Our Attorneys

Matthew S. Okin is a founder and the Managing Partner of Okin Adams Bartlett Curry LLP, one of Houston’s leading boutique firms for bankruptcy, restructuring, and commercial litigation. He launched the practice in 2006 and has built it into a firm recognized by Chambers and Partners and ranked among the top tier nationally by U.S. News – Best Lawyers for bankruptcy work in Houston.

Matt’s practice centers on complex Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas—one of the country’s busiest restructuring venues. He has served on the court’s Complex Case Committee since its creation in 2017, by appointment of the Chief Judge,of the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court and was most recently reappointed to a term running through 2027—a reflection of his standing among the Southern District restructuring bar. In his day-to-day practice he serves as lead counsel to debtors, creditors’ committees, trustees, and other constituencies, pairing courtroom experience with the business judgment that distressed situations demand. That combination allows him to move fluidly between contested litigation and the negotiation of reorganization plans, asset sales, and out-of-court workouts. Clients and referring firms turn to him when a matter requires both restructuring depth and trial capability in a single advisor.

Representative engagements include serving as counsel to the debtors in Castex Energy, Razzoo’s Restaurants, Sam Kane Beef Processors, and Aziz Convenience Stores—the last of which earned a TMA Transaction of the Year award—and as counsel to official creditors’ committees and a Chapter 11 trustee in cases including Black Elk Offshore, Goldking Holdings, and Watson Valve Services. Matt also has substantial retail and consumer-facing experience: he represented the ad hoc equity committee in the JCPenney case, among the largest retail restructurings filed in the district; has represented numerous furniture retailers in both in-court and out-of-court matters; and served as conflicts counsel in the chapter 11 case of furniture and appliance retail chain Conn’s.

Matt has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights and for Insolvency and Reorganization Law since 2019, named a Texas Super Lawyer in bankruptcy every year since 2012, and listed among Houston’s Top 100 Lawyers. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association.

Before founding the firm, Matt built his litigation and restructuring foundation over fourteen years at Vinson & Elkins and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where his bankruptcy practice focused on complex plans of reorganization and contested Chapter 11 matters. That experience—first- and second-chair trials, state and federal appeals, and lead day-to-day counsel roles for debtor corporations and creditor constituencies—continues to inform the practice he leads today.

Representative Bankruptcy Experience:

• Counsel to the Debtors, Razzoo’s, Inc., et al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Examiner, First Brands Group, LLC, et al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Debtors, Castex Energy 2005 Holdco, LLC, et al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Debtor, Sam Kane Beef Processors LLC (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Debtor, Aziz Convenience Stores, LLC (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Ad Hoc Equity Committee, J.C. Penney Company, Inc., et al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Conflicts Counsel, Conn’s, Inc., et al. (furniture and appliance retailer)
• Counsel to the Debtors, Aztec/Shaffer, LLC, et al. (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Debtor, Urban Oaks Builders LLC (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Debtors, High Country Transportation, Inc., et al. (N.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, LLC (S.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Quantum Valve and Oilfield Services, LLC (E.D. Tex.)
• Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, Goldking Holdings, LLC, et al. (S.D. Tex.)