Overview
Mr. Brown represents commercial, agricultural and private lenders, healthcare companies and other businesses in a broad array of transactions and litigation. His experience includes both in-house and outside counsel roles in loan origination and documentation, regulatory compliance, litigation in state and federal court, receiverships and bankruptcies. He also represents clients regarding regulatory, lending and litigation issues related to consumer finance.
Mr. Brown is also member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Religious Freedom Committee. He represents a variety of clients on religious institution topics and has authored several articles on religious liberties, including: “The Coptic Church in Egypt: A Comment on Protecting Religious Minorities From Non-State Discrimination,” Brigham Young University Law Review 1049, 2000, and “Jehovah’s Witnesses v. Land Berlin: Requiring Religious Communities Seeking Public Corporation Status in Germany to Satisfy the ‘Meaning and Purpose of Corporation Status’ Test,” Brigham Young University Law Review 673, 1999.
Mr. Brown has also written dozens of columns for various publications, including ABI Journal, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, The National Law Journal, Arizona Attorney, Clark Memorandum, Deseret News and Mormon Times. He also co-wrote a screenplay for a feature length film entitled, “Anxiously Engaged” and enjoys humor writing. He recently discussed the Rural Metro announcement and US Airways merger with American Airlines on KJZZ's, "Here & Now" show. Click here to listen. He was also interviewed about the basics of corporate restructuring law on "Money For Lunch with Bert Martinez," BlogTalkRadio, August 2014.
Memberships & Affiliations
- J Reuben Clark Law Society, Member, Religious Freedom Committee
- American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Associate Editor
- American Bankruptcy Institute Litigation Committee, Former Co-Chair
- Arizona Bankers Association, Member
- Risk Management Association, Member
- Arizona State Bar, Former Chair of Bankruptcy Section
Representative Matters
- In-house counsel for agricultural lender
- Advises lending institutions on all aspects of lending and litigation
- Advises clients on all aspects of religious institution and religious freedom issues
- Advises credit card company on consumer finance issues related to regulatory, lending and litigation issues.
- Prevailed at trial in bankruptcy court on a priority fight between two lenders claiming a first-position on real estate worth $4 million in Washington and prevailed in an appeal before the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit regarding Stern v. Marshall issue.
- In re Washington Coast I, L.L.C., 485 B.R. 393 (2012)
- Obtained final judgment on a multi-million dollar claim against an entity and several guarantors, including a judgment against a family trust on an alter ego theory
- Advised bank client regarding internal procedures to avoid automatic stay and discharge violations, and how to effectively respond to dozens of preference demands a year
- In a pro bono matter, located and garnished safe deposit account containing gold coins and silver bars
- Advised health care companies on multitude of issues
- Advised capital groups on real estate and equipment leases
- Represented hotel franchise and alarm companies
Related News
Related Events
Past Events
Presentations
- Co-Presenter, “Make Bankruptcy Great Again – The Grinder Style,” Oklahoma Bar Association’s 32nd Annual Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 2017
- Presenter, “Farm Credit Litigation Issues: Navigating Distressed Loans and Bankruptcies,” Farm Credit System Attorney Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 2017
- Presenter, “Mediation: Mega Cases and Avoidable Actions,” American Bankruptcy Institute Webinar, September 2017
- Co-Presenter, “The Evolution of Bankruptcy: Cyclical or Sicklical?,” 2017 Arizona State Bar Convention, June 2017
- Presenter, “Ethics CLE,” Prudential Insurance – In-house Lawyers, Newark, New Jersey, April 2016
- Speaker, “Labor and Employment Claims in a Quick-Sale, Quick-Sand, Post-Jevic Era,” American Bankruptcy Institute Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, DC, April 2016
- Presenter, “Drafting Enforceable Waivers and Releases,” Religious Institutions Law Day in Phoenix, Arizona, October 2015
- Co-Presenter, “Non-Profit and Religious Institutions Reorganizations and Bankruptcies,” American Bankruptcy Institute Midwest Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, October 2015.
