Jeffrey I. Snyder

Partner, Assistant General Counsel

305-375-6148

jsnyder@bilzin.com

Area of Focus: Business Finance & Restructuring

"His analytic insight is excellent, he gets right to the heart of the matter quickly and sees the big picture." - Chambers USA

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.

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.

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My PRACTICES

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...

Receiverships Technology Healthcare

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...

Bankruptcy Appellate

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...

Securities Financial Services

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...

Bankruptcy

                    
                Prior to law school, Jeffrey was a financial analyst handling primarily venture capital work at a Fortune 5 company.

CREDENTIALS

Education

University of Texas, J.D., School of Law, with honors, 2005

University of Pennsylvania, B.S., Economics, The Wharton School, 1999
Involvement

Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida

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

Dade County Bar Association

The Florida Bar

Business Law Section
Bankruptcy Judicial Liaison Committee
Bankruptcy UCC Committee

National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges

Next Generation Program, 2012
Bar Admissions

Florida

Texas
Court Admissions

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
Awards/Honors

Chambers USA, Restructuring & Bankruptcy, 2017

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

Law360, Rising Star - Bankruptcy, 2014

Florida Super Lawyers, 2017

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