Penelope Parmes is the chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy/Financial Practices Group and is based in the Southern California office. Ms. Parmes practices business insolvency law emphasizing representation of non-debtors. Her clients include secured creditors, landlords, buyers and sellers, and trade creditors, as well as other parties in interest affected by financial insolvency whether in or outside of a bankruptcy case.
Her experience encompasses issues arising out of debtor-creditor relationships including: receiverships, prejudgment remedies (writs of attachment, possession, turnover orders), wrongful foreclosure defenses, fraudulent transfer and preference litigation, enforcement of notes and guarantees, obtaining injunctive and declaratory relief.
Her practice covers both real estate matters as well as issues relating to operating companies. A substantial portion of Ms Parmes’ practice over the years has included representation of lenders regarding adequate protection and cash collateral litigation, valuation issues, avoiding actions and plan confirmation litigation. Ms. Parmes practices in local, regional and national matters in bankruptcy cases of all sizes.
She is a long-time board member and former president of both the California and Los Angeles bankruptcy bar associations, a founding member and former president of the Warren J. Ferguson American Inn of Court, and has served as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Ms. Parmes has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer, in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, in 2005-2012. She is a certified mediator for the Bankruptcy Court of the Central District of California. She has been honored on two occasions for having successfully resolved the largest cases mediated in the Central District, and for three years has been acknowledged as the most frequently chosen mediator.
Recently, she was honored with the Peter M. Elliott Award from the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, recognizing Penelope’s overall achievements in bankruptcy law and her contributions to the community.
Areas of Expertise
- Bankruptcy
- Workouts
- Creditors' Rights
- Mediation
Various Representative Matters
- Counseling board of directors on duties of officers and directors pre- and post-FDIC receivership, and overseeing ultimate bankruptcy filing by the bank holding company, after seizure of the bank by the FDIC.
- Numerous representations of institutional lenders in workouts, receiverships and other enforcement actions regarding a variety of loan relationships such as: home builders, guarantors, technology companies, service providers, retailers and suppliers.
- Numerous representations of suppliers and landlords in workouts, collection actions and bankruptcy matters (including reclamation claims, preference and fraudulent conveyance defenses, and critical vendor negotiations).
- Representation of national real estate franchisor and lender regarding residential real estate brokerage franchisees involving workout negotiations, foreclosures of personal property interests including membership interests and intellectual property rights, as well as bankruptcy litigation relating to cram down and valuation disputes.
- Representation of corporate debtors in non-bankruptcy workout negotiations with secured creditors in oil and gas and ethanol industries.
Seminars
- Moderator, "Impact of Bankruptcy on Real Estate Transactions," Continuing Education of the Bar, Orange County and Los Angeles, January 2012
- Moderator, "Lender and Borrower Workouts: An Update on Strategy," IMN's Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing, January 2012
- Moderator, "Options When Keeping The Owner Involved: Changing Loan Terms, Modifications, Extend & Pretend," IMN's Banking & Financial Institutions Special Assets Executive Forum on Real Estate Workouts, September 2011
- Moderator, "The Inside(r) Straight: Rights, Roles and Remedial Actions With Respect to Corporate Insiders," American Bankruptcy Institute's Southwest Conference, September 2011
- Panelist, "Individual Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases-The Mini-Moguls," 9th Circuit Chief Bankruptcy Judges' Conference, November 2010
- Panelist, "Commercial Real Estate Loan Defaults, Workouts and Strategies," Continuing Education of the Bar, Los Angeles, October 2010
- Panelist, "Impact of Bankruptcy on Real Estate Transactions," Continuing Education of the Bar, San Francisco and Los Angeles, September 2010
- Panelist, “Crack the Code – The Best Advice for Working With Men,” 4th Annual Comerica Bank Women’s Business Symposium, May 2010
- Lecturer for Continuing Education of the Bar, Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, Orange County Bar Association, and American Bankruptcy Institute
Publications
- "Overcoming the Challenges Facing Women Attorneys", Orange County Business Journal, April 2011
- "Volunteer Attorney Program Can Alleviate Bankruptcy Court's Massive Workload", Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 2011
- “Are we (Still) Working In A Man’s World?”, Orange County Business Journal, May 2010; Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 2010
- Contributing Author for Continuing Education of the Bar, Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, Orange County Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and Rutter Group
- Contributing Author for Aspatore Books’ Inside the Minds and Thought Leadership series including: Structuring and Negotiating Reorganization Plans; Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Law 2009 and 2012 (Top Lawyers on Trends and Key Strategies for the Upcoming Year); West First Focus: The Buyout of Bear Stearns