Joseph Pack

“[Joe’s] bold move [to start his own firm] and entrepreneurial spirit readily set him apart — and above — his peers.”

JOE founded Pack Law at age 35 after handling multibillion-dollar cases at Kirkland & Ellis and White & Case. These included “free-fall,” pre-arranged and pre-packaged chapter 11s, out-of-court restructurings, and asset sales (from inventory worth less than $100,000 to ring-fenced, regulated energy companies worth more than $15 billion).

Applying that experience, in early 2021 Joe, alongside his colleague on a two-person legal team and B. Riley Advisory Services as CRO, confirmed a “straddle” prepackaged plan of reorganization in 37 days, effectuating an exempt debt-to-equity swap via a priming debtor-in-possession facility for a hybrid tech/manufacturing company. At confirmation, the SDNY Bankruptcy Judge remarked, “The fact this is not a presentation by a big law firm, as that term is defined in the law, makes it all the more remarkable.” Simultaneously, he represented the Behrens Investment Group in its DIP lending to, and acquisition of, the Gorham Paper Mill in Gorham, N.H., the chapter 11 case for which is pending in Delaware.

As a junior associate at K&E, Joe was a New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel 2011 Honoree for his high level of pro bono hours provided to “low-income, vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals,” contributing to Kirkland & Ellis’s 7,674 firm-wide pro bono hours. He has received awards for his pro bono efforts virtually every year since beginning practice and was voted onto the Campaign Committee of Legal Services of Miami, joining the ranks of some of the region’s most esteemed attorneys. In addition, he has guest-lectured on chapter 11 for the University of Miami School of Law’s Chapter 11 Clinic annually since 2018 and has accepted a position as an adjunct professor for Advanced “Applied” Bankruptcy at the University of Florida Law School, starting in January 2022.

Joe, also an actively licensed CPA, was selected as a 2021 Florida Super Lawyer and was named to the 2022 Florida Best Lawyers list. He also created and maintains a database that contains the published and unpublished decisions interpreting the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA). The firm shares this database with other professionals, including subchapter V trustees, providing access to up-to-date materials to guide them in their strategy and responses in small business cases.

At age 14, Joe began interning for federal bankruptcy trustee Soneet Kapila of KapilaMukamal. What started as “extra cash for the summer” imbued him with a passion for bankruptcy law. He attended undergrad and law school knowing his profession would include business and financial restructuring.