Brian N. Spector

“Through more than 30 years of practice, my experience has taught me to be a problem solver. I advise clients about the financial and legal issues confronting them, the ways to resolve them and the possible range of outcomes, and to help them focus on the big issues en route to making informed decisions.”

Brian Spector is a business and bankruptcy lawyer and litigator whose practice focuses on the representation of debtors, creditors and others in bankruptcy, workouts, and collection matters.

Brian also offers clients extensive experience in business disputes, real estate litigation, receiverships, foreclosures, provisional remedies, lease enforcement, fraudulent transfer actions, and guaranty and deficiency claims.

In the bankruptcy context, Brian has represented creditors, individual and business debtors, asset purchasers, landlords, and franchisors, and he has served as a Chapter 11 trustee and lead counsel for numerous unsecured creditors committees.

Brian's recent results for clients include the following:

• Assisted a real estate investor in a multi-creditor workout, helping the client resolve more than $5 million in debt for less than 17 cents on the dollar and, as a result, helped the client, who had property interests in four states, avoid a bankruptcy filing.

• Concluded a negotiation on behalf of a shopping center landlord for a long-term lease (up to 50 years, with options) with a new anchor grocery store tenant. The tenant, a publicly traded company, also agreed to lease an adjoining land parcel and a subsequent amendment calling for a major expansion of the lease premises.

• Represented a borrower in connection with a $10 million secured loan transaction.

• Represented a plaintiff in filing suit against and reaching a multi-million-dollar settlement with a third party in connection with embezzlement from real estate partnerships.

Brian has been selected by Super Lawyers (Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights) every year since 2007 and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®. A past chair of the State Bar of Arizona's Bankruptcy Section, he is an active and highly respected member of the Phoenix bankruptcy law community.

Brian is a generous contributor of time and energy to the legal profession and the broader community. He has served as a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Maricopa County, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Pro Bono Panel (2010-2014) and Pro Bono Subcommittee (2012-2014), and as a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem (2005-2014).

In the community, he is a past president of his synagogue and his HOA. Away from the office, Brian and his wife enjoy traveling, hiking, bicycling and an occasional round of golf.

Firm News

"Best Lawyers" recognizes four Schneider & Onofry attorneys

By Schneider & Onofry, P.C. • 21 Aug, 2020

Jon Schneider, Chuck Onofry, Brian Spector and Joe Swan are 2021 honorees by The Best Lawyers in America®.

Brian Spector presents "Chapter 11 Simplified"

By Schneider & Onofry, P.C. • 11 Aug, 2020

Schneider & Onofry bankruptcy attorney Brian Spector presented "Chapter 11 Simplified" as part of an August 7 "BK 101" webinar sponsored by the Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel.

Debtor Protection and the Arizona Homestead Exemption

By Brian Spector • 06 Jul, 2020

The Arizona homestead exemption, found in A.R.S. § 33-1101, protects up to $150,000 of equity in the debtor's homestead, primarily against the claims of unsecured creditors, including those who obtain judgments. It does not protect against deeds of trust or mortgages which are consensually given.

"Super Lawyers" selections for 2020

By Schneider & Onofry, P.C. • 08 Apr, 2020

Jon Schneider, Chuck Onofry and Brian Spector are 2020 honorees.

The CARES Act: Unprecedented Relief for Small Business

By Brian Spector • 31 Mar, 2020

On March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the largest economic relief bill in American history, was passed and signed into law. As with prior COVID-19 relief legislation, it contains valuable relief for small businesses, including (a) loans with debt forgiveness and (b) tax relief.

Honors and Awards

• AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell®

• The Best Lawyers in America®: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2005-present; Bankruptcy Litigation, 2011-present

• Super Lawyers, 2007-present

• Member of the Year, Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel, 2018

• Arizona's Top Business Lawyers, Ranking Arizona, 2012

Client Reviews and Peer Endorsements

• View Brian Spector's profile at Avvo.com (10.0 rating)

Videos

• "Subchapter V Reorganization: Streamlined Bankruptcy Relief for Small Businesses," July 2020

• "Debtor Protection and the Arizona Homestead Exemption," July 2020

• "Lease Workouts, Part 1: Overview," June 2020

• "Lease Workouts, Part 2: Preparation," June 2020

Articles

• "Debtor Protection and the Arizona Homestead Exemption," (July 2020) | View Video

• "Eight Things a Debtor Should Never (or Almost Never) Do," June 2020 | View Video

• "The CARES Act: Unprecedented Relief for Small Business," Schneider & Onofry News, March 2020

• “Arizona Loan and Lease Workouts in the Time of COVID-19 and Beyond,” Schneider & Onofry News, March 2020

• “New Subchapter V Law Provides More Streamlined Bankruptcy Relief for Small Businesses,” Schneider & Onofry News, March 2020

• "Do Directors and Officers Owe Fiduciary Duties to Creditors?" April 2012

• "Is That Personal Guaranty Enforceable?" February 2012

• "LLC Payment Classifications: Member Distributions vs. Compensation," January 2012

• "Protecting Assets at Risk: Bankruptcy Options for Individual Investors and Other Business People," June 2011

• "Recent Changes to Arizona Foreclosure Law Repealed," September 2009

• "An Important Change Affecting Arizona Foreclosure Law," August 2009

• "Chapter 9 Bankruptcy Relief for the Financially Troubled School District," The School Administrator, July 15, 2006

Recent Presentations

• "Chapter 11 Simplified" (webinar), BK 101 Series, Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel, August 7, 2020

• “Exemptions and Other Pre-Bankruptcy Planning,” Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel

• “Variations on a Chapter 11 Theme” (panelist), State Bar of Arizona

• “Bankruptcy Law for Corporate Counsel,” Maricopa County Bar Association

• “Arizona Collections Practice” (faculty member), Arizona State University College of Law, Arizona Center for Legal Education

• “Bankruptcy and Pre-Bankruptcy Planning for Trade Creditors,” Organization of Associated Sales People of the Southwest

• “Legal Considerations of a Franchisor in Dealing with an Economically Troubled Franchise,” Arizona Licensor-Franchisor Association

Professional Memberships

• State Bar of Arizona: Bankruptcy Section, Executive Council Member and Past Chair; Bankruptcy Advisory Committee

• Arizona Consumer Bankruptcy Counsel: Executive Committee Member

• Volunteer Lawyers Program

• U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Pro Bono Panel, 2010-2014; Pro Bono Subcommittee, 2012-2014

• Judge Pro Tem, Maricopa County Superior Court, 2005-2014