Melinda A. Bialzik
Shareholder: Business Litigation
mbialzik@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOMelinda A. Bialzik
Shareholder
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Melinda returned to her native Wisconsin. Melinda has developed a practice focused on trial and appellate representation of businesses and business leaders faced with critical litigation challenges. Her experience encompasses all phases of the litigation process, from investigation through discovery, motion practice and trial and appeal as well as alternative dispute resolution. Melinda has successfully litigated trial and appellate cases in federal courts, most notably the Seventh Circuit, in Wisconsin state courts and also courts in other states under pro hac vice admission, for the duration of the legal proceeding. In addition to her general trial and appellate litigation practice, Melinda has represented railroads in a number of litigation actions involving the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), crossing accidents, and in related federal preemption litigation. Melinda also assists business owners with estate planning and trust and estate matters, working to create estate plans tailored to their individual requirements, from wills and powers of attorney to establishing complex trust arrangements. She has also represented personal representatives in probate proceedings. She represents commercial landlords in eviction proceedings, lease negotiations and documentation, as well as in wider landlord/tenant counsel and litigation concerning the issues that arise in the course of operating a commercial property portfolio. LEARN MORE ABOUT MELINDA
Ryan M. Billings
Chair: Business Litigation
rbillings@kmksc.com
414-962-5110
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Ryan M. Billings
Chair: Business Litigation
Ryan Billings is a Wisconsin native who practices complex litigation, representing business entities in civil litigation, appeals and alternatives to litigation. Mr. Billings earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Ivy-League institutions before practicing for several years with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City. He brings substantial experience to clients in business-critical litigation in regional, national and international settings.LEARN MORE ABOUT RYAN
David S. Chartier
Of Counsel
kmksc@kmksc.com
414-962-5110
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David S. Chartier
Of Counsel
David has been at the forefront of commercial finance and transactions law for over 30 years, both as an attorney and as practice group chair in the specialized area of collections law and the enforcement of creditors’ rights throughout Wisconsin. During this time, he has gained deep experience in all aspects of commercial finance counseling and in the representation and protection of business interests in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts on issues involving contract law, checks, construction lien/bond law, the Uniform Commercial Code and general business and consumer credit law, and any litigation relating thereto. If a legal issue relating to commerce arises, the chances are that David has been there and done that before.David regularly represents secured and unsecured business creditors, financial institutions, and liquidating Bankruptcy trustees and state court receivers. He has aggressively resolved business disputes, in and out of court, and has a long record of debt recovery and asset liquidation in Wisconsin and beyond.
With seasoned judgment accumulated over 35 years of both general and specialized experience in law and business, David’s practice also includes transactions advice, document drafting, negotiation assistance in such areas as real estate and business asset purchase and sale transactions, bank lending, contract review and drafting, corporate and business entity formation and dissolution.
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Samuel M. Draver
Associate: Business and Financial Services
sdraver@kmksc.com
414-962-5110
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Samuel M. Draver
Associate
Samuel M. Draver is an associate attorney in Kohner, Mann, & Kailas’s Business and Financial Services Practice Group, which represents lenders and commercial creditors in a wide variety of matters, including commercial real estate foreclosure, loan workouts, debt recovery and enforcement, proceedings under the Bankruptcy Code and Wisconsin Chapter 128, defense of preferential transfer claims, and equipment recovery and repossession matters.
Prior to joining KMK, Mr. Draver worked at Milwaukee area firms representing employers in worker’s compensation matters, as well as personal injury and labor law, where he focused on achieving cost-effective, practical results for clients where possible, but litigating aggressively when required.
