PHILADELPHIA, February 28, 2024—Duane Morris LLP partner Lawrence J. Kotler will receive the David T. Sykes Award from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP). The award is named after David T. Sykes, a renowned bankruptcy attorney who formed and led Duane Morris’ Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group for two decades and then went on to serve as the firm’s managing partner from 1994 to 1997 and its vice chairman from 1998 to 2004. It is presented to a member of the bankruptcy bar who embodies the qualities that Sykes exemplified, including excellence and integrity as a bankruptcy attorney, unsurpassed professionalism, mentoring younger professionals, courtesy to and respect for all, upholding the reputation of the local bankruptcy bar and unwavering dedication to the bankruptcy community and the less fortunate in Philadelphia. Kotler will receive the award at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference 34th Annual Forum on April 4, 2024.
Kotler is co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Representations Division of Duane Morris’ Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. He practices in the area of reorganization and finance, representing Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession, Chapter 11 trustees, Chapter 7 trustees, liquidating trustees, creditors’ committees, secured creditors and large institutional unsecured creditors in all facets of bankruptcy. Kotler is a member of the American College of Bankruptcy, where he serves as co-chair of the Educational Committee for the Third Circuit and is a senior fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is also a board certified business bankruptcy specialist and has been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2006 as one of the top bankruptcy lawyers in Pennsylvania.
Kotler was president of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference from 2011 to 2012. He is a long-standing board member of CBAP, where he also served a two-year term as president ending in 2017 and received its Volunteer of the Year Award in 1999 and 2001. In addition to his board service, Kotler is an active pro bono attorney for CBAP, representing low-income Philadelphia debtors. He further contributes to the local community by serving as executive vice president for the board of directors of the Homeless Advocacy Project, where he will serve as president in 2026, and by serving on the boards of his local library and fire company.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
