Mr. Bakst represents clients in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, reorganization, and insolvency. He regularly represents secured and unsecured creditors, debtors, trustees, and creditors’ committees in loan workout and other negotiations and in state and federal courts.
Upon graduation from Wayne State University Law School, Mr. Bakst clerked for a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.
He is a former two-term board member of the Detroit Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association. He served as chairperson of the Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Rights Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan from 1996 to 2000 and is a member of numerous other bankruptcy and creditors’ rights related organizations including the American Bankruptcy Institute. He often lectures in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.
Mr. Bakst is Chair of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit. He served previously on the Advisory Board of the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, as a member of the Community Advisory Board for the Detroit Jewish News, and on the board of the Detroit Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Mr. Bakst also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Oak Park from 1996 to 2000.
He has been included in The Best Lawyers in America since 2009 in the practice areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation-Bankruptcy. He has also been included in Michigan Super Lawyers under Bankruptcy: Business for the past decade. Mr. Bakst has been annually listed as a “Top Lawyer” for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights by metro Detroit business magazine DBusiness since the list debuted in 2009. He is Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence and endorsed for High Ethical Standing.
Honors, Awards, and Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America® 2009-2025; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Michigan Super Lawyers 2007-2024, Bankruptcy: Business
- DBusiness Magazine “Top Lawyers” 2009-2025, Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights Law
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence; Endorsed for High Ethical Standing
Civic, Cultural, and Community Activities
- Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit
- Chair, Board of Directors
- Chair, Executive Committee
- Former Treasurer, Board of Directors
- Former Chair, Finance Committee
- Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, Former Member, Advisory Board
- Michigan Israel Business Bridge, Former Member, Board of Directors
- American Jewish Committee, Detroit Chapter, former Member, Board of Directors
- Detroit Jewish News, former Member, Community Advisory Board
- City of Oak Park, former Member, Zoning Board of Appeals
Professional Affiliations
- American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), Member
- Detroit Bar Association
- Turnaround Management Association
- Detroit Chapter, former Director
- State Bar of Michigan
- Business Law Section, Member
- Real Property Law Section, Member
- Debtor-Creditor Rights Committee, Chair, 1996-2000
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “Formulating a Confirmable Chapter 11 Plan in a Not-So-Ideal World,” 34th Annual Bankruptcy Section Seminar, Federal Bar Association-Western District of Michigan, July 29-31, 2022
- Presenter, “Recharacterization, Equitable Subordination and Marshaling in Bankruptcy,” webinar hosted by the State Bar of Michigan Debtor-Creditor Rights Committee and the Bankruptcy Committee of the Federal Bar Association – E.D. Michigan Chapter, November 19, 2021
- Panelist, “Liquidating Assets,” American Bankruptcy Institute 27th Annual Central States Virtual Bankruptcy Workshop, June 26, 2020
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- Wayne State University Law School, J.D.
- University of Michigan, A.B.
- Michigan