- Presenter, “In-House Counsel Ethics,” Farm Credit System Attorney Conference, San Diego, California, September 2015
- Co-Presenter, “Post Confirmation Jurisdiction,” Norton Webinar, August 2014
- Co-Presenter, "The Next Generation," 2013 Arizona State Bar Convention, June 2013
- Co-Presenter, "Bankruptcy," 2012 Arizona State Bar Convention, June 2012
- Presenter, "Things You Know You Knew, But Forgot You Knew," 24th Annual Northwest Bankruptcy Institute, April 2011
- Presenter, "Ethical Issues,” Norton Institutes on Bankruptcy Law, February 2010, June 2008 and February 2007
- Presenter, “Understanding Cross-Border Issues in a Restructuring Situation,” American Bankruptcy Institute, September 2009
- Presenter, "Boards of Directors: Fiduciary Obligations & Liability in a Troubled Market," Professional Education Broadcast Network, January 2009
- Presenter, "Claims Trading," Norton Institutes on Bankruptcy Law, June 2008
- Presenter, "Subprime Issues," Western District of Texas, June 2008
- Presenter, “Collections From an Attorney’s Perspective,” Merchants Information Solutions’ Customer Seminar, October 2006
- Presenter, “An Overview of the UCC, Including Secured Transactions and Bulk Sale Provisions,” National Association of Credit Managers, July 2004
Publications
- Author, "Of Paul Blart, Arbitration Agreements and Bankruptcy Discharges," Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, 03/09/2018
- Author, "Battle for Bucks-Chapter 7 Trustee Lawsuits Against Noncreditors of Family-Owned Businesses," American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, 09/13/2017
- Author, "Aggressive Fraudulent Transfer Attacks," LinkedIn, 02/15/2017
- Author, "Sacred Assets: Church Creditors Cannot Force Nonbankrupt Affiliate Assets Into Bankruptcy," 01/09/2017
- Mentioned, "Associate Editor Spotlight: Scott Brown," ABI Journal, December 2016
- Author, "Don't Hate Me for Being Critical," ABI Journal, September 2016
- Co-Author, "Confirming a Plan of Reorganization for a Nonprofit Debtor," Norton Annual Survey, September 2016
- Author, "Early-Case Issues chapter," Bankruptcy Mediation, American Bankruptcy Institute, July 2016
- Author, "Chapter on Arizona," Strategic Alternatives For And Against Distressed Businesses, 2016 ed., February 2016
- Author, "Out of the House to In-House," In-House Defense Quarterly, Summer 2015
- Author, "New Year's Resolutions - ABI Style," ABI Journal, July 2014
- Author, "LDS young men's camp in Arizona evacuates after spotting large fire," Deseret News, June 2014
- Author, "2013 Year in Review: Chapter 9, the "Grand Column" and Other Musings," ABI Journal, 12/01/2013
- Author, "Seeing the Light: From Litigation to Mediation," ABI Journal, June 2013
- Author, "Rolling in the Involuntary," ABI Journal, November 2012
- Author, "Come heck or high snow — the $2,279 (and counting) ski trip," Deseret News, January 2011
- Author, "Tips for a Successful Deposition," The National Law Journal, 05/10/2010
- Co-Author, "Has The Ninth Circuit Finally Seen The Light? The Latest Developments in Bankruptcy Preemption," Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law, 2009
- Author, "Punching Your Ticket to the High-Speed International Insolvency Train," Insolvency and Restructuring International, April 2008
- Author, "Three Weeks of Love," Clark Memorandum, Spring 2008
- Author, "Chapter 73. Setoff (Code § 553)," Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 3d, 2008
- Author, "Pacific Express - On the Rise or Falling? An Update on Loan Recharacterization and Its Interplay With 11 U.S.C. § 510(b).," Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, July 2007
- Co-Author, "Trustee Standing in Bankruptcy Cases," National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, November 2006
- Co-Author, "Strong-Arm on Steroids – Applying or Injecting ‘Rights and Powers' Under 11 U.S.C. § 544(a)," Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, 09/01/2005
- Author, "How to Avoid ‘Ethically Incorrect' Behavior – Survival Tips Nobody Taught You in Law School," ABI Journal, August 2005
- Author, "Objects in the Setoff Mirror May be Riskier Than They Appear," Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, September 2004
- Author, "The Coptic Church in Egypt: A Comment on Protecting Religious Minorities From Non-State Discrimination," Brigham Young University Law Review, 2000
- Author, "Regulating or Reorganizing?: Depriving Federal Bankruptcy Courts of Their Statutory Authority and Misapplying Fundamental Tenets of Bankruptcy Law in In re Cajun Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.," Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law, 2000
- Author, "Jehovah's Witnesses v. Land Berlin: Requiring Religious Communities Seeking Public Corporation Status in Germany to Satisfy the ‘Meaning and Purpose of Corporation Status' Test," Brigham Young University Law Review, 1999
Distinctions
- The Best Lawyers in America - Woodward/White, Aiken, S.C. - Appellate Practice, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2015-2017
- Super Lawyers Southwest Rising Stars - Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Law, 2012-2014
- Co-chair of American Bankruptcy Institute's Bankruptcy Litigation Committee - Committee of the Year, 2012
Other Info