EDUCATION
Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court, 1993
University of South Carolina, JD, 1984
College of Charleston, BS, 1981
contact
803.722.7888
mbeal@bealLLC.com
Michael M. Beal
Michael is a certified specialist in bankruptcy and debtor-creditor law. He works primarily with distressed companies, committees and creditors in workouts, Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, foreclosures, and related litigation and transactional matters.
Michael has led debtor restructuring engagements in manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, retail, and commercial real estate; creditor engagements or creditors’ committee engagements in hospitality, commercial real estate, health care and manufacturing; and represented an indenture trustee in the Chapter 9 restructuring of a toll road. He also has served as counsel to state and federal court receivers and bankruptcy trustees in numerous matters, including fraud cases.
Michael enjoys mediating complex commercial and bankruptcy matters and is approved to serve as Circuit Court Mediator by the South Carolina Board of Arbitration and Mediator Certification and has completed the American Bankruptcy Institute and St. John’s University School of Law 40-hour Bankruptcy Mediation Training.
Prior to founding Beal, LLC, Michael led the bankruptcy practice at McNair Law Firm (now Burr Forman), and served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Bratton Davis, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge, District of South Carolina.
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Representative Experience
- Debtor’s counsel in the South Carolina Subchapter V Chapter 11 case of a liquidating textile company
- Debtor’s counsel in the South Carolina Chapter 11 case of a biomass pellet mill
- Debtor’s counsel in the South Carolina Chapter 11 case of a national paint sundries distributor
- Debtor’s counsel in the South Carolina Chapter 11 case of a steel mill
- Debtor’s counsel in the Georgia Chapter 11 case of a paper mill
- Debtor’s counsel in the Delaware Chapter 11 case of a regional textile manufacturer
- Co-counsel for the debtor in the Chapter 11 case of a restaurant holding company in which over $1 billion in debt was restructured
- Co-counsel for the debtors in the Chapter 11 case of a national golf course resort community developer with liabilities of approximately $1 billion and communities in multiple states
- Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 fraud case of a catalytic converter recycler in which unsecured creditors were paid in full, plus interest
- Trustee’s counsel in a Chapter 11 fraud case of a freight payment and audit company
- Counsel to the unsecured creditors’ committee in the Chapter 11 case of a 500-employee government defense contractor
- Co-counsel to the unsecured creditors’ committee in the Chapter 11 case of an international manufacturer of non-woven fabric
- Co-counsel to the indenture trustee in the Chapter 9 restructuring of a toll road
- Co-counsel to the ad hoc committee of term lenders in the Chapter 11 case of a regional grocery chain
- Co-counsel to the major creditor in the Chapter 11 case of a resort hotel in which many significant reported decisions were issued regarding Chapter 11 confirmation requirements and lease rejection issues
- Lead counsel of a syndicate of lenders in the South Carolina Chapter 11 restructuring case of a PET recycling company
- Counsel to the federal receiver for a regional textile manufacturer
- Counsel to state court receivers in several commercial real estate matters and in the liquidation of a law firm
Professional and Community Involvement +
- 2nd Congressional District Representative, Executive Committee of The State Agricultural and Mechanical Society of South Carolina (2017–present)
- Member-at-Large, Global Board of Trustees (Executive Board), Turnaround Management Association (2015–2016)
- President, Carolinas Chapter, Turnaround Management Association (2012–2013)
- Member, Columbia Chamber of Commerce (2015–2016)
- Chairman, Columbia Advisory Board, Salvation Army (2007–2009)
- President, The Palmetto Club (2009–2012), Chairman (2012-2015)
- President, South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association (2000)
- Senior Warden, Trinity Cathedral Parish, Columbia, SC (2023)
- Member, South Carolina Historical Society
- Member, Columbia Chamber of Commerce (2015-2016)
- President, J. Bratton Davis Bankruptcy American Inn of Court
Articles and Publications +
- "Advising a Financially Distressed Business," SC Lawyer, December 2022
Awards and Recognition +
- American College of Bankruptcy Fellow
- Recipient, Mega Company Turnaround of the Year Award, Turnaround Management Association, Atlanta Chapter (2013–2014)
- South Carolina Super Lawyers®, Bankruptcy-Business (2008–2023)
- The Best Lawyers in America© (2003–2022)
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Litigation – Bankruptcy
- “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation: Bankruptcy – Columbia (2012, 2021 & 2022)
- “Lawyer of the Year,” Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights – Columbia (2010, 2021 & 2022)
- Beal, LLC awarded Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Firms” (2019-2023)
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
- Listed, South Carolina Super Lawyers®, Bankruptcy-Business (2008–2021)
- Recipient, William E. S. Robinson Award for Meritorious Advancement for the Practice of Bankruptcy Law, South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association (1997)
Reported Cases +
- In re Judd, 471 B.R. 830 (D.S.C. 2012)
- In re Tubular Technologies, LLC, 362 B.R. 243 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2006)
- In re Georgetown Steel Co., 318 B.R. 336 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2004)
- In re S. Textile Knitters, 65 Fed. Appx. 426 (4th Cir. 2003)
- In re Mayfair Mills, Inc., 295 B.R. 827 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2002)
- Gilchrist v. General Elec. Capital Corp., 262 F.3d 295 (4th Cir. 2001)
- In re Landmark Land Co., of Oklahoma, Inc., 134 B.R. 557 (D.S.C. 1991)
Court Admissions +
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of South Carolina
- South Carolina State Courts
Personal +
- Born, Georgetown, SC (1959)
- Married, Elizabeth Venning Jones (1993)
- Children: Pinkney V., Michael M. Jr., and J. Duffy Beal