Michael Best is pleased to announce that Justin Mertz has been named a Notable Litigator & Trial Attorney award recipient by BizTimes Media. Honorees are litigators or trial attorneys in southeastern Wisconsin and serve in a senior-level role, practicing for 5 or more years at their law firm.
Based in Michael Best’s Milwaukee office, Mertz is a Partner and Leader for the firm’s Bankruptcy subgroup, and he focuses his practice on Chapter 11 cases, with an emphasis on representing debtors, as well as creditors, secured lenders, and committees within business bankruptcy cases. He also litigates general corporate disputes in state and federal courts and assists with other insolvency matters (receiverships, assignments, foreclosures, and dissolutions).
Mertz’s range of practice enables him to handle many small and local business bankruptcies in Wisconsin, but also be involved in some of the nation’s most complex bankruptcies including mega retailers, crypto, and big pharma. Recently, he has run reorganizations and has been active in business bankruptcies across the nation including Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Utah, Nevada, Mississippi, Washington, and New Mexico.
Mertz’s involvement reaches beyond service for his clients. Outside of the law firm, he is currently on the Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Creditors’ Rights Section Board of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and he also serves as a volunteer attorney through Legal Action of Wisconsin. At Michael Best, he not only chairs the bankruptcy subgroup, but Mertz is the lead hiring partner for the Litigation practice group. For the last four years, Mertz has also chaired the summer associate program, which monitors each of the summer associates progress throughout the summer, ensures a variety of projects and exposure for a positive experience, and assists in hiring decisions for the incoming class and future of the firm.
Mertz earned his J.D. as well as his M.B.A. from Marquette University. He received both his B.S. in Finance and B.A. from Miami University.