Joseph A. Field

Approaching his 70th birthday and after years of representing prominent clients in significant commercial litigation and chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, Joe Field is re-dedicating his professional time to serving as an arbitrator and mediator. Joe will stay active in litigation for the next few years with his role as co-counsel for the receiver in the Equilus Receivership, Washington State’s largest-ever Ponzi scheme/securities fraud case.

Joe has had a career specializing in complex, multi-party litigation cases before federal, state and bankruptcy courts. Long-term clients have appreciated his ability to resolve challenging disputes through direct negotiations and mediation, as well as via trail advocacy in court and private arbitration. Joe’s portfolio of representations includes a broad range of commercial, corporate, partnership, real estate, securities fraud and financial fraud cases. Joe has represented plaintiffs and defendants, creditors and debtors, and receivers.

For over 30 years, savvy clients and referring attorneys have sought out Joe for his dedication and intense work ethic, creative solutions, courtroom presence and reasonableness. Time and time again, clients have benefited from Joe’s ability to defuse tensions with angry opposing parties and their attorneys..

• When Sony Electronics needed to collect a $75 million unpaid bill from an NBA team for its new arena’s Jumbotron, it hired Joe to file suit and collect. In less than one year, the team’s owner fully paid Sony’s bill.

• In the first Archdiocese bankruptcy case in the Catholic Church’s 2,000 year history, attorneys for the Archdiocese’s nine insurers’ national and local law firms selected Joe as their coordinating counsel to keep the insurers aligned in the years of ensuing bankruptcy court litigation and resolutions. Shortly after, Liberty Insurance engaged Joe as co-counsel for its $112 million, front-page negotiated settlement in the Jesuit Church’s first-ever bankruptcy case.

• When an American multi-national tagged the former oil minister of the United Arab Emirates with a $63 million overseas arbitration award, which overflowed into four years of multi-state federal, state and appellate court litigation against his US holding companies, his American attorneys engaged Joe for resolution. After five years of scorched-earth bankruptcy court litigation, Joe successfully negotiated a consensual resolution memorialized in a confirmed chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

• When Warren Buffet’s first insurance company needed to sue nine other insurers in Seattle, Berkshire Hathaway’s general counsel selected Joe for the successful state, federal, and appellate litigation that followed. After prevailing in multiple rounds of litigation, Joe succeeded in finalizing the litigation with the remaining defendants via courtroom successes and positive relationship building.

Joe has litigated on behalf of Morgan Stanley, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, law-school professors, American Express, AT&T, West Coast subsidiaries of Blackstone, and various investment funds, as well as individuals and privately held businesses.

Prior to practicing law, Joe worked in the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley International in London, and for Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in New York, London, and Frankfurt. His financial background and understanding of securities and credit have proven invaluable in litigation matters involving securities, financial fraud, distressed assets, debtor/creditor issues, and restructurings. His cases frequently involved resolutions of complex business and financial deals gone bad.

Joe has been an author and frequent speaker on commercial litigation and debtor/creditor and bankruptcy topics. He has participated in several seminars, including: 

• Federal Bar Association Seminar on Bankruptcy for Federal Practitioners, Practicing attorney panel member with Bankruptcy Judge, US Trustee, Chapter 7 trustee and Chapter 13 trustee.

• Bankruptcy Issues in State Court Cases, presented with a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for Portland, Oregon State Court Judges

• Bankruptcy issues in State Court Cases, Loss Prevention Seminar distributed by Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund

• Bankruptcy issues in State Court Litigation, presented to Owen Panner Inns of Court

• Collection Strategies in Commercial Leases, The Sterling Group

• Advanced Collection Strategies, National Business Institute

• Bankruptcy Reform, National Business Institute

• Presented multiple seminars to Oregon State Bar Young Lawyer’s Division on bankruptcy issues

• Contributed to Oregon Statutory Time Limitations (multiple editions)