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Jeffrey I. Snyder

Partner, Assistant General Counsel
305-375-6148
Area of Focus: Business Finance & Restructuring
"[He] is one of those rare attorneys who brings the perspective of the law along with good common sense and business judgment." - Chambers USA source
  • OVERVIEW
  • EXPERIENCE
  • INSIGHTS
  • CREDENTIALS
GET TO KNOW Jeff

Jeffrey’s deep knowledge of bankruptcy and debtor credit laws and previous work as a financial analyst bring a wealth of business and legal insight to his practice. He guides landlords, secured and unsecured creditors, bankruptcy trustees, receivers, debtors, asset purchasers and others through a broad range of bankruptcy matters, receivership proceedings and out-of-court restructuring and workouts. 

In 2019, Jeffrey was appointed to the Local Rules Advisory Committee established by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Jeffrey also enjoys appellate work, handling chiefly bankruptcy appeals in federal court. He argued in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of a secured creditor in the Sagamore Hotel bankruptcy case. Jeffrey secured a decisive victory with a reversal in the case.

 

Q & A
How do you work collaboratively with other practices in the Firm?
A significant amount of what happens in a bankruptcy is driven by non-bankruptcy law. We are dealing with real businesses, with complex issues. On any one matter I may involve colleagues from Real Estate to Corporate to Litigation — these are colleagues who I know personally and who sit right down the hall. I am not turning to someone from New York who I met at a retreat three years ago. My partners are really my partners.
Are there any lessons from your legal career that influence your work today?
Over the years there have been some cases that surprised me in what we were able to accomplish — cases that I thought were difficult to impossible. But we were able to work something tremendous out, and those cases ended up being valuable experiences for me. I have learned through those experiences, particularly workouts, that even the toughest matter can be solved by pursuing different angles and working creatively and doggedly to get to an outcome.
For which appellate work are you most proud?

I handled major aspects of the Sagamore Hotel bankruptcy. We represented a secured creditor and litigated a contested bankruptcy, a contested confirmation, and side litigation over lender liability issues. The case went through bankruptcy court and was appealed at the federal district court and in the Eleventh Circuit, where we secured a reversal in favor of our client. I primarily wrote the briefs and argued the appeal at the Eleventh Circuit. We turned the tide of the case, and eventually secured a favorable settlement. 

My PRACTICES
Bankruptcy Appellate Life Sciences
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
Counsel to Delaware Chancery Court-Appointed Receiver for Prison Health Care Com...
Representation of liquidating receiver for MDI Holdings Inc., appointed by the Delaware Chancery Court. MDI is a health care technology and analysis company whose historical core business was to manage the provision of health care to inmates of federal prison facilities. At its height, the company e...
EXPERIENCE
Eleventh Circuit Requires Payment of Default Interest to Reinstate Defaulted Loa...
Representation of special servicer and holder of mortgage loan on the Sagamore Hotel in an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on orders of the United States Bankruptcy Court and United States District Court. The issue on appeal regarded the determination that Saga...
EXPERIENCE
Debtor's Counsel to Large Telecom Company in Chapter 11 Cases
Served as debtors' counsel to Cordia Communications and certain of its affiliates in the Middle District of Florida, handling all aspects of the debtors' chapter 11 cases, including development and implementation of a ยง363 sale of the clients' business assets to a stalking horse buyer and successful...
EXPERIENCE
Defense of Major Bank in Fraudulent Transfer Adversary Action
Representation of one of the largest banks in Florida in defense of a fraudulent transfer adversary action brought by a chapter 7 trustee before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The trustee alleged that our client received avoidable transfers in excess of $80 ...
EXPERIENCE
General Counsel to the Swan Asbestos and Silica Settlement Trust
Representation of the Swan Asbestos and Silica Settlement Trust and its three former trustees prior to the successful consummation of a settlement that resulted in, among other things, the dismissal with prejudice of several million dollars of litigation claims against the Trust. Responsible for wor...
EXPERIENCE
General Counsel to Equity Receiver Over Non-Profit Biomedical Research Institute
Representation of the court-appointed equity receiver over Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida Corp. ("VGTI"), a non-profit, biomedical research institute established in 2008 with the assistance of a $60 million grant from the State of Florida's Innovation Incentive Fund intended to anch...
INSIGHTS
Blog October 16, 2014
Bitcoin: Currency, Commodity or None of the Above?
In my recent post, I discussed the shortcomings of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code as applied to Bitcoin. Bitcoin does not fall within the definition of “money” under UCC § 1-201, nor do Bitcoin wallets come within the UCC’s definition of “deposit accounts.&rdqu...
Blog June 19, 2014
Secured Lender Protection Limited When Bitcoin is Collateral
On June 17, 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas granted recognition under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code of the bankruptcy proceeding in Japan of failed bitcoin exchange, Mt Gox. Mt. Gox shut down after claiming to lose over $500 million (at current values) of customers’ bitcoins, som...
CREDENTIALS
  • University of Texas, J.D., with honors, 2005
    University of Pennsylvania, B.S., Economics, The Wharton School, 1999
  • Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida

    Board of Directors, Director - At Large , 2014 - 2017, 2018 - 2021, 2021 - 2024
    Meetings and Programs Committee Chair, 2012 - 2013

    U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida
    Advisory Committee on Revision of Local Rules of Practice, 2019
    The Florida Bar
    Business Law Section
    Bankruptcy Judicial Liaison Committee
    Bankruptcy UCC Committee
    National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges
    Next Generation Program, 2012
    Dade County Bar Association
  • Florida
    Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
    U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
    U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
    U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
    U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida
    U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Florida
    U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida

  • Chambers USA, Restructuring & Bankruptcy, 2017- present

    Chambers USA, Restructuring & Bankruptcy, Up and Coming, 2015 - 2016

    Law360, Rising Star - Bankruptcy, 2014

    Florida Super Lawyers, 2017 - present

    Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2010 - 2016

    Daily Business Review, Most Effective Lawyers - Complex/Business Litigation finalist, 2016

    Bankruptcy Bar Association, Distinguished Service Award, 2017

    Dade Legal Aid/Put Something Back, Special Recognition Award, 2015

    Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County, 2013