Jonathan L. Howell

Associate

Overview

Jonathan is an Associate in the Insolvency, Restructuring & Creditors' Rights group.  Jonathan's practice focuses on corporate Chapter 11 restructurings and bankruptcy-related litigation.  Prior to joining Munsch Hardt, he served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable D. Michael Lynn, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Texas, during which time he played a substantial role in drafting numerous opinions and orders in many complex cases.  Before Jonathan's clerkship, he interned for the Honorable Stacey G.C. Jernigan, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Texas, and the Honorable Ron Clark, District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Texas.  He has also been involved in editing several legal publications including Collier on Bankruptcy, Collier Handbook: For Debtors in Possession, Chapter 11: The Practice of Corporate Reorganization law, and Cases and Materials on Civil Procedure.  Jonathan's representative experience includes:

• Served as lead counsel in successfully defending a Dallas-based technology company against Nortel Networks, Inc. for alleged preferential transfers aggregating more than $3.1 million and resulting in a complete dismissal of all allegations
• Acted as lead counsel for multiple Texas-based landlords in the Blockbuster, Inc., et al. bankruptcy case, filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Manhattan Division, successfully maximizing landlords' recoveries for unpaid lease obligations
• Served as lead counsel to commercial lender in reorganization case filed by transportation company, qualifying as a "small business" debtor under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, successfully preserving commercial lender's full repayment of pre-bankruptcy loan balance under favorable Chapter 11 plan terms
• Represented largest distributor of natural gas in the United States in numerous complex Chapter 11 cases, including Pilgrim's Pride, Charter Communications, Inc., Flying J, Inc., Lear Corporation, Linens Holding Co., Masonite Corporation, Movie Gallery, Inc. and SemCrude, L.P. bankruptcy cases
• Assisted auction participant that bid on assets, valued at $2.7 billion, in the Erickson Retirement Communities LLC, et al. bankruptcy case in an attempt to acquire the debtors' operations
• Served as debtors' counsel for franchisees that owned and operated 22 Wyndham-based hotels in Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota in Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings
• Represented crane companies as debtors' counsel in Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings
• Acted as debtors' counsel to various restaurant franchisees in multiple Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases
• Served as counsel to creditors' committee in Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc., et al. bankruptcy case

Memberships & Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Litigation (Young Lawyer's Editor) and Litigation Sections
• Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Foundation Fellow
• Dallas Bar Association, Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section
• Dallas Regional Chamber, Young Professionals 
• Dallas Summer Musicals Associate Producers
• DFW Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers, Lunch with the Judges Program Chair
• Marquee Circle, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts
• State Bar of Texas, Bankruptcy Law Section, Non-lawyer Outreach Liaison for the Young Lawyers Committee 
• The College of the State Bar of Texas
• Turnaround Management Association

Admissions

• Texas
• United States District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas

Articles & Speeches

• July 2011 — Trade Creditors in Bankruptcy
• August 2010 — Supreme Court Considers Schedule C Exemption Valuations in Schwab v Reilly
• June 2, 2010 — Evidence Rules and Trial Tactics in Bankruptcy Court
• August 2010 — Chapter 11 Practice — Bankruptcy Nuts & Bolts: The Basics of Cash Collateral and DIP Financing
• April 10, 2010 — Bankruptcy 101: What Every Bankruptcy Attorney Needs to Know About Cash Collateral and DIP Financing
• April 2010 — Commercial Landlord Issues in Bankruptcy
• October 2009 — What Every Landlord Should Know About Non-Residential Tenant Bankruptcies
• September 2009 — Navigating a Small Business Bankruptcy Case — The Benefits and Perils
• August 2009 — Bankruptcy 101: What Every Young Lawyer Should Know About Non-Residential Tenant Bankruptcies
• June 2009 — A Primer on Commercial Landlord Issues in Bankruptcy
• March 30, 2009 — Utilizing Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code to Combat Fraud
• March 30, 2009 — Registration of Businesses in the United States
• November 2008 — Preferences: When is a Payment Made by a Third Party Not Protected by the "Earmarking Doctrine?"
• July 2008 — Judicial Estoppel: Is Judicial Estoppel Proper when a Debtor Neglects to Enter a Pending Lawsuit as an Asset in Their Bankruptcy Proceedings?
• Spring 2008 — International Insolvency Law, 42 Int'l Law. 113
• April 2008 — Jurisdiction: When Does a Bankruptcy Court Have Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over a Post-Confirmation Proceeding?
• February 2008 — Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases: May a Party-in-Interest Rebut the Presumption that the Debtor's Habitual Residence is the Debtor's Center of Main Interest (COMI)?
• Winter 2007 — Recent Developments in NAFTA Law, 13 Law & Bus. Rev. Am. 253
• Spring 2007 — Privatization of Pemex, 13 Law & Bus. Rev. Am. 461
• 2007 — CHAPTER 11 PLANS: Wiping Out a Lien by Not Expressly Preserving It in a Plan Provision
• 2007 — Single Asset Real Estate: What Constitutes a Single Asset Real Estate Debtor Subject to Expedited Reorganization Procedures Set Forth in Section 362(d)(3)?