Two Elevated to Partner at Bankruptcy Practice Levene Neale Bender Yoo & Brill in Los Angeles
(LOS ANGELES) — Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill L.L.P., a leading Los Angeles-based bankruptcy law and business reorganization boutique, has elevated two of its associates to partners in the firm.
Named as partners were Jeffrey S. Kwong, who joined the bankruptcy practice in 2014 after completing his clerkship, and Richard P. (Ricky) Steelman, Jr., a litigator who joined the firm 2020.
“Jeff and Ricky are both immensely talented young lawyers whose abundance of energy, credentials and creativity have displayed just how valuable they have been and will continue to be to our clients and staff alike,” said David L. Neale and co-managing partners at Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill. “They are a formidable pair and bode well for the future of the firm.”
Kwong represents Chapter 11 debtors, unsecured creditor committees, secured and unsecured creditors, and parties in bankruptcy litigation and appeals from a variety of industries. He has extensive experience representing both debtors and creditors in a variety of landlord-tenant disputes in bankruptcy cases, and as represented commercial landlords in some of the largest retail bankruptcy cases filed across the country in recent years. He is a member of the board of governors of the Southern. California Chinese Lawyers Assn. and Asian Pacific CPA Association, serves as legal advisor to the Soo Yuen Fraternal Association of Southern California. He was a member of the executive committee of the bankruptcy section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, is a member of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum and the Asian Pacific CPA Association.
Steelman’s experience includes representing individuals and companies in business disputes, including litigation connected to bankruptcy, restructuring and insolvency, in state and federal courts, private arbitrations, and more than 75 appeals in various appellate districts of the California Court of Appeals, as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a two-time Cooke Scholar after being selected for the 2002 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate scholarship and the 2006 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship. Steelman is also a member the Los Angeles County Bar Association and its Litigation, Appellate Courts, and Commercial Law and Bankruptcy section.
Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Brill was founded in 1995, and has been the recipient of numerous partnership and individual attorney awards.