William P. Weintraub

Bill Weintraub is a retired partner in Goodwin's Financial Industry practice. A veteran restructuring and insolvency lawyer with 42 years of experience, Mr. Weintraub represents debtors and significant creditors in diverse industries and in connection with bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring and reorganization matters.

Mr. Weintraub is widely recognized as an expert in his field, having received several significant honors and been appointed to several key professional organizations and societies. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He served as co-chair of the ABI’s Business Reorganization Committee (2010-2012) and before that as Education Director of the Business Reorganization Committee (2008-2010). Mr. Weintraub was appointed to the American Bankruptcy Institute's Task Force on Civility. He is also a member of the Committee on Business Bankruptcy of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. Mr. Weintraub is also a frequent speaker, lecturer and writer on matters of note in corporate restructuring, and has been recognized by U.S. News-Best Lawyers every year since 1995.

Mr. Weintraub’s experience includes:

• Involvement in the General Motors Ignition Switch Multi-District Litigation representing the interests of the MDL Co-Lead for Ignition Switch Personal Injury Plaintiffs in the Bankruptcy Court. He has also represented several law firms representing accident victims in the Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Weintraub successfully litigated serious due process failures by General Motors at the time of the sale of its assets to a government sponsored entity in GM’s bankruptcy case and obtained a precedent-setting ruling on the requirements of due process in bankruptcy sales from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Weintraub co-authored the opposition that defeated General Motors’ petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. He continues to be involved in several aspects of the General Motors case including litigation over the scope of the Second Circuit’s ruling and the permissibility of late proofs of claim from persons denied due process in connection with the claims bar date.
• Representing one of the owners of a diagnostic testing services company in a contested prepackaged plan of reorganization. As part of the global settlement that preserved the debtor’s business from liquidation, Mr. Weintraub was actively involved in the Bankruptcy Court and on appeal in litigating disputes surrounding the efficacy and propriety of third-party releases granted in favor of Goodwin’s client.  
• Assisting the firm’s litigation team in the Chapter 11 case filed by New England Compounding Pharmacy. Mr. Weintraub helped negotiate a settlement between Goodwin’s client and the Chapter 11 trustee for the debtor and obtain third-party releases that covered Goodwin’s client.
• Involvement in complex fraudulent transfer analysis and litigation in such matters as Tribune Corporation, Lyondell Chemical Co. and Bernard L. Madoff Securities, Inc.
• Serving as counsel to major creditors, official creditors’ committees, official bondholders’ committees, plan sponsors, and/or acquirers in the Chapter 11 cases of Guy F. Atkinson Company of California, At Home Corporation (d/b/a Excite@Home), Agway Inc., Lone Star Industries, Inc., Worlds of Wonder Inc., Smith Corona Corporation, Catapult Entertainment, Inc., Sugar Bowl Corporation, Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc., Neostar Real Estate Group, Inc., Calpine Corporation, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, Silicon Graphics, Inc., Pizza Time Theatre, Inc. (d/b/a Chuck E. Cheese’s) and Scientific Micro Systems, Inc.
• Representing G&G Retail, Inc., AgriBioTech, Inc., Tri Valley Growers, Landels Ripley & Diamond, LLP, Unisil Corporation, Daley Corporation, Everex Systems, Inc. and Star Graphic Arts Company. He served as special counsel to the Chapter 11 debtor in the bankruptcies of Spiegel, Inc. and Global Crossing Limited, and has represented PG&E Corporation, the parent company of Chapter 11 debtor Pacific Gas & Electric Company. He has also represented one of the nation’s largest financial institutions as indenture trustee in several Chapter 11 cases.
• Representing various creditors in In re Sears Holdings Corporation et al.
• Representing various creditors in In re The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., et al.
• Representing acquirer of the assets of The Rockport Company via 363 sale.
• Representing private equity sponsor in prepackaged Chapter 11 case of FullBeauty Brands Inc.
• Representing private equity sponsor in prepackaged Chapter 11 case of Southcross Energy.

Mr. Weintraub is widely recognized as an expert in his field, having received several significant honors and been appointed to several key professional organizations and societies. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He served as co-chair of the ABI’s Business Reorganization Committee (2010-2012) and before that as Education Director of the Business Reorganization Committee (2008-2010). Mr. Weintraub was appointed to the American Bankruptcy Institute's Task Force on Civility. He is also a member of the Committee on Business Bankruptcy of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Prior to joining Goodwin in 2014, Mr. Weintraub was a partner at Stutman, Treister & Glatt in New York City. Previously, he was a partner at Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman, where he headed its Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Group. Additionally, Mr. Weintraub was a name partner in the nationally recognized boutique insolvency firm Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub, and he began his legal career at Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Mr. Weintraub has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy 2022.

Mr. Weintraub was a 2021 recommended lawyer for Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Corporate by The Legal 500. Mr. Weintraub has been recognized as a standout practitioner in U.S. News - Best Lawyers every year since 1995 (1995–2020), and has earned the New York Super Lawyer designation every year since 2006 (2006–2021).

Mr. Weintraub is a frequent speaker, lecturer and writer on matters of note in corporate restructuring. He has spoken at programs of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, California Continuing Education of the Bar, the Central California Bankruptcy Institute, the Insolvency Institute of Canada, CLE International, the Norton Bankruptcy Law Institutes, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Symposium and the Bar Association of San Francisco.

He is a contributing author to Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice. Additionally, he has written several articles and comments on complex topics relevant to his field.