Mr. Draver obtained his Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School, and his undergraduate degree from Marquette University. During law school, Mr. Draver served on the Student Bar Association Executive Board, and interned with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
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Lance E. Duroni
Associate: Business Litigation
lduroni@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOLance E. Duroni
Associate
Lance Duroni is a valued member of KMK’s litigation department. He assists with litigation as well as mediation and arbitration to successfully resolve disputed matters in lieu of litigation to deliver efficient, cost-effective, and timely resolutions. While attending Marquette University Law School, Lance was an associate editor of the Marquette Law Review, where he was a published author. He also interned with Justice Rebecca Bradley of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Federal Defenders office in Madison. Prior to entering law school, Lance worked as a journalist for Law360, the news division of Lexis-Nexis, where he helped launch Law360’s coverage of various courts in Delaware, including the venerable Delaware Chancery Court. He later reported from the federal courts in Chicago, including the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. LEARN MORE ABOUT LANCE
David J. Gengler
Associate: Commercial Collections
dgengler@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIODavid J. Gengler
Associate
David Gengler is a creditors’ rights attorney who resolves the commercial debt recovery challenges for business creditors. David is entirely focused on liquidation of commercial debt. He achieves this through negotiating out-of-court settlements or by managing arbitration or litigation in whatever locations necessary to secure the optimal recovery for our client. David came to KMK with prior experience of debt recovery as part of a wider civil litigation practice that included courtroom representation, alternative dispute resolution and out-of-court resolution. Since joining KMK, David has managed the liquidation of delinquent accounts from debtors located throughout North America, where necessary working through members of KMK’s network of trusted local co-counsel. LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID
Alexander E. George
Associate: Commercial Collections
ageorge@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOAlexander E. George
Associate
Alex practices in the firm’s mortgage default services department which incorporates all aspects of residential mortgage foreclosure and associated bankruptcy issues necessary to the protection of the rights of lending institutions. Prior to joining KMK, Alex gained invaluable experience representing debtors in consumer bankruptcy cases. In this position, he became well versed in the practice and operation of consumer bankruptcy proceedings. During law school, he interned for the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s Milwaukee Field Office where he worked on reviewing and finalizing HUD mortgage loan closings. LEARN MORE ABOUT ALEXANDER
Matthew P. Gerdisch
President
mgerdisch@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOMatthew P. Gerdisch
President
Matthew Gerdisch, president of the firm, concentrates on representing the interests of creditors, providing counsel to a national client base in the areas of business and banking, bankruptcy, secured transactions, commercial transactions, and construction bond and lien law. A shareholder since 1996, he is an integral part of the firm’s Commercial Finance Practice Group, participating in the negotiation, litigation and alternative dispute resolution undertaken by the firm to advance the interests of clients throughout North America. Mr. Gerdisch has been certified by the American Board of Certification in both business bankruptcy law and creditor’s rights law. This process requires independent examinations as well as peer review designed to ensure levels of expertise not otherwise expected or required of lawyers. He has extensive experience in all facets of creditor representation and protection in state, federal and federal bankruptcy courts. He has represented secured and unsecured creditors, receivers, trustees and formal and informal creditors’ committees, securing many millions of dollars and the full enforcement of their rights for clients and creditors. LEARN MORE ABOUT MATTHEW
David M. Henry
Associate: Commercial Collections
dhenry@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIODavid M. Henry
Associate
David M. Henry is an AV-Rated Attorney with over 20 years of experience representing many large, mid-size, and smaller businesses. Mr. Henry concentrates his practice on the resolution of construction, commercial bankruptcy and secured and unsecured commercial claims. He places construction liens and enforces construction liens and construction bond claims throughout the 50 states. David manages liquidation of commercial debt directly and, when required, by the management of selective local counsel throughout the U.S. and beyond. He was an invited speaker on optimizing lien and bond process at the 30th Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting in 2012. Before joining the legal profession, Mr. Henry was an award-winning journalist of several years standing. As a lawyer he has both written for and edited a number of professional publications. LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID
Steve Kailas
Senior Advisor
skailas@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOSteve Kailas
Senior Advisor
Steve Kailas was originally a litigator dealing with the representation of business interests in commercial bankruptcy cases. His activities delivered contractual desserts for his creditor clients in bankruptcy and reorganization venues. Representing creditors and creditors’ committees, Steve has a rich history of exposing, litigating and reversing fraudulent transfers to recover for creditors. His victories delivered handsome dividends to creditors. Through the years, his successes have included the substantive consolidation of debtor estates to assure equitable treatment of all classes of creditors, and the piercing of the corporate veil of an alter ego entity to reach assets improperly transferred to avoid creditors. His legal experience includes complex litigation to recover preferential payments under bankruptcy law and state insolvency law in a vast number of legal disputes and complex factual scenarios. LEARN MORE ABOUT STEVE
