AMANDA C. VINTEVOGHEL-BACKER

Attorney At Law
T313.886.4550 F313.221.9612
AVintevoghel@DragichLaw.com

Amanda C. Vintevoghel-Backer is a partner with The Dragich Law Firm and focuses primarily on bankruptcy reorganization, corporate restructuring, commercial litigation, and business transactions.

Amanda is integrally involved in the firm’s active corporate restructuring practice, representing businesses in restructurings and wind-downs both inside and outside of court. She provides practical and business-minded advice to clients who are grappling with distress, and develops creative solutions to protect their interests and achieve their business objectives. She also advises a wide range of individual and business clients as creditors’ rights counsel, helping her clients maximize their recoveries and enforce their rights.

Amanda is also a commercial litigator who represents clients across a number of industries in state and federal courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution forums. Her experience includes cases involving, among other things, debt collection, breach of contract, injunction proceedings, and supplier disputes.

In addition, Amanda advises clients in various business transactions, including the negotiation and drafting of commercial contracts, corporate formation, and the sale or acquisition of assets and businesses.

Amanda has developed significant expertise in restructuring, transactional, and litigation aspects of Michigan's cannabis industry through her role serving as counsel to the receiver in two large and complex cannabis receivership cases. This experience includes the proceeding of Skymint, one of Michigan’s largest cannabis companies.

She has a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern Michigan cannabis receivership proceedings, and practical experience working with the Cannabis Regulatory Agency and other governmental bodies that oversee the Michigan cannabis industry. In addition to her role as counsel to receivers, Amanda also advises operators, secured creditors, investors, landlords and other stakeholders in cannabis-related matters.

Her receivership experience includes:

Skymint Receivership: As counsel to the Receiver, Amanda was integral in negotiating a purchase agreement of substantially all Skymint’s assets, as well as addressing the concerns of numerous constituents, including landlords, vendors, and local municipalities, to obtain court approval of the sale. Similarly, Amanda worked with all the constituents to maintain the value of the receivership estate, including license preservation.

Comco Receivership: In addition to preserving the receivership assets for sale, Amanda also worked with constituents to implement a new management and operational team during the pending receivership.

She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association, where she previously served as a member of the TMA Board of Directors. She is also the past President of the TMA Detroit Chapter.

Amanda regularly writes and presents on bankruptcy and restructuring topics. She participated as a panelist on the “Alternatives to Bankruptcy” panel at the 2019 TMA Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio and served as a panel moderator for "Receiverships: Effective Preservation of Assets" in November 2019 at the Townsend Hotel. She also served as a panel moderator at the 2017 TMA Mid-America Restructuring Conference and the TMA NextGen Signs of Distress Program – Spring 2017. Her article, “Pending Proceeding Rule: An Exception to a Rule 2004 Examination,” was published in ABI’s Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee Newsletter in October of 2014.

Amanda received her juris doctor, cum laude, from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She graduated from Northwood University, magna cum laude, with a degree in International Business and Business Management. At Northwood, she was a member of the cross-country and track teams.

An avid athlete, Amanda continues to compete as a distance runner, winning the 2010 Charlevoix Women’s Half-Marathon, the 2013 Sault Ste. Marie Women’s Marathon and the 2016 Back to the Beach Women’s Half-Marathon at Stoney Creek Metropark. She is also a two-time Boston Qualifier and she competed in the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Amanda volunteers with the Special Olympics of Grosse Pointe/Harper Woods.

RECENT REPRESENTATIVE CASES
Bankruptcy & Restructuring
Sakthi Automotive Group USA, Inc. – Counsel to Court-Appointed Receiver
Heritage Sportswear, Inc. – Counsel to Court-Appointed Receiver
Edwards Brothers Malloy, Inc. – Counsel to Court-Appointed Receiver
Paramount Precision Products – Counsel to Court-Appointed Receiver
City of Detroit Chapter 9 Bankruptcy – representation of vendors/creditors
Takata Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – representation of vendor/creditor
Lee Steel Corporation – representation of majority shareholder
VPH Pharmacy – Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – representation of debtor
JA Family Enterprises – Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – representation of debtor
Packard Square, LLC – Chapter 11 Bankruptcy – representation of debtor

Business Transactions
Representation of principal shareholders in going concern sale of Tier 1 automotive supplier
Negotiation of long-term supply contract on behalf of Tier 1 automotive supplier
Representation of seller of going concern retail operation with more than 20 locations in Midwest
Representation of corporate executive regarding transaction agreement and related items for sale of national company
Professional service firm – representation regarding engagement agreements and other firm legal matters
Real Estate private equity firm – representation regarding several acquisition transactions

Commercial Litigation
Obtained multi-million dollar judgment in favor of Chinese company in United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Representation of international keg distributor in commercial litigation dispute in Orange County, Florida
Representation of Tier 1 automotive supplier in breach of warranty action in Oakland County, Michigan
Ongoing representation of apparel supplier with locations in several states regarding supplier litigation
Defense of non-profit corporation regarding breach of contract action

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