01/06/2006
Felsenthal Featured as “Mover of the Week” in DowJones Bankruptcy Publication
After spending 18 years as a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, Steven Felsenthal joined the law firm of Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka in October 2005 as a shareholder.
Felsenthal was appointed to the bankruptcy court in August 1987 and was promoted to chief judge in April 2002. Just ten months after taking the bench, Felsenthal was handed one of the biggest cases of his career – the bankruptcy of FirstRepublic Bank Corp. in 1988. It was one of the largest bank failures in Texas history. Felsenthal presided over other large cases during his time on the bench, including the bankruptcy of retailer Zale Jewelry Corp. Despite the headlines that large cases can grab, Felsenthal said he enjoyed presiding over large and small cases. “You take just as much satisfaction in seeing mom and pop survive as you do seeing Zales survive,” he said.
Over the 18 years he served on the bankruptcy court, Felsenthal said his judicial philosophy centered on precedent. “I had an approach as to how I used precedent,” he said. “If I disagreed with the 5th Circuit, I didn’t look for ways around it.”
Felsenthal said his decision to leave the bench was based on timing. “I spent so many years on the bench that I hit a point where there were opportunities to try other parts of our profession,” he said.
Felsenthal’s work at Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka primarily focuses on Chapter 11 bankruptcies, representing creditors committees and working in mediations and arbitrations.
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