Thomas Bucknell

Thomas Bucknell

About

Experience and Qualifications

Significant Litigation

Reorganizations and Receiverships

Experience and Qualifications

  • JD degree University Washington School of Law.
  • Executive Editor of Washington Law Review.
  • Clerk to the Hon. Keith Callow, Washington State Court of Appeals.
  • Co-founder of 3 Seattle firms with regional/national complex litigation and reorganization practices.
    1. Collier Bucknell, a boutique commercial litigation firm specializing in antitrust, class actions, consumer protection, aviation regulation litigation, libel and defamation and commercial torts.
    2. Shulkin, Hutton and Bucknell specializing in major Chapter 11 cases, and complex business litigation with a special emphasis on lender liability litigation. The Shulkin firm became a recognized, regional leader in these practice areas.
    3. Bucknell Stehlik (recent name Bucknell Sato) emphasizing reorganization and complex commercial cases involving breach of fiduciary duty , shareholder disputes, fraud, ponzi schemes, RICO, insolvency and receiverships.
    • Washington Super Lawyer. Chosen every year of the program (2000-2022). Martindale Hubbel AV rating.
    • Lender Liability. Nationally recognized lender liability trial lawyer. Co-author of a textbook on lender liability and lecturer in many states and ABA conventions.
    • Litigation Many multi million dollar recoveries in cases filed, litigated and resolved as lead counsel.
    • Chapter 11/Receivership. Active participation in many/most of the major Chapter 11 cases in Washington (and many in Oregon, Alaska, Montana) in the last 30 years, representing debtors, trustees, committees, receivers, creditors and equity holders in the major reorganization cases.
    • Extensive experience in major, complex, commercial mediation both as mediator and counsel for parties. Frequently acted as counsel in mediations before leading mediators on the west coast in cases involving major commercial disputes, with many millions at issue.
    • Early Settlement. Negotiations in major cases allowing quick resolution of complex litigation.
    • “Bet the Business Cases.” Extensive experience in counseling and litigation and/or reorganization where the future of a business was at risk.
    • White Collar Crime. Extensive experience in counseling. strategizing and litigating complex business litigation or reorganization cases where client faced potential criminal exposure.
    • International / Extradition.  Co- counsel in a major, successful opposition to a US DOJ effort to extradite a high-profile US client from France.

    Significant Litigation

    • Many other judgments, recoveries and negotiated or mediated settlements in excess of 1 million each.
    • I have served as lead or co-counsel in major cases against international banks, insurance companies, private equity lenders and officers and directors, often asserting theories of lender liability, misrepresentations, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, etc. Many involved complex computations of economic damages.
    • L.A. Federal District Court 18.5 million dollar jury verdict against a large Canadian bank. Collected 22.5 million after appeal by the 9th Circuit.
    • Federal District Court in Tacoma. Pre-trial settlement involving private equity company utilizing a loan to wrongfully pay dividends to shareholders. Mediation provided a 13.5 million recovery and debt reduction of 37 million.
    • Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Washington. 9.25 million settlement against Fortune 500 defendant. The claims concerned defendant’s sale of its controlling interest in debtor cruise line. Theories included preference, fraudulent conveyance, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion.
    • Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Washington. Settlement of 8.3 million in favor of litigation trust which took assignment of bank claims against the debtor for fraud.
    • Federal District Court, Minneapolis. 3.25 million settlement jury case against an insurance company for fraud in failing to furnish credit enhancement insurance to borrower.
    • Many other judgments, recoveries and negotiated or mediated settlements in excess of 1 million each.

    Reorganizations and Receiverships

    For over 30 years I had major involvement in most major chapter 11 cases in Washington and several other western states. Recently the reorganization emphasis has been on receivership remedies. A few examples are briefly cited below.

    • Chapter 11. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Washington. I represented the debtor, an owner of a major petroleum pipeline that exploded, killing children. The company was owned by 2 fortune 500 oil conglomerates. A complex, court approved reorganization settlement plan allowed all claims to be paid and the pipeline to continue to function.
    • Chapter 11. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Washington. I represented the debtor, the largest private timber company in the northwest, in a successful plan that preserved the major assets including sawmills and timberland.
    • Receivership, King County Superior Court. I represented the receiver for several major investment companies which had received over $100 million from investors but were unable to meet requests for return of funds. The main advisor and his wife were indicted and convicted of fraud. We worked with federal and state agencies and fashioned relief based on a complex Ponzi analysis that returned over 50% of investor funds.
    • Receivership, King County Superior Court. I represented the receiver for a member of a prominent Seattle family who discretely evaluated and sold large assets with little public attention including a waterfront home, a large hobby farm, a hotel, and a large tract on Maui. The case involved nuanced negotiations with banks, hard money lenders, and taxing authorities.

     

    Contact

    EMAIL:    TBUCKNELL@BSSS-LAW.COM   |   TOMBUCKNELL@MSN.COM (Please use both)

    PHONE:   Office 206.587.0144   |   Personal (Use Anytime) 206.390.7756

    ADDRESS:   2003 Western Ave., Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98121

    Contact

    EMAIL:
    TBUCKNELL@BSSS-LAW.COM
    TOMBUCKNELL@MSN.COM 
    (Please use both)

    PHONE:
    Office 206.587.0144
    Personal (Use Anytime) 206.390.7756

    ADDRESS:
    2003 Western Ave., Suite 400
    Seattle, WA 98121