Brendan G. Best

Brendan G. Best is a partner, chair of Varnum's Restructuring Group, and co-leader of the Banking, Restructuring and Finance Practice Team. Brendan's practice focuses on complex Chapter 11 restructurings, out-of-court workouts and insolvency-related transactions and litigation. Brendan has substantial experience advising stakeholders in insolvency-related matters across a wide array of industries including manufacturing, automotive, building supply and service, energy, oil and gas, health care, food service, gaming, hospitality, construction and real estate.

Brendan serves as outside insolvency counsel for clients, advising them on commercial issues with troubled customers and suppliers, and he also frequently serves as counsel to official unsecured creditors’ committees in Chapter 11 cases.

Brendan counsels buyers, sellers, lenders and other stakeholders in complex troubled company transactions, both out of court and in Section 363 bankruptcy sales. Brendan is also a stand-up bankruptcy litigator who has successfully represented clients in bench trials over issues including adequate protection, plan confirmation, valuation and other matters, as well as non-dischargeability actions, avoidance actions, and other debtor-creditor matters in state and federal courts, including automotive tooling and construction lien litigation. He is a frequent writer and speaker on restructuring, workouts and bankruptcy.

Illustrative examples of Brendan's work include serving as: debtor's counsel in the successful Chapter 11 restructuring of Greektown Casino and plan sponsor's counsel in the successful restructuring of University Physician Group; counsel to pre-petition agents and DIP lenders in several large automotive Chapter 11s; counsel to numerous sellers and buyers in out of court and in court distressed asset sales; and counsel to more than ten Chapter 11 official committees of unsecured creditors across the country. Additional examples of Brendan's experience can be found on his Experience tab.

In recognition of his achievements in bankruptcy and restructuring, Brendan is routinely honored as a top practitioner by publications including DBusiness© magazine, Best Lawyers in America® and Michigan Super Lawyers®. He is a board member and immediate past president of the Turnaround Management Association's Detroit chapter and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.