Philip H. Lucht
Associate: Business Development/Client Liaison
plucht@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOPhilip H. Lucht
Associate: Business Development/Client Liaison
Philip concentrates on the management of commercial and business litigation and a transactional practice in commercial finance and environmental law. A former journalist, and editor on the staff of Newsweek Magazine, he is well placed to understand business and the issues facing individual businesspeople. Philip is responsible for establishing effective working practices and relations with new clients, and is the primary day-to-day project and client management contact for many of our clients. Philip has provided responsible cost-effective recovery of assets and debt on thousands of matters, representing many millions of dollars in recovered value for KMK clients through both negotiation and trial advocacy. Philip has years of experience in providing environmental regulatory and compliance consultancy relating to potential acquisitions and assessment of existing liabilities. He has conducted numerous Phase I Environmental property assessments for commercial and industrial clients throughout the United States and Canada, including Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Kohl’s Department Stores, and Steelcase. His environmental experience also includes CERCLA super fund assessments, state and federal soil and groundwater cleanup, corrective action programs, air and water pollution control and permitting, hazardous materials management, and brownfield redevelopment analyses and the coordination of and research for appeals under the State of Wisconsin Environmental Cleanup Fund (PECFA) for corporate clients. LEARN MORE ABOUT PHILIP
Eric R. Von Helms
Shareholder: Business and Financial Services
evonhelms@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOEric R. Von Helms
Shareholder: Business and Financial Services
Eric von Helms is an experienced creditors’ rights lawyer who specializes in the representation, protection and assertion of business and commercial claims of secured and unsecured creditors. He is experienced in all facets of creditor representation and protection, certified by the American Board of Certification in business bankruptcy law. Eric is a seasoned litigator who has regularly represented creditors before state and federal courts, arbitration panels and administrative law judges. He also resolves a large volume of workout solutions, chattel-secured foreclosure and replevin actions. His responsibilities include actions to recover secured and leased collateral, before state and bankruptcy courts, relating to high-value capital equipment lease disputes. Eric continues KMK’s impressive record of defending commercial creditors against preference payment claims brought against them under Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. LEARN MORE ABOUT ERIC
Zach S. Whitney
Shareholder: Business Litigation
zwhitney@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOZach S. Whitney
Shareholder: Business Litigation
Zach came to KMK with substantial first-chair trial experience. A former Law Clerk to the Hon. John L. Coffey, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, he earned his spurs as a litigator as Assistant District Attorney in Milwaukee County, handling investigation and prosecution of some of the most serious criminal behavior. Zach now applies his considerable courtroom experience for the benefit of our business and commercial clientele. He litigates wide-ranging business and commercial matters in courts around the country as well as in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution forums. LEARN MORE ABOUT ZACH
Samuel C. Wisotzkey
Chair: Business and Financial Services
swisotzkey@kmksc.com 414-962-5110 READ BIOSamuel C. Wisotzkey
Chair: Business and Financial Services
Samuel “Sam” Wisotzkey, Chair of the firm’s Finance Department, focuses his practice on commercial, business bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law. He has extensive experience assisting secured and unsecured business clients in solving the problems associated with financially troubled customers, tenants, and vendors, both prior to and within formal insolvency proceedings in both state and Federal courts. He regularly assists clients in navigating Chapter 11 proceedings filed by a customer or vendor in cases throughout the country, including advising regarding critical vendor arrangements, sales under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, asserting reclamation and administrative claims and pursuing adequate protection payments and relief from stay actions to protect real and personal property collateral. LEARN MORE ABOUT SAMUEL
Darrell R. Zall
Chair: Commercial Collections
dzall@kmksc.com
414-962-5110
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Darrell R. Zall
Chair: Commercial Collections
Mr. Zall concentrates on solving practical business problems for clients in all areas of contracts, creditor’s rights and corporate financial services. He is accomplished at resolving client problems, including the liquidation and collection of commercial debt, by early definition of the legal and practical issues involved and the strategy calculated to deliver the best result. He applies this results-orientated approach to out-of-court negotiation, court action, or the use of informal mediation and arbitration, to deliver the best solutions for clients in a cost-effective manner.Darrell regularly negotiates out-of-court payments, promissory note arrangements and court stipulated payment plans based upon pragmatic assessment of the immediate recovery potential of each and every matter under his charge. When required, however, he has the litigation skills to resolve commercial issues by court action.
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