Evan T. Miller is a director at Bayard. Evan concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, representing debtors (both voluntary and involuntary) and trustees, in addition to asset purchasers, landlords, official committees of unsecured creditors, secured creditors, vendors, and preference and fraudulent transfer litigants in bankruptcy courts across the country. His clientele stems from a wide range of industries, including aviation, blockchain/cryptocurrency, restaurants, insurance, retail, healthcare, energy, and education, among many others, and he has worked with them on both in-court and out-of-court restructuring matters. He is a frequent speaker and author on these topics and others in the restructuring space, including with respect to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and the treatment and valuation of virtual assets in bankruptcy. Evan is also a certified mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and is included on the Register of Mediators and Arbitrators maintained by the Court. He has also served as an expert witness in the areas of restructuring and insolvency.
Since 2016, Evan has been recognized by Super Lawyers® magazine as a Delaware Rising Star in the area of business bankruptcy. He has also been named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under Hot List since 2019 for his nationwide practice in bankruptcy litigation, and a Delaware Today Top Lawyer since 2021. Evan was likewise named (i) a 2021 Emerging Leader by The M&A Advisor and (ii) an ABI 40 Under 40 Emerging Leader in Insolvency Honoree. In 2022, Evan was named an Americas Rising Star Dealmaker by the Global M&A Network, while Chambers USA also recognized Evan in 2022 for his work in bankruptcy and restructuring in Delaware.
Evan created and maintains the Avoidance Action Update Blog at https://www.bayardlaw.com/blog, which tracks the latest developments in avoidance action case law and jurisprudence.
Evan is very active in the local and national restructuring community, currently serving as Vice Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Real Estate Committee, executive board member of the Turnaround Management Association Philadelphia/Wilmington (TMA) chapter (whose scope covers the Philadelphia metro area, the state of Delaware, and southern New Jersey), Treasurer of Delaware Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, and Chair of the Business Law Section for the Philadelphia Bar Association, of which he was formerly the Vice-Chair, Communications Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Previously, Evan served as Chairman of TMA NextGen, Chairman of ABI’s Young & New Members Committee, Chairman and Treasurer of the Delaware State Bar Association’s (DSBA) Young Lawyer Section, Vice Chair of the Bankruptcy Committee for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division, and Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Committee.
Evan currently serves as one of two member contacts for Meritas, an invitation-only international alliance of over 175 business law firms located in over 80 countries. Bayard is the sole Delaware member of Meritas.
Before joining Bayard, Evan graduated cum laude from the Delaware Law School, as well as with Honors from the Delaware Law School’s Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law. While in law school, Evan served as the Internal Managing Editor of the Widener Law Review for the 2008-2009 academic year. He was also on the executive board of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society, serving as New Member Competition Chairperson, and being awarded Outstanding Executive Board Member during that time. During 2006-2007, Evan served as a legal intern to the Honorable Chandlee Kuhn, Chief Judge of the Family Court of the State of Delaware. In his final year of law school, Evan served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Jane R. Roth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Prior to law school, Evan was the recipient of the John J. Serff academic scholarship and a member of several honor societies while attending Bloomsburg University.
Representative Matters:
Debtors
- Kettner Investments, LLC – lead debtor’s counsel to long-term equity investor in companies engaged in the legal hemp industry and pharmaceutical drug and medical tests development, including tests for the COVID-19 virus.
- American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC – co-counsel to debtor restaurant chain comprised of more than 170 locations. Oversaw reorganization of the same following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Superior Air Charter, LLC – lead debtor’s counsel to FAA certified Part 135 charter air carrier, confirming a plan of reorganization within 4.5 months of filing and restructuring approximately $70 million of debt.
- Life Settlements Absolute Return, LLC – co-counsel to special purpose vehicle debtor created to invest in life insurance policies in the life settlement market. Concluded a sale of all assets.
- Verengo, Inc. – debtor’s counsel to residential solar panel installer, which was at one time one of the largest such companies in the United States. Confirmed plan of reorganization within 7 months of petition date.
- Parallel Energy LP – co-counsel to oil and gas debtor engaged in acquiring, owning, developing and operating long-life oil and natural gas properties in Texas and Oklahoma. Case resulted in the sale of substantially all of the debtor’s assets under 11 U.S.C. § 363.
Committees
- Arandell Holdings, Inc. – co-counsel to unsecured creditors committee for commercial printing company.
- Libbey, Inc. – co-counsel to unsecured creditors committee for tableware manufacturer and distributor.
- Xtera Communications Inc. – co-counsel to unsecured creditors committee for network infrastructure company that provided transport solutions to telecommunications service providers, content service providers, data center operators, enterprises and government entities.
- SeaStar Holdings Inc. – counsel to unsecured creditors committee for San Juan-based passenger airline.
- Endeavour Operating Corp. – co-counsel to unsecured creditors committee for independent oil and gas exploration and production company
Trustee Representations
- Mallinckrodt – co-counsel to indenture trustee for $1.6 billion Senior Notes in opioid bankruptcy.
- Geokinetics, Inc. – co-counsel to liquidating trustee for geoscience services provider to the oil and gas industry.
- Verengo, Inc. – counsel to trustee formed following confirmation of plan of reorganization. Oversaw litigation of numerous fraudulent transfer and preference action matters, as well as final claims reconciliation.
- Stirling Energy Sys., Inc. – co-counsel to Chapter 7 trustee for the estate of renewable energy company.
- American Remanufacturers, Inc. – co-counsel to Chapter 7 Trustee for the estate of auto parts supplier.
Landlord Representations
- YouFit Health Clubs, LLC – counsel to landlord in fitness club bankruptcy.
- Ascena Retail Group, Inc. – counsel to landlord in retail bankruptcy.
- 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc. – co-counsel to landlord in fitness club bankruptcy.
- Earth Fare, Inc. – counsel to landlord in grocer bankruptcy.
- The Krystal Company – counsel to landlord in restaurant bankruptcy.
