Nicole Fulfree

NICOLE is counsel at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where she represents debtors, creditors’ committees, trustees, individual creditors, and institutional shareholders and investors in a variety of complex bankruptcy matters. She has represented creditors’ committees in many high-profile chapter 11 cases, including health retailer GNC Holdings Inc., where the company was sold for $770M (recognized by the Global M&A Network’s Turnaround Awards); discount retailer Fred’s, Inc., where after the creditors’ rejection of the debtors’ original plan, she led months of negotiations to achieve an amended plan acceptable to creditors; and Modell’s Sporting Goods in the liquidation of its stores after unprecedented challenges caused by COVID-19. In addition, she serves as counsel to a 26-member defense group comprised of state, local, union and private funds in a $380M fraudulent transfer action in the ASHINC Corp. chapter 11 cases, she recently worked on an out-of-court restructuring for iFIT Health & Fitness in a $355M transaction, and she is currently serving as counsel to the creditors’ committee in Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al.

Prior to joining the firm, Nicole clerked for Hon. Donald H. Steckroth of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and interned for Hon. Anne M. Patterson of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Her pro bono work includes numerous chapter 7 cases, an out-of-court restructuring for a nonprofit organization, and several matters defending victims of domestic abuse. She is also a frequent writer on insolvency issues, and her articles have appeared in the AIRA Journal, Business Law Today, CRF News, Corporate Counsel and New Jersey Lawyer. In addition, she is a frequent speaker on chapter 11 issues at bankruptcy conferences, credit group meetings and webinars, and she was recognized in 2022 for her work in creditor and debtor rights by New Jersey Rising Stars.

Nicole is fiercely passionate about women’s issues, particularly as they relate to the legal profession, and she has focused much of her energy on leadership roles that foster that passion. She is in her third year of serving as the New Jersey co-chair of the Turnaround Management Association’s Network of Women, which fosters business development in the turnaround community. She also serves as a trustee of the New Jersey Bankruptcy Lawyers Foundation, where she is a member of the committee that allocates Foundation resources. In her free time, she is very active with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and spearheads firm-sponsored events, including this year’s inaugural Barristers Against Blood Cancer, which raised more than $65,000. In addition, since 2017 she has served on the board of her firm’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), which empowers women to achieve professional and personal success. She also is a co-founder and co-host of WIN’s podcast, RealTalk, which encourages open conversations among women attorneys on a wide range of issues, from burnout to dealing with pregnancy complications and miscarriages at work. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time her husband, Steve, her one-year-old daughter, Savannah, and her pitbull mix, Jake.