Derek serves as the chair of Burr & Forman’s Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy practice group and also serves as the current Global Chair of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA). The TMA is a worldwide community of more than 8,300 members and 55 chapters (32 in North America) who drive business to individuals who work with companies to increase enterprise value, preserve equity, manage disruption, and drive significantly improved results.
Derek is also a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and works out of the firm’s Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama offices with a focus on bankruptcy and commercial litigation matters. Derek regularly represents debtors, creditors, committees, asset purchasers and other clients in matters related to insolvency, financial distress, and bankruptcy, both in and out of court. Derek has a passion for automobiles, new and old, and regularly advises clients in and around the manufacturing space, particularly automotive OEMs, tier-suppliers, financiers, and transportation providers.
In addition, Derek’s practice involves the regular representation of unsecured creditor committees and individual and corporate unsecured creditors. Derek has also represented debtors in and out of court from the very large, multi-state corporations to individuals with specialized circumstances.
Derek’s other typical clients are anything but typical, including everything from equity owners, franchisors, ad hoc committees, Section 363 buyers, and a variety of other “players” in the bankruptcy, workout and restructuring space.
Derek is registered on the Alabama State Court Mediator Roster, and he focuses on mediations that are influenced by the Bankruptcy Code, the Uniform Commercial Code, and distressed circumstances.