: USA - Missouri
Practice Area: Business Law
Kansas City, MO 64112
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Professional Biography:
Leaders in Law endorses Michael Fielding as our exclusively recommended Business Law expert in Missouri, USA. If you wish to get in touch with Michael please use the contact information provided above.
Michael efficiently enforces lenders’ rights against troubled borrowers.
Many clients that Michael counsels find themselves as creditors to troubled and insolvent borrowers. Although he assists clients across industries, he focuses his practice on lenders with distressed agriculture loans. Michael takes a straightforward, no-nonsense approach, seeking to maximize recoveries for these lending institutions, while minimizing their time and fees. Michael’s advocacy often results in enforcing loans, crafting workouts and representing lenders in state and federal courts (including bankruptcy proceedings) on matters involving defunct borrowers.
Michael also proactively advises clients on minimizing exposure to bankruptcy avoidance actions such as preferential transfers and constructively fraudulent conveyances. His extremely efficient approach has generated significantly low settlement amounts for clients while minimizing both the time and attorney’s fees needed to get those results. His work includes the development of Pref-Defend—a proprietary program used to efficiently defend preferential transfer claims for which Michael was given a Top Legal Innovation Award. He is one of just a handful of attorneys in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa who are board certified in Business Bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification.*
Clients in agribusiness and other sectors appreciate Michael’s reputation as a thought leader. He has authored over 30 articles nationally and internationally and given more than 60 presentations. His recent writings and speaking engagements illuminate issues central to banks and other lending institutions wrestling with troubled loans.
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, 2021
- Kansas City Business Journal, Best of the Bar, 2013-2016
- Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, 2011-2020; Top 100, 2018; Rising Star, 2008-2010
- IFLR1000, Restructuring and Insolvency (Missouri), Highly Regarded, 2018-2019
- Missouri Lawyers Weekly, Top Legal Innovation Award
- Missouri Bar Pro Bono Wall of Fame, 2019
Education
- J.D., Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
- cum laude
- B.A., Brigham Young University
- Economics
- Spanish Minor
- with honors
Admissions
- Missouri
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Utah
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa
- U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
- U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska
- U.S. District Court, District of Utah
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Supreme Court
Professional Memberships and Certifications
- American Agricultural Law Association
- American Board of Certification, Director, 2016-2018; Marketing Committee, Chair, 2018
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Labor & Employment Committee, Co-Chair, 2016; Education Director, 2014-2016; Newsletter Editor, 2013
- Risk Management Association
- J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Kansas City Chapter, Board of Directors, 2010-2013; Religious Freedom Committee, 2015-2018
- Legal Aid of Western Missouri
- National Eagle Scout Association
Languages
- Spanish
Firm Description:
The lawyers of Husch Blackwell understand that deep legal subject-matter expertise is merely the first step in building strong client relationships. Our firm is dedicated to an absolute focus on client service, building knowledge of each client’s business and delivering measurable value. From offices in 18 U.S. cities we provide legal insight and business leadership that helps our clients identify smart solutions, advance their goals and move forward.
With predecessor firms stretching back over a century, Husch Blackwell has a deep commitment to and a shared history with the communities we serve. The firm’s current configuration is the product of a 2008 merger between St. Louis-based Husch & Eppenberger and Kansas City-based Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin to form a powerhouse Midwestern law firm. The firm has continued to expand its footprint throughout the Midwest since the merger, most notably combining with Texas-based Brown McCarroll in 2013 and Milwaukee-based Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek in 2016.
Rather than traditional legal practice areas, Husch Blackwell is organized around six strategic industries—Energy & Natural Resources; Financial Services & Capital Markets; Food & Agribusiness; Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education; Real Estate, Development & Construction; and Technology, Manufacturing and Transportation. This structure, implemented in 2012, provides the firm with the ability to field deep, interdisciplinary teams capable of quickly identifying the right skill sets required by each client’s unique legal and business challenges.
