Meredith R. Theisen

Meredith R. Theisen

Indianapolis Bankruptcy Lawyer

Firm Partner Meredith R. Theisen concentrates her practices in the areas of bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation, debtors and creditors’ rights, business representation, secured transactions, real estate sales, state court receiverships, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy trustee and state court receiver representation.

Her bankruptcy practice includes representing individuals, businesses, debtors, and creditors in Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 bankruptcy cases, out of court debt restructuring, receivership actions, and litigation matters.  She has served as counsel to individuals and businesses reorganizing in Chapter 11 cases or liquidating in complex Chapter 7 cases.  She also has extensive experience representing bankruptcy trustees in both Chapter 7 and 11 cases.  Throughout her practice, Meredith has developed an expertise in asset protecting, business liquidation and wind down, property acquisition through a bankruptcy 363 sale, lease assignment through a bankruptcy 365 assumption and assignment process, defending preference/fraudulent conveyance actions and non-dischargeability actions.

Much of her representation includes providing proactive counsel to businesses as she helps identify and minimize potential issues that could negatively impact operations.  She also assists new business owners form business entities, choose the best entity type based upon their needs, and assist with start-up compliance issues so that new ventures will be on a firm legal ground for success.

How I Help

How I Help
I believe that having an extensive background in representing both businesses and individuals, either as creditors or debtors, in complex bankruptcy actions is extremely helpful to clients in varying situations within or outside a bankruptcy. My experience with representing clients in all aspects of troubled and complex bankruptcy and litigation matters, often in time sensitive scenarios where immediate action is required, allows me to provide better advice, spot issues and execute the next best steps, thereby helping clients minimize potential adverse consequences and develop strategies for early risk avoidance.

A particularly enjoyable part of my practice is in helping individuals and business owners through complex bankruptcy issues, as well as continuing to advise them after a resolution is reached in order to help support their businesses as they continue to grow.

Meredith is an active member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, where she currently serves as the Chair for the Executive Committee of the Commercial & Bankruptcy Law Section.  Meredith is also an active member of the Indiana State Bar, where she currently serves as a council member for the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section.  Notable representations include:

  • In re ITT Educational Services, Inc., et al. (Case No. 16-07207-JMC-7) – Represents the Chapter 7 Trustee in one of the largest Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed in Indiana involving over $100 million in assets, $140 million in various benefit plans, numerous complex litigation cases and working with state and federal regulatory agencies concerning issues involving student records and educational loans.
  • In re 5 Star Investment Group, LLC, et al. (Case No. 16-30078-HCD-11) – Represents the Chapter 11 Trustee in a large, complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy case involving a $25 million real estate investment scheme sold primarily to the Amish in Northern Indiana.
  • In re Thomas P. Gibson and Patsy M. Gibson (Case No. 10-93867-BHL-7) – Represented the Chapter 7 Trustee in a case involving a billion dollar check kiting scheme, causing the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to primarily small cattle dealers throughout the United States. The Chapter 7 Trustee collected in excess of $3 million and was involved in returning an additional $4.2 million to the victims.
  • Faculty Member – New Bankruptcy Proof of Claim Forms, Reaffirmation Agreement Forms and More:  A Paralegal’s Guide, National Business Institute (2016)
  • Faculty Member – Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Roundtable, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2015)
  • Secured Claims in Bankruptcies:  Do Rule 3002(c)’s Deadlines for Filing Proofs of Claim Apply to Secured Creditors?, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2015)
  • “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over”:  The U.S. Supreme Court’s Denial of a Chapter 13 Debtor’s Effort to Automatically Appeal Denial of Plan Confirmation, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2015)
  • The Advantages of a Short Sale in Bankruptcy:  Is the Debtor Entitled to an Exemption?, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2015)
  • Wasting D&O Policies:  Are They Property of the Bankruptcy Estate?; Can the Stay be Lifted to Fund Defense Cost?; Should the Bankruptcy Court Police the Amount of Distributions to Pay Defense Costs?, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2015)
  • LLC Interests and Bankruptcy:  The Trustee’s Ability to Operate or Liquidate the LLC and Other Recent Developments, Indianapolis Bar Association (2015)
  • Application of Collateral Estoppel in Section 523(a) Dischargeability Proceedings, Indianapolis Bar Association (2015)
  • Faculty Member – Find It Free and Fast on the Net:  Strategies for Legal Research on the Web, National Business Institute (2014)
  • Locating Persons and Finding Background Information, National Business Institute (2014)
  • The Mechanics of Sale of Real Estate in Bankruptcy and Receiverships, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2013)
  • Faculty Member – Leonard H. Opperman Chapter 11 Roundtable, Indianapolis Bar Association (2011-2012)
  • Absolute-Priority Rule Dead or Alive:  Applicability of the Absolute Priority Rule to Individual Chapter 11 Debtors, Indianapolis Bar Association (2012)
  • How to Get Engaged and Paid Using Flat Fee Agreements, Indianapolis Bar Association (2012)
  • Use of Cash Collateral in a Single Asset Real Estate Case, Indianapolis Bar Association (2011)
  • The Impact of Bankruptcy on Owners of Jointly Held Property:  § 363(h) Sales of Co-Owned Property, Indianapolis Bar Association (2011)
  • Produce the Note Defense:  Does the Structure of MERS Allow for a Trustee to Potentially Avoid the Assigned Mortgage?, Indianapolis Bar Association (2010)
  • Professional Earnings:  Are the Debtor’s Rights to Future Payments Exempt from Property of the Bankruptcy Estate under § 541(a)(6)?, Indianapolis Bar Association (2010)
  • Prebankruptcy Exemption Planning: The Pitfalls of Advising the Debtor Client-How Far is too Far, Indianapolis Bar Association (2009)
  • Judicial Estoppel: Debtor’s Failure to Schedule a Cause of Action May Be Fatal to the Trustee’s Future Pursuit and Recovery, Indianapolis Bar Association (2009)
  • Which Trusts are Excluded from the Estate?:  A Review of the Law of Spendthrift Trusts in Indiana and Other States and the Application of Section 541, Indianapolis Bar Association (2009)
  • In Pari Delicto Defense May or May Not Bar A Trustee’s Claim: An Update on the Application of the In Pari Delicto Defense Against a Trustees’ Claim, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (2009)
  • Kevin Scott & Meredith R. Thomas, Commercial Transactions and Contract Law, 55 Wayne L. Rev. 147 (2009)

 

  • Selected to the Indiana Rising Stars List in 2021, composed of no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state under age 40 selected by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business

Understanding is a two-way street.

Eleanor Roosevelt
  • J.D., cum laude, Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, Lansing, MI (2009)
    • Associate Editor of the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review
    • Graduate/Research Assistant
  • B.S. (Consumer Science), University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (2006)
  • Indiana State Bar (2009)
  • United States District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Indiana (2009)
  • Indiana State Bar Association (2009 – Current)
    • Council Member for the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section (2018 – Current)
  • Indianapolis Bar Association (2009 – Current)
    • Member of the Executive Committee for the Commercial & Bankruptcy Law Section (2013 – Current)
  • Indianapolis Bar Foundation
    • Named a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation (2016)
    • Member of the Evening Under the Stars Planning Committee (2019)
  • BNI Networking Group (2017 – Current)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute (2018 – Current)