Baker Donelson has named Eric L. Pruitt as chair of the Firm's Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Group.
A shareholder in Baker Donelson's Birmingham office, Mr. Pruitt will lead a team of nearly 40 attorneys throughout the Firm's footprint who assist clients with litigation and transactions relating to all types of bankruptcy and insolvency issues. While serving as the group's chair, he will maintain his legal practice, which focuses on representing banks, lenders, investment funds, and Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) Special Servicers in loan closings, commercial loan default matters, and bankruptcy cases.
Mr. Pruitt assumes the role from John H. Rowland, who has served as the group's chair since 2015. Mr. Rowland, a shareholder in the Firm's Nashville office, will resume a full-time focus on his practice, representing clients in complex business reorganizations, restructurings, and financing transactions.
Mr. Pruitt is a fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and has served as president of the Turnaround Management Association – Alabama Chapter, president of the board of trustees of The Alabama Ballet, and on the board of directors of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA). He has been recognized since 2012 by Chambers USA in Bankruptcy/Restructuring and is listed in Best Lawyers in America® in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation, and Banking and Finance Law. He has been named a leading attorney in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Law by Mid-South Super Lawyers, which has also recognized him as among the top 50 attorneys in Birmingham and the top 50 attorneys in Alabama.
A graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, Mr. Pruitt holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law.