Matthew Ward is the leader of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights practice group of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, and is the Office Managing Partner for the firm's Wilmington, Delaware office, and a member of the Firm Management Committee.
He has extensive experience serving as primary counsel for numerous public and private companies, guiding them through all aspects of complex Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 proceedings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, or reorganizations out of court. Matthew has also regularly represented official committees of unsecured creditors as lead counsel. Additionally, his experience includes work for numerous private companies, money management firms, and private equity funds as bidders/purchasers in bankruptcy proceedings, acquisitions of distressed assets and change of control transactions. Finally, Matthew has represented numerous public and private companies, hedge funds, and governmental entities as creditors or other stakeholders in litigation.
Matthew is one of only seven attorneys in the State of Delaware certified by the American Board of Certification as a Business Bankruptcy Specialist, and has consistently been listed in Chambers USA for bankruptcy matters. Matthew has been selected on several occasions to give presentations on a variety of topics of bankruptcy law. Additionally, the Delaware State Bar Association chose him as the statewide winner of the DSBA Community Service Award, based on his demonstrated commitment to leadership and service in activities that enrich and strengthen the community over a substantial period of time. The National Diversity Council also presented Matthew with the Leadership Excellence in the Law award based on his dedication to racial integration and providing opportunities to racial minorities.
Publications
A Restatement or a Redefinition: Elimination of Inherent Agency in the Tentative Draft of the Restatement (Third) of Agency, 59 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1585 (2002)
Civic Activities
Guardian Ad Litem, Office of the Child Advocate
Honors and Awards
- AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Delaware, 2015 – Present
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings) in the fields of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Bankruptcy, 2017 – Present
- Super Lawyers Honoree, Bankruptcy, Delaware Super Lawyers magazine (Thomson Reuters), 2018 – 2020
- Selected to the Delaware Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) in Bankruptcy, 2012 – 2013
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Primary counsel to multiple companies as chapter 11 debtors, including Retrotope, Inc. (Delaware), Friendly’s Restaurants (Delaware), Scout Media, Inc. (New York), and Brevity Ventures Inc. (Delaware)
- Counsel to assignees for the benefit of creditors of ACP Insurance, Family Christian Stores, PetEdge, Picture People, and ReEquip Solutions
- Primary counsel to numerous official committees of unsecured creditors, including Coyne International Enterprises, Electroglas, Revstone Industries, and Tintri
- Counsel to lenders in chapter 11 proceedings, including Bank of America (Philadelphia Energy and Rand Logistics), J.P. Morgan (Boy Scouts), and Crystal Financial (Bon-Ton Stores)
- Counsel to buyers of distressed assets, including Gildan Activewear (American Apparel), Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods (Capitol Infrastructure), Hilco Merchant Resources (Edwin Watts Golf Shops), Hilco Trading (Sparrows Point), RegenMedTX (Tengion), and LFI Holding (Leisure Fitness)
