Kutak Rock is pleased to announce that Thomas J. Salerno has joined the firm as a transition partner in its restructuring practice.Tom has decades of experience advising clients on complex domestic and international restructurings.

Tom brings global experience and out-of-the-box solutions to his work with complex commercial corporate and real estate restructurings, helping distressed, often high-profile companies find new paths forward. Clients turn to Tom for his national and international experience helping private and publicly traded companies in a broad range of industries continue operations as they negotiate restructuring plans. He has advised lenders, distressed companies, committees and asset acquirers in bankruptcies and out-of-court settlements. Tom’s expertise landed him a spot on the inaugural Forbes’ Top 200 Attorneys In The U.S.” in May 2024 and Lawyer of the Year: Bankruptcy and Litigation by The Best Lawyers In America for 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2024-25.

Tom works with a global roster of clients from an array of industries, including transportation, real estate developments (such as master planned communities and development rights), hotels, casino, sports, tech, power generation, agribusiness, construction, healthcare, manufacturing, airlines and franchising. Many of his cases have an international component. He is an adjunct professor and prolific author and lecturer, writing for both practitioners and corporate executives.

Tom is counsel for the Official Creditor’s Committee in the Five Star Chapter 11 pending in Houston involving the 200-acre mixed use development in Scottsdale on which the Ritz Carlton resort and luxury homes will be constructed, with nearly $1 billion in debt.

Tom represented Epicenter Partners in the restructuring of 300 acres of prime developable real estate in the Desert Ridge area, and involving disputes related to the master development rights over 5,000 acres of State Trust leased property.

Tom represented the owners of the Phoenix Coyotes, an NHL hockey team, in bankruptcy negotiations that resulted in a historic sale of the team to the NHL, marking the first time the NHL purchased one of its own franchises.

Known for his savvy in large-scale cases, Thomas has served as restructuring counsel for a national drug store chain, a nationwide operator of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, a publicly traded owner/operator of fire and ambulance services, and Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S/A, the Brazilian nuclear regulatory agency in the bankruptcies of Nuexco Exchange (U.S. and Switzerland).

In addition to serving as an expert witness on U.S. insolvency law in litigation in Germany, Thomas has advised numerous foreign governments on revamping their laws and has taught Comparative International Insolvency at the University of Salzburg.

A frequent writer, lecturer and presenter, Thomas is active in leadership in the American Bankruptcy Institute and is a past chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Arizona.