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Ronald A. Spinner

Principal

Office

T:
+1.313.496.7829
O:
+1.313.963.6420
F:
+1.313.496.7500
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Education

University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 2009

New York University, Stern School of Business, M.B.A., 1997

Rutgers University, M.S., 1991, B.A., 1989

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals

  • Sixth Circuit

U.S. District Court

  • Eastern District of Michigan 
  • Western District of Michigan
  • Northern District of Illinois 
  • Northern District of Ohio

Ron Spinner brings extensive business experience to his bankruptcy practice, developing results-oriented strategies and breaking new legal ground where necessary to do so.

Ron's ability to deal with novel situations helped tremendously in the City of Detroit bankruptcy case, where questions of first impression arose regularly. His ability to navigate the unique aspects of chapter 9 aided (and continues to aid) the City in its recovery.

As another example, Ron represented a creditor who "factored" the debtors' invoices. Courts typically characterize factoring as a "true sale" or a lending relationship (with no ground in between), oversimplifying the relationship and often leading to unnecessary conflict. Ron persuaded the court to consider the factoring arrangement as a series of individual transactions, each of which it could authorize separately. This provided the factor with strong protections, allowing the debtor to retain its funding source for its bankruptcy case. Creative application of the bankruptcy code thus resulted in a successful reorganization for the debtor and payment in full for Ron's client.

Similarly, Ron understands how to help clients handle the emerging issues of cryptocurrencies in bankruptcy and workout situations. He is a frequent speaker on cryptocurrency and has been published in a leading academic bankruptcy journal discussing in layman's terms how Bitcoin works and the legal questions that arise because of it.

Ron's specialty is preference defense, also known as "claw back actions," where a debtor seeks to recover money that it previously paid to its creditors. By resolving these cases out of court, Ron obtains exceptional results for his clients while keeping costs down. For example, one client asked Ron to defend five such actions for it, with over $2.4 million in total potential liability. After analyzing the claims, Ron was able to negotiate reasonable resolutions in all five cases. Two were resolved for small settlement payments and the remaining three were simply dismissed by the respective debtors for no payment at all.

Representative Matters

Honors

The National Law Review Go-To Thought Leadership Award, Bankruptcy Law, 2022

State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2021-present

DBusiness Magazine, Top Lawyers, Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights Law, 2020-present

University of Michigan Law School, magna cum laude; Dean's Scholarship; Certificates of Merit - Contracts, Secured Transactions; Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, Article Editor

New York University, Stern School of Business, Marketing; Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society

Rutgers University, Computer Science; Academic Fellowship; Presidential Scholarship; Departmental Honors

Professional Activities

State Bar of Michigan

Turnaround Management Association (Detroit Chapter), Programming Committee, 2019-present

American Constitution Society for Law and Public Policy (ACS), University of Michigan Chapter, Board Member, 2007-2009; Logistics Coordinator for Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition, 2009

Civic, Cultural & Social Activities

Accounting Aid Society, Quality Reviewer, 2010-present

Speeches

"Payment Rails," Panelist, American College of Real Estate Lawyers, August 22, 2023

"Subchapter V of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy," Panelist, State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section, July 21, 2023

"The Wild, Wild West of Crypto," Panelist, American Bankruptcy Institute Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, June 9, 2023

"Cryptocurrency: Is There a Future?", Panelist, Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, March 30, 2023

"Preferences and Fraudulent Transfers: A Primer on Bankruptcy Avoidance Actions," Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, January 18, 2023

"Cryptocurrency and the Effect on Corporations," Panelist, Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, Oct. 13, 2022

"Cryptocurrency Issues," MSU Inn of Court, April 6, 2022

"The Bankruptcy Small Business Reorganization Act Turns Two Years Old," Panelist, Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, March 8, 2022

"Subchapter V: Developing Case Law and Trends," Panelist, Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Association, Hon. Steven Rhodes Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, Nov. 11, 2021

"Small Business Restructuring Act – One Year Later," Panelist, Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, March 3, 2021

"Bankruptcy," Michigan Community Resources Business Closure Series, 2021

"What Will the Upcoming Bankruptcy Law Changes Mean to You?", Panelist, Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, Feb. 25, 2020

"Marijuana: Up In Smoke," Panelist, Federal Bar Association Western District of Michigan 31st Annual Bankruptcy Section Seminar, July 26-28, 2019, Thompsonville, Michigan

Publications

"Celsius Cryptocurrency Woes: Bad News for Those Whose Cryptocurrency Is Trapped in the Estate, Could Be Worse for Those Who Think They’ve Escaped," Illinois State Bar Association’s Section on Commercial Banking, Collections and Bankruptcy Newsletter, April 2023

"Caution—Construction Ahead: Reworking the UCC for Cryptocurrencies," Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Volume 32, Issue 1, March 2023

"Decrypting Crypto—Cryptocurrency Basics for Bankruptcies and Workouts," Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Volume 31, Issue 6, January 2023

"Michigan's New Assignment of Rents Act Improves Borrower-Lender Relationships," co-authored with Scott Lesser and Joe Ammar, Michigan Bankruptcy Journal, December 2022

"Breaking Down the Gate—Changes to the Barton 'Gate Keeper' Role in the Eleventh Circuit," Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, May 2022

"Reclamation Is [Mostly] Dead, But Has It Been Reincarnated?", co-authored with Megan Baxter-Labut, Michigan Business Journal, Spring 2021

"'Venue' Make a Change, Be Sure to Get It Right," Co-Authored with Marc Swanson, ABI Journal, January 2021

"A Hard Choice Ahead for Sears Ch. 11 Creditors," Co-Authored with Marc Swanson, Law360, Oct. 24, 2019

"Can You Spot a Potential Fraudulent Transfer?," Michigan Business Law Journal, Spring 2018

"Were Those Rents Assigned? Absolutely!" Co-Authored with Marc Swanson, ABI Journal, July 2016

"Controlling Exposure in Preference Actions," Co-Authored with Steven Roach, Journal of Corporate Renewal, March 2016

Articles