Patrick M. Birney co-chairs Robinson+Cole's Bankruptcy + Reorganizations group and is a member of our Business Litigation group.
Corporate Restructuring + Creditors’ Rights
Since 1998, Patrick has focused his practice on complex transactional, litigation, and advisory work related to the debtor/creditor relationship, including restructurings, Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, workouts and "pre-packaged" Chapter 11 matters, and commercial finance. He has extensive experience representing secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, debtors, official and ad hoc creditors' committees, and other parties in Chapter 11 restructurings, adversary proceedings, state court receiverships, and out-of-court workouts.
Patrick’s involvement in debtor-side restructurings includes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, as well as the jointly-administered O.W. Bunker USA and O.W. Bunker, N.A. cases, which were awarded the International Restructuring Deal of the Year (Over $500MM to $1B) and Energy Deal of the Year (Over $500MM to $1B) in 2017 by M&A Advisor, a premier network of M&A, Turnaround and Finance professionals. His role in creditor committee representations includes the Chapter 11 cases of Mallinckrodt, Inc., which was awarded the Healthcare/Life Sciences Deal of the Year in 2022 (Over $100MM) by M&A Advisor. Patrick’s representation of asset purchasers includes serving as counsel to the successful asset purchaser of Carla’s Pasta, a well-known traditional pasta manufacturer, for which Robinson+Cole was selected as the Food & Beverage Restructuring Deal of the Year at the 2023 Turnaround Atlas Awards. He also represented the secured lender in the successful Chapter 11 restructurings of an international toy manufacturer; the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of Halloween costumes; a large continuing care retirement community; and an insurance agency. Patrick also has represented the ad hoc committee of members in restructuring of a private ski resort.
Business Litigation
Patrick has a broad range of experience handling commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts, routinely representing businesses involved in contract disputes, fraudulent transfer, fraud, civil theft, and intercompany claims. He has represented businesses in the insurance, manufacturing, health care, distribution, logistics, shipping, energy, retail, and construction industries.
Patrick recently obtained summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of an international manufacturer regarding claims of breach of contract.
Community + Pro Bono Involvement
Patrick is committed to doing pro bono work and being actively involved in the community. He participated in the firm’s Domestic Violence Restraining Order Program, which assists victims with obtaining restraining orders. He is co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors for G.R.O.W.E.R.S., Inc., which provides employment and educational opportunities for intellectually disabled clients, and has previously served as Trustee and Corporate Secretary for Masonicare, Inc., Connecticut’s largest not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, and as president of the N.E.W. 34th Charitable Corp., an organization that helps fund civic and charitable causes in the New Haven, Connecticut area.
In 2023, Patrick became a duly elected Connecticut Probate Judge for the Town of Wallingford. He has previously served as a member of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s Board of Directors, serving as the board’s vice chairperson and chairperson of the board’s Finance Committee. He also served as vice chairperson of the Wallingford Public Utilities Commission between March 2015 and December 2022, which oversees operations of the $100 million Wallingford Electric Division, one of six municipal-owned electric utilities in Connecticut. Prior to that Patrick served on the Wallingford Planning and Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Patrick is a frequent lecturer and participant on educational panels related to bankruptcy, insolvency, commercial law, and creditors' rights. In addition, he is a frequent author and contributor to several national bankruptcy publications. To date, his articles have been cited by several judicial opinions, including In re Dito, Inc., 2021 WL 510199 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2021); In re Reichgott, 2013 WL 5492532 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio, 2013), and In re Kebe, 444 B.R. 871, 880 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio, 2011).
Patrick was included in the Top 100 Restructuring Professionals list by the Global M&A Network, has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law since 2017, and was selected as “Lawyer of the Year” (Hartford) in the area of bankruptcy and restricting by the same organization in 2022.
