John Lucas, resident in the firm’s San Francisco office, concentrates his national practice representing debtors, official committees, trustees, and lenders in corporate bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings. Among his many engagements, John was instrumental in the representation of the creditors’ committee in Boy Scouts of America, the creditors’ committee in Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Mesa Airlines, American Suzuki Motor Corporation, A.M. Castle & Co., Sedgwick LLP, Lehman Brothers, Response Genetics, Silicon Graphics, and numerous national and regional restaurant chains. John is an author on a wide range of bankruptcy topics. John is a board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and a member of its Education Committee. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Los Angeles (1992) and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Oregon School of Law (2004) where he was a member of the Oregon Law Review. After graduating from law school, John clerked for the Honorable Robert D. Drain in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (2004-2006).
Clerkships
•Law clerk, Judge Robert D. Drain (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2004-06)
Publications
•Debtor-in-Possession Financing Funding a Chapter 11 CaseAmerican Bankruptcy Institute (2012)
•Creditor’s Self-Interest Precludes Fee Reimbursement From the Estate September 2012
•First Day Motions (3d ed.) A Guide to the Critical First Days of a Bankruptcy CaseAmerican Bankruptcy Institute, June 2012
•“Approval of the DIP Financing Order” in Debtor-in-Possession Financing: Funding a Chapter 11 Case (ABI 2012)
•Coauthor, “The Role and Retention of the Chief Restructuring Officer,” in The Americas Restructuring and Insolvency Guide (2008/2009)
•“The Article 9 Buyer’s Seller Rule & The Justification for Its Harsh Effects,” 83 Oregon Law Review 289 (2004)
News
Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon '500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers' Guide for 2025
Lawdragon June 27, 2025
PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
August 15, 2024
Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers for 2024
Lawdragon June 14, 2024
Sexual Abuse Claims Settlement Approved in Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Inc. Bankruptcy
August 21, 2023
PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2024 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
August 17, 2023
Eighteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers for 2023
Lawdragon June 16, 2023
PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2023 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
August 18, 2022
Fourteen PSZJ Attorneys Named to 2022 Lawdragon '500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers' Guide
LawdragonJanuary 14, 2022
PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2022 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
August 19, 2021
PSZJ Attorneys Named in 2021 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
August 20, 2020
Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones: Five M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards
February 1, 2014
American Suzuki Swiftly Glides to Plan Confirmation
March 6, 2013
Third Edition of First Day Motions Guide Published
American Bankruptcy InstituteJune 1, 2012
Delaware Bankruptcy Court Determines Debtor’s QSub Status to Be Property of the Bankruptcy Estate, Protected by the Automatic Stay and Section 549 Avoidance Powers
March 1, 2012
Passive Investors With the Right to Control a Company Are Subject to Liability Under the Perishable Agriculture Commodities Act
January 1, 2012
PSZJ Represents Floramoda in Nurserymen's Exchange Asset Purchase
August 1, 2011
Pachulski Stang Wins Corporate Turnaround Deal of the Year Award
June 1, 2011
Events
Retail and Restaurant Bankruptcies: Current Issues
Strafford Live Webinar
February 17, 2021
363 Sales: Pertinent Issues and Alternatives
32nd Annual NW Bankruptcy Institute Portland OR
April 5, 2019
Very Good Debates
25th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Coronodo CA
September 8, 2017
Very Good Debates
26th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Las Vegas
September 7, 2018
Addressing Environmentally Contaminated Property: A Primer
90th Annual National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges San Francisco
October 28, 2016
Very Good Debates
24th Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Las Vegas
September 9, 2016
Very Good Debates
23rd Annual American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Las Vegas
September 11, 2015
Report of the ABI Task Force on Plan Confirmation: Recommendations for Sale Cases
American Bankruptcy Institute 33rd Annual Spring Meeting Washington DC
April 18, 2015
363 Sales: Is the Fast Track the Right One?
American Bankruptcy Institute 21st Annual Southwest Bankruptcy Conference Incline Village NV
August 23, 2013
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respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
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