Ann Marie Uetz is a partner and trial attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP. Ms. Uetz is former chair of the Litigation Department in the Detroit office and is vice chair of the firm's national Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice, which was recently ranked by Bankruptcy Law360 as one of the nation's top 10 bankruptcy practices based upon new and recent engagements.
Ms. Uetz was selected for inclusion in the 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Michigan Super Lawyers® lists. Ms. Uetz was also named to DBusiness magazine's 2009 list of Top Lawyers in the areas of bankruptcy and business law. She has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system. She is the former chair of the firm's National Institute for Trial Advocacy training.
Ms. Uetz is a member of the firm's Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations, Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Construction Practices. She represents clients in bankruptcy and business disputes in federal bankruptcy and district courts across the country, and in state courts. Ms. Uetz also represents clients in restructuring their debt and operations, with particular emphasis on the manufacturing, real estate and resort/hospitality industries. She has particular experience in commercial real estate loan workouts, having represented senior secured lenders in connection with properties throughout Michigan.
Ms. Uetz is a member of Foley's Hospitality, Resort and Golf Industry Team. She is also a member of Foley's Automotive Industry Team and served as co-chair of the firm's national Automotive Crisis Response Team, comprised of more than 50 attorneys across the firm in various disciplines related to the automotive crisis of 2009. Her practice focuses on representing debtors and creditors (both secured and unsecured) prior to and during bankruptcy. She has particular knowledge and experience in all aspects of the supply chain. She provides counsel to customers and suppliers regarding their contracts and their best business position both prior to and after a bankruptcy filing by one of their suppliers or customers.
Ms. Uetz brings to this sector a unique combination of knowledge and experience under the Uniform Commercial Code (i.e., the UCC), the Bankruptcy Code, as well as significant trial experience. She is thus able to advise her clients regarding their existing rights and legal obligations as well as counsel how those rights and obligations might be affected by a bankruptcy filing by her clients' customers or suppliers. This provides her clients with the tools they need to best position themselves in this evolving economic environment.
Ms. Uetz also has particular knowledge and experience in real estate and secured lender matters. Her work in this area is increasingly focused on loan workouts and creditor interests in the commercial real estate and hospitality/golf course/private club industries.
Significant current and recent representations include:
· Lead counsel for large automotive supplier in successfully defending and defeating a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in Oakland County Circuit Court, which had sought to continue shipments to a tier one supplier under a series of alleged requirements contracts (Oakland County Circuit Court, Case No. 10-111700-CK, Judge Daniel P. O'Brien, July 2010)
· Lead counsel for senior secured lender in the Double JJ Chapter 11 bankruptcy (1100-acre resort property in northwest Michigan)
· Lead counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Centrix Financial, LLC, reorganizing the underwriting and servicing of sub-prime loans involving $1.9 billion of outstanding loans
· Lead counsel for Trustee for the Centrix Liquidating Trust (sub-prime automobile loans), prosecuting more than $100 million in claims against insiders and others
· Special counsel to Debtors in Dura Automotive Systems Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and lead counsel for reorganized Dura in connection with avoidance actions
· Counsel to Debtors in Blue Water Automotive Systems Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a $200 million automotive supplier
· Counsel to Debtors in Venture Industries Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a $2 billion automotive supplier
· Counsel to creditor in Country Club of Lansing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, private golf club (plan of reorganization confirmed March 2010)
· Counsel for Tier I and Tier II suppliers in connection with the automotive industry's financial challenges
· Counsel to numerous creditors in the Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation Chapter 11 bankruptcies, overseeing Foley's team which filed appearances on behalf of more than 80 automotive suppliers in these two cases
Ms. Uetz's recent speaking engagements and publications include the following:
· "Lenders Seek Alternatives to Foreclosures," Michigan Lawyers Weekly (August 16, 2010, Co-Author)
· "Leveraging Critical Vendor Status and Assumption of Contracts to Obtain More Favorable Commercial Trade Terms in Supply Contracts," Inside the Minds, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Strategies, 2010 Ed. (Aspatore Books, a Thomson Reuters business)
· "Seller, Beware: Delivery of Goods Post-Petition May Cost You," The Bankruptcy Strategist (Volume 27, Number 9, July 2010)
· "Seller Beware," LJN's Equipment Leasing Newsletter (June 2010, Co-Author)
· "Action Checklist for Chapter 11s," Association of Corporate Counsel/ACCA (April 2010, Novi, Michigan)
· "New Standards For Equitable Mootness?" Bankruptcy Law360 (April 14, 2010, Co-Author)
· "Legal Strategies for Maximizing Success," Original Equipment Suppliers Association/OESA (March 2010, Cleveland, Ohio)
· Supplier Strategies for New Chrysler and New GM (September 10, 2009, Foley & Lardner LLP Web Conference)
· "No Free Ride for Suppliers," Michigan Lawyers Weekly (August 24, 2009, Co-Author)
· Automotive Industry Crisis in 2009: What happens if you have to go to Plan B...as in Bankruptcy? (April 28, 2009, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)
· Automotive Industry in Crisis: What You Need to Know About a Chapter 11 Case (February 5, 2009, Detroit, Michigan)
· Automotive Industry in Crisis: Strategies for Supplier Survival (full briefing November 21, 2008, Troy, Michigan; webinar December 12, 2008)
· "Gift Arrangements in Chapter 11 [A Viable Tool?]," Michigan Bar Journal (July 2008, Co-Author)
· Participation on panels regarding avoidance actions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, at conferences hosted by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM)
· Instruction at National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) programs, on Trial, Motion and Deposition Practice
Ms. Uetz has tried many jury cases, bench trials and arbitrations, and has argued numerous cases in both state and federal courts. Ms. Uetz has extensive experience litigating contested matters, claims and adversary proceedings in bankruptcy courts. She has obtained and avoided preliminary injunctive relief in state, federal district and bankruptcy courts, and has avoided class certification in federal courts. She has considerable experience in appellate litigation, having briefed and argued appeals from bankruptcy court orders, and cases before the Michigan and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Ms. Uetz is admitted to practice before all federal and state courts in the State of Michigan, various federal district and bankruptcy courts throughout the country, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and before the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Uetz graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan (B.A., political science) in 1989. Ms. Uetz graduated magna cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1993, where she received the Driker Award for achieving the highest grade point average (4.0) in the first year class. Ms. Uetz was also selected for the Order of the Coif and served as an associate editor of the Wayne Law Review.
Ms. Uetz is committed to mentoring young attorneys, and was a 2009 recipient of Foley's Carl Hitchner Mentor of the Year Award. These awards are presented each year to a few select partners to recognize outstanding mentoring.
Ms. Uetz is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and IWIRC (International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation). She is also actively involved in local arts and community affairs. Ms. Uetz is a member of the board of directors for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and is a graduate of Leadership Detroit XXV.