Overview
Patricia serves as the Finance, Real Estate and Bankruptcy Practice Group Leader. Patricia helps creditors and trustees enforce their rights and protect their interests in all aspects of individual and commercial bankruptcy proceedings, as well as out-of-court workouts and restructurings. Patricia helps individuals and businesses collect money that is rightfully due in both judicial and non-judicial settings. She also represents small and mid-sized businesses to large corporations in multi-faceted litigation matters in state and federal court. Her work with financial institutions includes collections, loan workouts, foreclosures, receiverships and various complex banking and finance issues.
Patricia concentrates her practice in the following areas:
- Bankruptcy: Represents creditors and trustees in connection with complex bankruptcy issues in Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 cases. By way of example, her experience includes negotiation of and objections to plans, nondischargeability actions, motions for relief from stay, objections to exemptions, reaffirmation agreements, avoidance of security interests, asset administration, and preference and fraudulent transfer actions.
- Banking & Finance: Represents banks, credit unions, secured creditors, and other types of financial institutions in loan workouts, foreclosures, collections, and various complex banking and finance issues.
- Collections: Represents banks, credit unions, creditors, individuals, and other types of businesses in negotiations, litigation, appointment of receivers, and post-judgment activities to collect on judgments, delinquent accounts, and contractual obligations.
- Real Estate: Represents banks, credit unions, businesses and individuals in simple and complex real estate matters, including judicial foreclosures, quiet title actions, foreclosures of construction liens, receiverships, and issues surrounding breach of Michigan Builder's Trust Fund Act. As a former real estate agent, Patricia is familiar with the sale of residential and commercial real estate and represents both buyers and sellers.
- Commercial Litigation: Represents small and mid-sized businesses to large corporations in multi-claim litigation, including receiverships, business dissolution and separations, and other contentious matters in state and federal court.
Prior to joining the firm Patricia excelled in both academic and applied pursuits. She graduated with a perfect 4.0 from Saginaw Valley State University, earned a full scholarship to Thomas M. Cooley Law School where she earned nine certificates of merit (highest grade in the class), served as the Managing Associate Editor of Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, and graduated second in her class with magna cum laude honors.
Honors & Recognitions
Michigan Super Lawyers "Rising Star," 2016-2018
Marquis Who's Who® in America
Featured Alumna at The Board of Fellows Meeting, Saginaw Valley State University, January, 2010
The Sol Siegel Award Recipient, Thomas M. Cooley Law School 2009
Affiliations
Memberships & Affiliations
Legal Affiliations:
- State Bar of Michigan
- Ingham County Bar Association
- Bankruptcy Section, Co-Chair
- American Bar Association
Industry & Professional Associations:
- American Bankruptcy Institute
Community Involvement
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Board of Directors, 2017
- Junior League of Lansing
- Board of Directors, Treasurer 2014-2015
- Endowment Board of Directors, Treasurer 2015-2016
- Small Talk Children's Assessment Center
- Board of Directors, 2015-Present
- Vice-President, 2017
Experience
Representative Matters
- Settled out-of-court on a case where a client was sued for over $300,000 and 42 cows on claim and delivery and conversion claims for $13,000 and one cow.
- Represents financial institutions and bond trustees in receivership actions, including liquidation of corporations and schools.
- Regularly represents bankruptcy trustees in all matters concerning the administration of the estate, and successfully recovers assets for the bankruptcy estate.
- Represents financial institutions and business creditors in enforcement of debt obligations, including settlement negotiations, litigation matters, foreclosure actions, appointment of receivers and recovery against personal guarantors.
- Counsel business and financial institution clients in collection methods, including best practice measures and how to minimize outstanding accounts receivable.
- Assisted in representation of numerous defendants in a multi-claim state fraudulent conveyance action for several million dollars that resulted in a favorable settlement for the clients.
- Assisted in representation of a large corporation sued in bankruptcy court in a one million dollar preference action that resulted in a successful settlement for approximately one-tenth the amount pursued.
- Assisted in having debt owed the client declared nondischargeable by motion for summary judgment in a bankruptcy case of a debtor who had been operating a Ponzi scheme.
Communications
Recent Blog Posts
Michigan Bankruptcy Blog
- Chapter 7 Debtors Permitted to Amend Schedules to Claim Homestead Exemption after Successful Avoidance Action by Trustee
- U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Debtor’s False Oral Statement Concerning Single Asset Does not Provide Basis for Non-dischargeability Action
- Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Penalties Associated with Michigan Unemployment Benefits Fraud are Non-dischargeable in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Cases
- Bankruptcy Court Grants Relief from Stay to Credit Union to Exercise State Law Rights Related to Setoff Against Funds in which the Debtor's Children Hold an Interest
- The Debtor, not the Trustee, is Entitled to Funds Being Held by a Trustee Following Dismissal of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case
- Significant Changes to Bankruptcy Rules Effective December 1, 2017
- Trustee’s Avoidance of Transfer by Chapter 7 Debtors Does Not Necessarily Preclude Debtors from Claiming an Amended Exemption
- Michigan House Considers Bills Proposing Adoption of the Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act
- Bankruptcy Court Denies Creditors Request for Relief from Automatic Stay to Arbitrate its Claims and Progress Setoff and Recoupment Rights
- Supreme Court Rules that Debt Collector’s Attempt to Collect Time Barred Claim in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case Does not Violate Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Publications
- What To Do When You Receive A Bankruptcy Notice, April 2018 Agricultural Law News, April 11, 2018
- A Systematic Plan for Debt Collection by Agribusinesses, October 2017 Agricultural Law Newsletter, October 26, 2017
- Bankruptcy Court Denies Creditor’s Request for Relief from Automatic Stay to Arbitrate Its Claims, The Michigan Dispute Resolution Journal, September 2017
- Supreme Court Holds that a Debt Buyer is not the Same Thing as a Debt Collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Foster Swift Finance, Real Estate & Bankruptcy News, July 6, 2017
- Michigan Court of Appeals Grapples with Definition of “Surplus” Following a Foreclosure Sale, Foster Swift Finance, Real Estate & Bankruptcy News, February 7, 2017
- Michigan Court of Appeals Analyzes Foreclosure Rights in Two Recent Opinions, Foster Swift Finance, Real Estate & Bankruptcy News, August 18, 2016
News & Events
News
- 31 Foster Swift Attorneys Selected to 2018 Michigan Super Lawyers and “Rising Stars” Lists, September 10, 2018
- Law Firm Elects Practice Group Leaders, February 22, 2018
- 30 Foster Swift Attorneys Selected to 2017 Michigan Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists, September 8, 2017
- Foster Swift Elects Seven New Shareholders, January 18, 2017
- 29 Foster Swift Attorneys Selected to 2016 Michigan Super Lawyers and Michigan Rising Stars Lists, September 2, 2016
Speaking Engagements
- Business Court/Civil Litigation, 2018 ICBA Bench Bar Conference, February 10, 2018
- Western District of Michigan Federal Bar Association’s Best Practices Seminar, Western District of Michigan Federal Bar Association, January 4, 2018
- Civil Litigation Presentation for CP Crash Course, Great Lakes Paralegal Association, March 17, 2017
- Professionalism in Action, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, January 4, 2017
- Civil Litigation Presentation for CP Crash Course, Great Lakes Paralegal Association, May 20, 2016
- Business Court Session, Ingham County Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference, February 2016
Practice Areas
Education
Thomas M. Cooley Law School, J.D., 2009, magna cum laude
Saginaw Valley State University, B.A., 2006, summa cum laude
Bar and Court Admissions
Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Michigan