Mike Paslay is a partner at Waller Lansden and practices in the areas of corporate restructuring, creditors rights, commercial litigation and lender liability issues. He has served as lead counsel for secured lenders, debtors, unsecured creditors committees, indenture trustees and third-party purchasers, with an emphasis on manufacturing and healthcare cases. Mr. Paslay is certified as a Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and by the American Board of Certification. He is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.) for his work in bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law.
Currently, Mr. Paslay serves as counsel to an original equipment automobile manufacturer (OEM) in its national and international relationships with distressed tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers, including tier 1 suppliers such as Collins & Aikman, Tower Automotive, Dura Automotive Systems and Dana Corporation. In these ongoing matters, Mr. Paslay assists the manufacturer in analyzing the suppliers and helping to protect the manufacturer’s continuity of supply.
Mr. Paslay also has represented the Official Unsecured Creditors Committee in the American Home Patient case and helped achieve 100 percent return for unsecured creditors, and acted as co-counsel to the Debtor, Aveta, f/k/a PhyCor, Inc., in its successful, pre-negotiated Chapter 11 filing in the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Paslay’s practice has included the purchase and sale of distressed assets, including hospitals, nursing homes, and eye clinics; the successful reorganization of debtors in the construction, real estate, gasoline distribution and hospital industries; and the protection of creditors’ interests in a wide variety of businesses ranging from insurance and manufacturing to the hospitality and retail industries.
Mr. Paslay has written on bankruptcy issues, including “Protecting a Non-Profit’s Charitable Mission: Hidden Protections Found in Chapter 11,” published by the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section in Health Lawyer and “The Hidden Cost of Non-Profit Lending” published by HealthLeaders. He has spoken on various bankruptcy-related topics to industry groups and legal associations.
Education
J.D. Emory University, 1983
B.A., with distinction, University of Virginia, 1980
Clerkships and Previous Affiliations
Associate and Junior Shareholder, Johnson and Gibbs, P.C., Dallas, TX, 1985-1991
Law Clerk, Honorable George C. Paine II, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, 1984
Professional Activities
Certified, Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization
Member, Nashville, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and American Bar Associations
Member, Executive Committee, Tennessee Bar Association Bankruptcy Section Executive Council
Certified, American Bankruptcy Board of Certification, Business Bankruptcy
Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
Former Director, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute
Former President, Bankruptcy Section of Nashville Bar Association
Civic and Other Activities
Member and Former Director, Brentwood Morning Rotary Club
