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Craig Martin

Craig Martin

Partner

Global Co-Chair, Restructuring

Managing Partner, Wilmington office

Wilmington
About

Craig Martin has spent his legal career working on complex distressed situations.

Craig has represented numerous parties in a variety of cases, including equity committees, committees of unsecured creditors, bank groups, indenture trustees and debtors. He has also advised purchasers of assets in bankruptcy auctions and court-approved sales and frequently provides bankruptcy-specific advice in complex mergers and acquisition situations involving distressed entities.

While Craig has appeared in the bankruptcy courts all across the US, his work frequently focuses on cross-border situations. He has acted as counsel in cases in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, Spain, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Africa, the UK and Argentina. Craig has also acted as first-chair litigation counsel in a number of cases involving terms of bond indentures, such as x-clauses, permitted indebtedness clauses and other covenants.

Areas of FocusRestructuringFinance
Bar admissionsDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaNew YorkPennsylvaniaTexas
CourtsUnited States District Court for the District of ColoradoUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of TexasUnited States District Court for the Southern District of TexasUnited States District Court for the District of DelawareSupreme Court of the United States

EXPERIENCE

Craig has:

  • Represented a non-debtor Belgian subsidiary in a contentious adversary litigation involving a corporate group of companies, the ultimate parent of which is a post-confirmation chapter 11 debtor. See In re Total Containment Inc., 2007 WL 1775364. Craig led the client through the litigation and mediation, resulting in a 90 percent reduction of the client's alleged liability
  • Guided a senior secured lender through a contentious five-day trial for the appointment of a trustee to operate a distressed television station, leading to payment in full of the lender's principal and interest
  • Performed due diligence and drafted complex representations and warranties protecting a Spanish purchaser of a distressed business from liabilities for bankruptcy expenses and accrued taxes. Craig also recently drafted the bankruptcy provisions of an asset purchase agreement in which a US company bought assets from a distressed company based in Germany
  • Advised a chapter 11 debtor and manufacturer on the liquidation of its non-debtor Canadian subsidiary and litigation over ownership of cash proceeds of a demutualization of an insurance company
  • Negotiated a royalty payment from an Indian purchaser of a US debtor's assets on behalf of an Irish pharmaceutical corporation in a manner that was acceptable to the divergent interests of different creditors and investors
  • Advised a publicly traded distressed textile corporation with operations in Honduras and Nicaragua on its prearranged bankruptcy filing. In the course of this representation, Craig negotiated with an ad hoc committee of public bond holders and assisted in the preparation and presentation of the numerous "first day" bankruptcy motions
  • Defended a Hong Kong corporation against a multimillion-dollar fraudulent transfer and preference action brought against it in Wilmington, Delaware, which required the review of thousands of documents, the preparation of a complex summary judgment motions, hiring and managing financial experts and spending two weeks in Hong Kong where he served on a team that took eight depositions in two weeks using Chinese translators under the supervision of the Hong Kong Court
Education
  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center
    cum laude
  • M.Sc., University of Edinburgh
  • B.A., History, Texas Christian University

Awards

Chambers USA

  • Band 2, Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring (2019-2024) 
  • Band 3, Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring (2017-2018) 
  • Band 4, Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring (2012-2016)

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Restructuring (including Bankruptcy): Corporate (2020, 2024)
Additional Awards
  • Pre-Pack Restructuring of the Year, PARTS iD, Global M&A Network (2024)
  • Subchapter V Restructuring of the Year, Global M&A Network (2024)
  • International Matter of the Year Award for China Fishery Group Limited - ABI (2023)
  • Top 100 Restructuring Professional Lawyers – Global M&A Network (2023)
  • Designated a Fellow in the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL International) part of the Winning Deal Team – Turnaround/Transaction of the Year – Small Company, Turnaround Management Association (2021)

Pro Bono

The chair of the Delaware State Bar Association's Veterans Law Committee, Craig frequently lectures on US veterans law and represents disadvantaged veterans on a pro bono basis.

Bylines

  • Co-author, "Is There a Common-Law Alternative to Chapter 15?" ABI Journal, August 2024
  • Co-author, "US and Foreign Courts Adopt the Judicial Insolvency Network's Cross-Border Guidelines," ABI Journal, May 24, 2017
  • Co-author, "Mediation in Cross Border Disputes," Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, Spring/Summer 2015
  • Contributing author, Chapter 15 for Foreign Debtors, American Bankruptcy Institute, 2015

Seminars

  • Panelist, "Cross-Border Recovery in Fraudulent Schemes," ABI Annual Spring Meeting, April 2024
  • Speaker, "Forensic Panel," Cross-Border Insolvency Program hosted by ABI, October 2023
  • Speaker, "State Intervention & Green Re-Industrialization," TMA Europe, July 2023
  • Moderator, "Chapter 15 and Cross Border Practice in the District of Delaware," INSOL USA/Canada Membership Development Committee Meeting, June 2016
  • Speaker, "UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights," Costa Rican Bar Association, October 2015

Media Mentions

Prior Experience

  • Extern, the Honorable Wesley W. Steen, United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member, INSOL International Board of Directors, 2024-2027
  • American Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Delaware Bankruptcy Inn of Court
  • Membership Relations Director, Asset Sales Committee, American Bankruptcy Institute 
  • Chair, Younger Members Committee, INSOL International
  • Chair, Delaware Veterans Law Committee

My latest insights

Publication

President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs – Should we prepare for more financial distress...

9 April 2025 .5 minute read

News

DLA Piper receives four Deal of the Year awards from Global M&A Network as part of annual...

24 September 2024 .2 minute read

Publication

Is There a Common-Law Alternative to Chapter 15?

8 August 2024 .3 minute read

View All

Connect

Phone

+1 302 468 5655
(Work, Wilmington)
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