Overview
Kelly is a principal at Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, and is a member of its Commercial practice group and its Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring team. She has over a decade of experience advising corporate debtors and creditors, including committees of unsecured creditors, trustees, equity holders, purchasers of distressed assets, and other parties in interest in the areas of bankruptcy, financial restructuring, debtor-creditor relations, and commercial litigation.
Throughout her career, Kelly has advised clients in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceutical, retail, healthcare, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, food services, transportation, and education. Most recently, she led a number of engagements in the pharmaceutical and specialty retail sectors where she facilitated the complex sales of the debtors’ businesses to maximize creditor distributions.
Her practice spans a wide range of restructuring matters, including cases under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, assignments, receiverships, and cross-border insolvency proceedings. Although resolving most litigation prior to trial, she is also skilled in representing both plaintiffs and defendants in various bankruptcy-related litigation matters, including trials that have resulted in victories for her clients. This background helps her in workout and turnaround settings outside of the courtroom, where she is adept at providing clients with actionable advice on business strategy and negotiations in the distressed arena.
Recognition
- Turnaround Management Association (TMA) - The Turnaround and Transaction of the Year Awards Winner – Small Company, Valeritas Inc. (2021)
- New Jersey Rising Stars® (2015-2024)
Memberships
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Member
- Bankruptcy Inn of Court
- International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Member
- New Jersey State Bar Association, Member
- New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, Member
- Turnaround Management Association, Member & NextGen Committee Member
- Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition, Volunteer
- Homeless Solutions, Inc., Morris Plains, NJ, Volunteer
News
- 18 Porzio Attorneys Named to 2024 New Jersey Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® Lists, 3/25/2024
- Twenty Porzio Attorneys Recognized in 2023 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists, 5/11/2023
- 22 Porzio Attorneys Selected for Inclusion on 2022 New Jersey Super Lawyers List, 4/06/2022
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman Recognized at 2021 New Jersey Law Journal Legal Awards, 9/24/2021
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C. Promotes Business Bankruptcy Attorney Kelly D. Curtin to Principal, 7/01/2019
- Porzio Honored by NJLJ's Professional Excellence Awards, 6/13/2019
- Porzio's Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Team Chosen to Represent Unsecured Creditors' Committee for Immune Pharmaceutical, 3/13/2019
- Wall Street Journal Reports on EZ Worldwide Express's Emergence from Bankruptcy, 12/13/2016
- Porzio Congratulates EZ Worldwide Express and United Business Freight Forwarders on Emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, 12/12/2016
- Bankruptcy Team Celebrates "East Meets West" during the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, 10/28/2016
- Porzio Bankruptcy Team Wins Avoidable Transfer Verdict of Over $1.15 Million, 8/10/2016
- Porzio Promotes Two Attorneys to Principal and Two to Counsel, 7/01/2016
Articles
- Why Am I Being Sued Now? The Increase In Sexual Abuse Lawsuits, 3/22/2022
- The Evolving Status of Nondebtor Releases in Bankruptcy Plans, 2/14/2022
- Recent Third Circuit Decision Restores Litigant's Standing to Pursue Causes of Action After the Chapter 7 Trustee Abandoned Them, 10/05/2020
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Bankruptcy Court Blocks Alleged Abuse Survivors From Pursuing $35 Million Archdiocese Transfers, Summer 2013
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Chapter 9 Bankruptcies: Prompting Legislatures to Protect Municipal Bondholders , 2012
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Lenders Beware: Preservation of Credit Bid Rights Not Required Under Chapter 11 Plans , June 2010
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Secured Creditor's Right to Credit Bid May Be at Risk, January 2010
- Preference and Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation: a Primer and Some Recent Case Law Developments in the Second (New York) and Third (Delaware) Circuits Regarding Defences, 2009
Speaking Engagements
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"UCC Art. 9 and Hidden Liens," New Jersey State Bar Association, 2024 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Forum, 9/27/2024
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"Surf's Up Aboard a Title Wave: Understanding Workouts," ACREL's Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, 5/03/2024
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"Succession & Taxes: Restructuring and Bankruptcy," Migrating Through A Changing Economy, Rutgers Business School's 7th Annual Business Community Engagement Symposium , 11/09/2022
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"Involuntary Bankruptcy – Procedure, Issues, and Trying the Case," NJICLE, 2022 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Forum, 11/03/2022
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"Do the Due…Process: Practical Considerations on Due Process in Bankruptcy," 2022 Honorable William H. Gindin Bench Bar Conference, 5/06/2022
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How to Avoid Automatic Stay Violations - What NOT to do When Presented with a Bankruptcy Filing, Porzio's Fourth Annual WIN Ethics & Eggs Virtual CLE Seminar, 12/17/2020
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Managing Your Banking Relationship in a Turbulent Economy, Panelist, Withum, 9/22/2020
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Financial Advisors' Toolbox: An Overview of Subchapter 5, Panelist, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Annual Conference, 6/09/2020
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Financial Advisors' Toolbox: The Bankruptcy Preparation Stage, Panelist, Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Annual Conference, 6/09/2020
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Business As (Un)Usual-Pivoting Your Business During Uncertain Times, Morphmom Webinar, 4/15/2020
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Anatomy of a Celebrity Chef Restructure – Issues and Challenges, 21st Annual William H. Gindin Bankruptcy Bench Bar Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, 4/05/2019
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Hot Topic Presentation of In re Molycorp, Inc., 562 B.R. 67, 71 (Bankr. D. Del. 2017), Bankruptcy Inn of Court for New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 1/09/2017
Prior Relevant Experience
- Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C., Summer Associate, Summer 2007 and 2008
- U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Intern, Spring 2008
- Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, Vertical Prosecution, Intern, Spring 2005