Overview
Emil Khatchatourian is a senior counsel and bankruptcy lawyer in the Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice of Foley & Lardner LLP. Mr. Khatchatourian focuses his practice on complex corporate bankruptcy and restructuring matters, including bankruptcy litigation issues in state and federal courts.
Mr. Khatchatourian has represented debtors, trustees, official committees of unsecured creditors, secured lenders, trade creditors, purchasers of assets, and other stakeholders in all aspects of corporate bankruptcies, restructurings, liquidations, and workout situations.
Representative Matters*
- Antares Capital in connection with numerous out-of-court workout transactions
- Bank of Montreal, as administrative and collateral agent, in an out-of-court restructuring and assignment for the benefit of creditors
- Second lien lender group led by NXT Capital and Ironwood Capital in an out-of-court restructuring
- Third lien lender group in the chapter 11 cases of Halcón Resources
- Stone Energy Corporation as debtors’ counsel in chapter 11 cases
- Universal Cooperatives, Inc. as debtors’ counsel in chapter 11 cases
- Court-appointed receiver in all aspects of federal SEC receivership action
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Foley.
Education
Mr. Khatchatourian received his law degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles (J.D., 2009) and an advanced degree in bankruptcy law from St. John’s University School of Law (LL.M., 2013). He received his bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from the University of California, Los Angeles (B.S., magna cum laude, 2004), where he graduated with departmental highest honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Clerkships
Prior to joining Foley, Mr. Khatchatourian clerked for the Honorable Christopher M. Klein and the Honorable Robert S. Bardwil at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California. He also drafted bench memoranda and opinions for Judge Klein when he sat by designation for the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit.
Recognition
Mr. Khatchatourian has been selected for inclusion in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Illinois Super Lawyers–Rising Stars® lists for his bankruptcy work.*
*The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.
Admissions and Professional Memberships
Mr. Khatchatourian is admitted to practice in California and Illinois. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Chicago Bar Association and the Lawyers Club of Chicago.
Publications
- “Bankruptcy Needs to Get Its Priorities Straight: A Proposal for Limiting the Leverage of Unsecured Creditors’ Committees When Unsecured Creditors Are “Out-of-the-Money,” American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, Winter 2018 (co-author)
- “Unpaid ERISA Contributions and Fiduciary Liability under § 523(a)(4),” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, November 2013 (co-author) (cited in Herbert v. Hesse (In re Hesse), 516 B.R. 491 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 2014))
Languages
- Armenian