Virginia E. George

Virginia E. George – Partner, concentrates her practice on representing financially distressed individuals and business in bankruptcy, workouts, reorganizations, and receiverships.

She is known for executing strategies that grant her clients their desired outcomes, even in the most complex cases. She has extensive experience in all aspects of business and individual bankruptcy including business and individual chapter 7, 11, Sub-V, and chapter 12.

She has served on the panel of chapter 7 trustees for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, since 1999.

For the period 1998-2023 Martindale-Hubbell awarded Virginia the AV Preeminent® 5.0/5.0 rating indicating the pinnacle of professional excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review process across the US and Canada. For the past 7 years she also achieved the Judicial AV Preeminent® rating reflecting the confidential opinions of the Bar and Judiciary.

Her recent case related accomplishments include:

• In 2017, successfully negotiated and won bankruptcy court approval of a §363 sale of the assets of ITO industries (manufacturing sector)
• In 2021, during the pandemic and during a statewide shut down she successfully negotiated and won bankruptcy court approval of a §363 sale of “The Bull Golf Course” (golf course, sports, entertainment and hospitality sector)
• In 2022, she completed a successful workout for a Health Care Holding Company with 140 employees and operations in 45 states (health care and wellness sector)
• In 2022, her client won a declaratory judgment to quiet title to a family home, after the clients were defrauded in a land contract scheme.
• In 2023, she resolved a defaulted commercial loan (automotive sector) through a litigation settlement with a bank described as “one of the top 10 largest banks” (by assets) in North America.  Her client retained all its commercial property and received more than a 65% discount.
• In 2023, she avoided her client filing a business chapter 7 by successfully negotiating a settlement of a money judgment (automotive sector).

Attorney Virginia E. George is a current board member of the Wisconsin Network of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation and serves as its membership chair and 2023 IWIRC on Ice conference chair.  She is also the newly elected 2023 Milwaukee Programming Co-Chair of the Turnaround Management Association Chicago/ Midwest Chapter.  She is a past two-term board member of the Bankruptcy Insolvency and Creditor’s Rights Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin. She is also an active member of NABT, ABI, IWIRC and TMA, and the Milwaukee and 7^th Circuit Bar Associations. She regularly presents at conferences on various bankruptcy topics.

Areas Of Practice

• Bankruptcy (personal and business)
• Bankruptcy Litigation
• Personal Injury
• Creditor Litigation
• Civil Litigation
• Business Workouts
• Receiverships

Bar Admissions

• Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin

Presentations

• Real Facts on Virtual Assets, State Bar of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference, November 2022
• Administering Virtual Assets, 2022 Chapter 7 Trustee Panel Training, Office of the United States Trustee, U.S. Department of Justice, October 2022
• Uses and Considerations for Subchapter V Small Business Debtor Reorganization,  State Bar of Wisconsin: Northwestern Wisconsin Bankruptcy Institute, April 2022
• Behind the Scenes: Evaluating Out-of-Court Workouts, Bankruptcy and Chapter 128 Receiverships, Turnaround Management Association, March 2022
• Duties and Ethical Responsibilities of Trustees, American Inns of Court, February 2022
• Estopping the Madness: Personal Injury and Exemptions in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases, American Bankruptcy Institute: Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, June 2021
• Seventh Circuit Case Law Update, 7^th Circuit Bar Association: Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff Seventh Circuit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, October 2019
• Who Gets What? Chapter 7 and 13 Conversions, Dismissal Considerations and More, American Bankruptcy Institute: Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, June 2019
• Chapter 7 Best Practices, State Bar of Wisconsin: Annual Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Meeting, March 2015
• Mortgage Issues in Chapter 13 & Ethics Protecting Your Clients from Themselves and other Thorny Ethical Issues, State Bar of Wisconsin: Annual Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Meeting, February 2014
• Individual Consumer Issues in Chapter 7 and 13 cases & Small Business Issues in Individual Chapter 7 and 13 cases, State Bar of Wisconsin:  Annual Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Meeting, March 2013
• Consumer Bankruptcy From Start to Finish- A Primer on Tax Rules in Bankruptcy, National Business Institute, May 2012
• Chapter 7 Current Developments, Procedures, Rules, Cases and Tricks of the Trade, State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Annual Meeting, March 2012
• Chapter 7 Issues and Current Cases, State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Annual Meeting, March 2011
• Foreclosure Limbo, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and the False Fresh Start, Lou Jones Breakfast Club, March 2010
• What Is The Bankruptcy Attorney’s Role In Completion Of The Debtor’s Duties Enumerated in 11 U.S.C. § 521? State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section, March 2010
• Means Test Breakout Session, Chapter 7 Issues Breakout Session, State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Annual Meeting, March 2009
• Windfall and the chapter 13 scheme to convert to chapter 7, 11 USC § 1306(a)(2), 11 USC § 348, Bankruptcy Rule 1019, Lou Jones Breakfast Club, May 2008
• Trustee Ethics, United States Trustee Program: EDW Panel Trustee Annual Meeting, May 2007
• Facilitator BAPCPA Means Test Breakout Session, and Law Firm Economics for the Bankruptcy Practice Session, State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Annual Meeting, April 2007
• Trustee Ethics, United States Trustee Program: EDW Panel Trustee Annual Bankruptcy Ethics Seminar, December 2006
• BAPCPA, State Bar of Wisconsin: Bankruptcy Insolvency Section Annual Meeting, Spring 2006

Professional Associations/Memberships

State Bar of Wisconsin: Two-Term Past Board Member Bankruptcy Insolvency and Creditors Rights Section and Member Litigation Section

Milwaukee Bar Association: Member and Presenter

7^th Circuit Bar Association: Member and Presenter

American Bankruptcy Institute: Member and Presenter

International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation: (IWIRC) Wisconsin Network Board Member, 2023 IWIRC on Ice Event Conference Chair, 2021- 2022 Membership Chair

Turnaround Management Association– (TMA) 2023 Milwaukee Programming Co-Chair of the Turnaround Management Association Chicago/ Midwest Chapter Member and Presenter

National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees– Member

Honors and Awards

Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent®  

Martindale-Hubbell: Judicial AV Preeminent®