From: Sunnyvale, California

NACBA’s June 2009 Member of the Month, Wayne Silver, has a practice in Sunnyvale, CA. A bankruptcy specialist certified by the California Bar, Wayne handles bankruptcy matters and appeals that encompass a wide variety of issues, from representing victims of predatory lenders and Ponzi schemes, to defending discharges, preference and fraudulent transfer claims, and of course planning and executing bankruptcy strategies for small (and some not so small) businesses and individuals. Wayne’s current cases illustrate the diversity of his bankruptcy practice:

• An individual Chapter 11 for an internet entrepreneur facing a staggering monetary judgment for copyright infringement and related litigation and appeals.
• Representation of a number of investors in a high profile series of bankruptcy cases that fell victim to a well known venture capitalist who was looting their investment accounts.
• Pro bono defense of a homeowner facing eviction from her family home after foreclosure on a predatory loan.
• An attorney sanctioned tens of thousands of dollars by a bankruptcy judge for issuing a subpoena in the wrong court.
• A married couple accused of being alter-egos and held liable for the debts of their company.
• Representation of the non-filing spouse involved in a complex family law matter.
• The majority shareholder and CEO of a large construction company confronted with a criminal investigation in an on-going corporate bankruptcy case.

Wayne’s published cases include defense of an insider preference that helped to clarify the distinction between statutory and non-statutory insiders (In re Enterprise Acquisition Partners, 319 BR 626) and clarification and reaffirmation of the supplemental jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts (In re Sasson, 424 F. 3d 864). He has appeared pro hac vice in bankruptcy Courts around the country including Florida, Delaware, Texas, Michigan, and Nevada.
 
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, he set out on an off-shore entrepreneurial venture that “spectacularly failed,” (Wayne’s words), sowing the seeds of a lifelong fascination with entrepreneurs, risk taking, and business failures. Returning stateside to join the banking industry while attending New York Law School at night, he found a home in strategic planning for new business ventures and opportunities in the area of institutional venture capital lending.

Dissatisfied with the politics and red tape of corporate finance and being an outdoor enthusiast stuck in the “City,” Wayne left New York for Northern California in 1980 and joined a leasing company called ITEL Corporation, not knowing it would soon become the largest Chapter 11 case to be filed under the then fledgling 1978 Bankruptcy Code. At the same time Wayne was finishing up his law degree through the University of San Francisco’s night program. ITEL decided that since the company was paying the freight for Wayne’s law degree, he should return the favor and become all things bankruptcy.

During the day, Wayne was charged with the responsibility of assembling, reviewing and evaluating hundreds of ITEL aircraft, railcar, marine container and computer leases, to determine if they were executory contracts. At night, Wayne attended a USF class on the new bankruptcy laws taught by the same attorneys who also happened to represent a very large class of ITEL creditors.

After leaving ITEL and graduating from USF, Wayne joined a small bankruptcy law firm in Silicon Valley where he wound up in the middle of a Chapter 9 bankruptcy case that convinced him bankruptcy law was his future. He found it not only challenging and rewarding, but also, an opportunity to put his entrepreneurial and business experience to practical use. So Wayne set out on his own to open a solo law practice specializing in bankruptcy, which 25 years later has evolved into a complex bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation practice.

When he’s out of the office, you will often find Wayne piloting his general aviation airplane to destinations throughout the West, where he and his significant other Violet, (who is also his office manager, or they would never get to see each other) have had the opportunity to visit and hike such remarkable places as the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion and Escalante National Parks.

Wayne relishes a challenge, strives to change and shape the law where it needs to be changed, and believes if you have never lost a case you are playing it too safe. In keeping with that spirit, Wayne is a named Plaintiff in Connecticut Bar Association v. USA, the case that challenged several troubling provisions of BAPCPA concerning how attorneys are characterized as debt relief agencies and limiting what they can and cannot tell prospective clients.

Commenting on his NACBA membership, Wayne said: “NACBA is instrumental is helping all of us learn the intricacies of bankruptcy law, in no small part though the Listserv. For solo practitioners it keeps us connected to a cross-section of talented and creative bankruptcy attorneys to share ideas and cases of interest on a host of bankruptcy and related issues. “We are in the midst of an economic upheaval not seen since the Great Depression, and this is our time to shape history. I admire NACBA’s unfaltering effort to influence Congress to improve the bankruptcy system and undo the damage caused by BAPCPA, against sometimes overwhelming obstacles, one issue at a time. It is rare to find an organization so dedicated to advancing such laudable goals, and an inspiration to be part of the effort. I am honored to have been chosen as NACBA’s member of the month, and look forward to continuing to work with NACBA and all of you in the challenging years ahead.”