About Joshua M. Altman

With his entrepreneurial background and dedicated work ethic, clients rely on Joshua Altman for his commitment to excellence and creative, practical and business-focused approach to effective problem-solving. Resourceful and adaptable, Josh strategically guides corporate leaders, directors, debtors, creditors and investors through complex and challenging insolvency-related situations.

Josh has counseled major national and international companies throughout the lifecycle of the restructuring processes. He understands the complexities and challenges all stakeholders face in both in-court and out-of-court restructuring matters. In addition to guiding clients in financial distress, he frequently guides lenders, trade partners and others dealing with the financial distress of another company. Josh also helps investors pursue strategic assets from distressed companies.

Josh's restructuring experience extends beyond the US border, having worked with international counsel to resolve complex cross-border issues in Germany, Britain, Australia, India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Canada and other jurisdictions.

Industrious and laser-focused in restructurings matters

Josh has in-depth experience guiding clients through the restructuring process and advising clients dealing with the financial distress of others. Clients rely on Josh's business experience, legal acumen, professional demeanor and engaging personality to help them meet their goals efficiently. Josh's experience resolving complex restructuring scenarios helps him to efficiently negotiate complex resolutions on behalf of his clients.

Josh has a keen understanding of business issues and pays close attention to the business needs of his clients. He draws on his MBA when advising clients, as well as his prior experience at a technology start-up and his experience as founder of a consulting company focused on small businesses.

Devoted to public service, Josh maintains an active pro bono practice primarily focused on education equity and immigration matters.

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Practice Focus

  • Advising middle-market and large businesses in financial distress, including in-court and out-of-court representations, recapitalizations and consensual turnovers
  • Advising Boards of Directors, independent directors and sponsors in matters related to financial distress and restructuring
  • Advising secured creditors, investors and solvent clients dealing with companies in distress
  • Serving as conflicts counsel for debtors

Representative Experience

  • Represented a material life sciences company when the company filed its prearranged Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented a wholesale supplier of home decor and other home goods to prominent brick-and-mortar and online retailers when the company filed its prearranged Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented an innovative and eco-conscious construction company as well as its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented a leading owner and operator of fitness clubs, primarily located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, as well as certain affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented an energy company in its prepackaged Chapter 11 cases to pursue a sale of its assets as a going-concern. The sale was supported by the company’s first-lien revolving lenders and second-lien term lenders, and was meant to restructure more than $1 billion in funded indebtedness and address over $500 million of plugging and abandonment liabilities. *
  • Represented a leading provider of hydraulic fracturing and cementing services to upstream oil and gas companies as well as its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases, during which the company sold its operations as a going concern, saving over 500 jobs. The company confirmed a fully-consensual Chapter 11 plan and concluded its cases less than four months after the Petition Date. *
  • Represented an operator of 437 department stores and multiple brands as well as its affiliate in their Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented a publicly-traded omnichannel retailer specializing in home furnishings and decor with 923 stores in the United States and Canada as well as its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases. *
  • Represented a leading content creation-to-distribution company that provides digital media services to Hollywood studios, independent filmmakers, television networks, online content producers and brands in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases. The Chapter 11 cases were filed to consensually reorganize the company by exchanging its secured debt for equity in the reorganized company. *
  • Represented a leading brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailer focused on fashion and art-conscious home decor in its Chapter 11 case. *
  • Represented a retailer of toys and baby products, as well as several of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, in one of the largest ever retail Chapter 11 filings. Led efforts to construct and implement global settlement agreements amongst all stakeholders and five distinct Chapter 11 plans following a successful wind down of US operations along with reorganizations of worldwide operations, including in Asia. *
  • Represented a specialty family footwear retailer in their Chapter 11 cases. The retailer filed for Chapter 11 to exit unprofitable store locations and implement a pre-arranged restructuring plan supported by two-thirds of its lenders that reduced approximately $830 million in funded debt by nearly 50 percent. The company also filed for recognition of the US Chapter 11 proceedings under Part IV of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. *
  • Represented an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, NGLs and natural gas in its prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring. The Company filed for Chapter 11 with a support agreement that reduced the company’s long-term debt from approximately $1.2 billion to approximately $128 million. *
  • Represented a provider of casino entertainment services, the owner/operator of 44 gaming and resort properties in 13 US states and five countries, in its Chapter 11 restructuring. The company and its debtor subsidiaries had more than $18.4 billion in funded debt obligations as of the commencement of their Chapter 11 cases. *
* Experience prior to Katten

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Practices
Industries
Education
  • Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
  • Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, MBA, Beta Gamma Sigma
  • Columbia University, BA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
  • The Jewish Theological Seminary, BA, summa cum laude
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois
Court Admissions
  • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Community Involvements
  • World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community
  • ADL Glass Leadership Institute
Recognitions
Recognized or listed in the following:
  • The Legal 500 United States
    Recommended Attorney, 2024
Award Methodologies