Howard Ehrenberg

Howard Ehrenberg is Managing Partner of SulmeyerKupetz and has served as a Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 trustee for nearly thirty years. Howard has been a member of the Bankruptcy Mediation Panel since 2016. As a bankruptcy litigator, he has represented both debtors and creditors, as well as buyers looking to purchase assets from bankruptcy estates. Howard is also a certified mediator and a member of the Central District Bankruptcy Court Panel of Mediators.

Howard was named the Calvin Ashland Trustee of the Year in 2019 by the Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney Association. He has also been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer since 2004 and among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Lawyers in America (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization) since 2017.

Howard was appointed by the Office of the United States Trustee to the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Panel of Trustees for the Central District of California in 1995. Since then, in his role as a trustee, he has managed bankruptcy estates in a range of industries, including the following representative matters:

• Coordinated litigation of complex claims against entertainment payroll company worth $2 billion, involving multiple law firms and accounting firms.
• Recovered $24 million fraudulent conveyance in bankruptcy of 20-year-old fake entities.
• Handled complex litigation matters, including municipal matters, as trustee for the lessee/operator of the Queen Mary Hotel and Tourist Destination. Secured $43 million sale of 66-year lease.
• Oversaw skilled nursing facility facing claims from various state and local government agencies.
• Determined and implemented litigation strategy against principal, buyer, and customer of $100-million apparel company, alleging the three engaged in a “bust-out” of debtor’s business.
• Coordinated with counsel and forensic accountants to evidence elaborate scheme in which principal and several former customers stole inventory from Korean textile import company.
• As bankruptcy trustee, oversaw claims by victims of hedge fund Ponzi scheme, resulting in the recovery of $10 million for the benefit of creditors.
• Successfully obtained title and secured sale of two lots worth $44 million as trustee in bankruptcy of West Covina auto dealerships.

Howard regularly represents landlords and other parties in relation to bankruptcies, including the following:

• Represented Beverly Hills property owner when WeWork, as the tenant, was threatening bankruptcy and seeking to negotiate concessions to lease.

Howard is a Certified State Court Receiver and, as such, facilitates the completion of ongoing projects, the liquidation of shared assets, and the continuation of business operations amid disputes in ownership and management. Howard’s work as a receiver has included:

• Served as receiver for completion and sale of Beverly Hills mansion.
• Managed completion of construction and sale of tract of ten single-family homes in Sylmar, Los Angeles.

Having held a certification in business bankruptcy law for more than twenty years, Howard has served as both a testifying and non-testifying expert witness in cases involving such issues as defenses to avoidable transfers and fraudulent conveyances, community property interests, and material misrepresentations. His experience as an expert witness includes:

• Provided expert testimony to the International Commercial Court in Singapore in a dispute over ownership of assets transferred to a foreign shell company during a U.S. bankruptcy proceeding twenty years prior.

Howard’s success rate as a mediator is among the highest of the Court’s Panel Mediators. He was the most sought-after mediator in Los Angeles in 2020 and 2021 for cases including non-dischargeability actions, contract disputes, landlord tenant disputes, and legal malpractice actions.

Howard has spoken on panels discussing bankruptcy issues with organizations such as the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Outside of work, Howard collects coins, cheers on the Dodgers, and knows how to ride a unicycle.