PANELIST — Blake Roth, Partner – Holland & Knight LLP: Blake Roth is a bankruptcy attorney in Holland & Knight's Nashville office. Mr. Roth counsels clients in all areas of commercial reorganization and distressed commercial disputes, representing Chapter 11 debtors in possession (DIP), Chapter 11 trustees, court-appointed receivers, assignees for the benefit of creditors, secured creditors and other parties in interest in all aspects of bankruptcy and commercial reorganization.

Mr. Roth also practices in the area of commercial litigation, representing automobile manufacturers, equipment lessors, lenders and other parties in distressed commercial disputes.

PANELIST — Jessica D. Scouten, Principal and Director of Forensic Services – PYA, P.C.: Jessica has 20 years of litigation, forensic, audit and assurance, and advisory experience. Her expertise lies in providing forensic accounting, financial advisory, and litigation services to PYA healthcare clients, helping them to navigate the continually evolving changes of the industry.

PANELIST — Robert Unell, Senior Managing Director – Ankura: Robert is a Senior Managing Director with Ankura, based in Atlanta. Robert provides real estate investors, developers, and lenders with financial and other advisory services such as asset and transaction strategies, valuation management, due diligence, and financial feasibility studies. With expertise in troubled and distressed assets, he supports clients in debt restructurings as well as in litigation. Robert has testified in both state and federal courts on matters that have included Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.  In addition to testimony, Robert has significant experience in asset management, disposition, and implementing strategies for real estate owners, lenders, and investors.

Prior to joining Ankura, Robert was a senior director in the real estate asset group of a large global consultancy. He previously served as a senior vice president at Bank of America’s real estate managed assets group. In that position he was responsible for workout and disposition strategies for commercial real estate assets and oversaw the resolution of more than $3 billion in distressed assets of all types. Robert began as a client manager in the bank’s commercial real estate banking group, handling a homebuilder and residential development loan portfolio that exceeded $100 million annually.

PANELIST — Phillip Young, Partner – Thompson Burton PLLC:  Phillip’s practice specializes in bankruptcy, receivership, creditors’ rights, commercial loan workouts, as well as complex commercial litigation. Phillip has broad experience representing parties in all manners of insolvency cases. As part of his creditors’ rights practice, Phillip has represented financial institutions, corporations and governmental entities in complex workouts, bankruptcies, receiverships, state and federal court litigation, and judgment enforcement. Phillip has also represented large corporate debtors in chapter 11 bankruptcies, chapter 7 bankruptcies, receiverships, and outside of court debt restructuring. In addition to creditor and debtor work, Phillip is frequently retained to represent court-appointed bankruptcy trustees and receivers in evaluating, and pursuing, litigation assets, and has been appointed by various state courts and the United States District Court for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee to serve as receiver of assets. 

The breadth of Phillip’s experience (from creditor to debtor to trustee) enables him to examine complex legal problems from all angles and craft legal strategies and solutions that are the most effective and efficient for his clients.

Prior to joining Thompson Burton, Phillip was an associate at Bass, Berry & Sims PLC (2000 – 2008) and a founding member of Garfinkle, McLemore & Young, PLLC.

Phillip is very active in the community in Columbia, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife Brandy. Phillip has previously served as Chairman of the board of directors of Columbia Academy, a K-12 private school with campuses in Columbia and Spring Hill. He has combined his passion for Columbia Academy with his passion for youth football by coaching and serving on the board of directors for the Columbia Academy Youth Football League (in which both of his sons have played). Phillip also previously served on the board of Nashville Christian School, Main Street Columbia, and the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

Phillip has two grown sons:  Phillip III, who is a 3L at The George Washington University Law School, and Derek, who is a senior bio-medical engineering major at Vanderbilt University.