Michael B. Pugh

Michael is a shareholder in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Estate Planning & Probate practices. Michael is admitted in all Georgia state and federal courts and routinely appears before bankruptcy courts throughout the country.

Michael is a veteran restructuring attorney focusing on all aspects of bankruptcy, debtor and creditor law, workouts, and general commercial litigation. He represents secured and unsecured lenders, financial institutions, landlords, and other interested parties in complex bankruptcy cases and a variety of bankruptcy-related litigation matters. He also has significant experience representing court appointed trustees, receivers, and examiners. Michael is skilled in analyzing and litigating preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as director and officer litigation.

As head of the Firm’s Estate Planning & Probate group, Michael represents individuals in estate and trust administration matters with an emphasis on wealth preservation, business succession planning, and gift, tax, and charitable planning. Michael provides sophisticated estate planning advice to create a customized estate plan tailored to accomplish his clients’ personal goals. Michael’s experience includes drafting of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, business continuity plans, and advanced directives. In addition, Michael advises estate executors and administrators throughout the estate administration process and has deep experience concerning a host of estate or trust related litigation matters.

Contact

P: 770-925-0111

Practice Groups

Experience

Michael has extensive experience representing businesses, banks, credit unions, and commercial finance companies in all aspects of bankruptcy, debtor and creditor law, workouts, and general commercial litigation. His clients also rely on him for strategic, legal, and regulation compliance advice which permits him to take an active role in the day-to-day operation of his clients’ businesses. Michael also oversees TOKN’s Estate Planning & Probate practice, including the drafting of wills and trust documents, counseling clients on a variety of probate and estate administration issues, and litigating estate and trust disputes, including will contests, fiduciary disputes, and trustee/executor removal actions.

Michael is admitted in all Georgia state and federal courts and routinely appears before bankruptcy courts throughout the country. Michael has also represented parties before appellate courts, including the Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Michael’s recent experience includes:

  • Successfully challenged the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction to hear claims related to the alleged violations of a purchase and sale agreement
  • Obtained a judgment declaring over $1 million nondischargeable through bankruptcy in a federal bankruptcy court bench trial
  • Defeated bankruptcy stay violation claims against a local municipality and successfully defended the subsequent appeal
  • Successfully defended preference claims for a Fortune 500 technology company in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of an insurance technology and outsourcing firm and its subsidiaries
  • Recovered over $1 million of fraudulently transferred assets in a federal bankruptcy court allowing for a distribution of over 25% to general unsecured creditors
  • Successfully challenged the exemption claimed on a quarter of a million dollar annuity in a federal bankruptcy court

Credentials

  • Admissions
    • Admitted to practice in Georgia
  • Education
    • The University of Georgia School of Law, J.D. 2006
    • University of Kansas, B.A. 2001
  • Community Involvement
    • Member, Northern District of Georgia Bench & Bar Committee
    • American Bankruptcy Institute
    • Metropolitan Atlanta Consumer Bankruptcy Group
    • Estate Planning and Probate Section, Gwinnett County Bar Association
    • Director, Peachtree Corners Business Association
    • Catholic Charities of Atlanta Leadership Class, 2018
    • Board Member, Holy Redeemer Home and School Association