Practice Areas

• Bankruptcy & Insolvency
• Litigation

Education

Temple University School of Law, J.D., cum laude (1976)

George Washington University, B.A. (1973)

Admissions

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Third Circuit

Memberships

Member,  Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations

Member,  New Jersey Bar Association

Member,  American Bar Association

Member,  American Bankruptcy Institute

Member,  Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference

Member,  Robert Morris Association

Morton R. Branzburg

Morton R. Branzburg is a founding member of Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers, LLP and is co-chair of its Debtor-Creditor & Insolvency Department.  

Mr. Branzburg represents secured and unsecured lenders, institutional creditors (some which are Fortune 50 companies), creditors committees, private equity funds, venture capital companies and other constituents in all aspects of bankruptcies, restructures and all aspects of workouts.  He appears regularly in bankruptcy courts in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. 

In 2002, he was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve a second term on the Court’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee.  He also is a lecturer on debtor-creditor matters.

Mr. Branzburg has been recognized by various prestigious publications for his accomplishments in commercial litigation and debtor-creditor relations.  Chambers USA said this in its 2007 edition:

"Gifted in the courtroom," Morton Branzburg won client praise as a "truly brilliant and talented individual with a really firm command of the law - he always thinks ahead and considers every angle."  He is highly experienced in advising on all aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship, including representing committees and secured creditors, and advising multi-national corporations in financial distress.  He recently acted as trustee and plan administrator of a liquidating trust in relation to patent litigation in New York, with potential claims exceeding $1 billion.

Mr. Branzburg has also been recognized in "Best Lawyers in America" and he was named by other lawyers as one of Pennsylvania's top bankruptcy lawyers in surveys conducted by the polling organization Law and Politics.  Details concerning the selection process and the overall results of the survey were published in the June 2009 edition of Philadelphia Magazine or at www.superlawyers.com. 

Mr. Branzburg holds an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell, which is the law publication's highest rating.  From 1999-2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointed Mr. Branzburg to serve on that court's Civil Procedure Rules Committee.

Mr. Branzburg’s more recent noteworthy representations include: 

Debtor/Creditor   

• Successfully represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a provider of acute care mental health services that resulted in a 100 percent recovery, plus interest, to unsecured creditors.
• Successfully represented Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a nursing home facility, resulting in a 100 percent recovery, plus interest, for all unsecured creditors.
• Successfully represented a variety of debtors in chapter 11 reorganization proceedings.
• Successfully represented international supplier of food products in bankruptcy of national retailers.
• Successfully represented international distributor of pharmaceuticals as creditor in a bankruptcy case of a chain of pharmacies in which the distributor received payment in full of its outstanding debt.
• Represents banks and other lending institutions in workout and recovery phases of delinquent and non-performing loans.

Corporate

• Successfully represented the American owner of a Swiss resort in a sale to a German conglomerate.
• Successfully represented the American purchaser of an Italian manufacturer of lubrication equipment.  The seller was in an insolvency proceeding in Italy.
• Successfully represented the purchaser of the assets of a chapter 11 debtor manufacturing grandstands for stadiums and sporting facilities.
• Represents start-up companies regarding their organization and entity formation.

Litigation

• Successfully represented a major educational institution as the owner in litigation against contractors and architects who improperly designed and built a school.
• Successfully prosecuted a claim relating to improper implementation of a software system.
• Successfully obtained an injunction enjoining former employees from competing with their former employer.