Frederic P. Schwieg
Attorney at Law
I have been practicing bankruptcy and financial restructuring law for over 35 years. After graduating from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law cum laude in 1985 I began my legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. John F. Ray, Jr. Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Ohio Bankruptcy Court.
I then joined the Cleveland law firm of Kahn, Kleinman, Yanowitz & Arnson where I specialized in representing bankruptcy trustees handling the liquidation of large local companies such as the Geo. Worthington Company and Hough Bakeries. I was also involved in representing both small and medium-sized companies as debtors in possession in their own Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. Finally, I worked on large complex Chapter 11 cases such as Action Auto Rental which was one of the first companies involved in the accident car rental space.
In 1994 I left Kahn Kleinman with one of the partners to start a small boutique practice specializing in the representation of construction bonding companies. In 1996 I left that firm to start my own practice focused on the representation of bankruptcy trustees handling business cases as well as reorganization of smaller, closely held companies.
In the early 2000’s I was involved in dealing with improperly executed mortgages in Ohio on behalf of bankruptcy trustees. The legal issues involved in these cases were extraordinarily complex and involved the interpretation of federal bankruptcy law and Ohio statutory and constitutional law. In many ways they were a precursor to the mortgage-backed loan obligations that led to the financial downturn in 2008.
I have built my career on working with small to medium-size businesses of all kinds in restructuring their financial obligations. A representative sample of the kinds of companies that I have represented includes specialty steel processors, powder coating companies, component manufacturers, equipment suppliers, real estate holding companies, developers and property managers, oil and gas companies, hospitals, nursing homes and medical practices, and churches.
In late 2019 Congress amended the bankruptcy code to provide improvements to Chapter 11 to assist small businesses. In February 2020 I was appointed as one of the four standing trustees for the Northern District of Ohio for this new provision of the bankruptcy code.
Education
- Case Western Reserve University, BA History 1981
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, JD cum laude, 1985
Professional Memberships
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees
- Turnaround Management Association
- Ohio State Bar Association