Hon. Joan N. Feeney (Ret.) joins JAMS following almost 27 years on the bench of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts and 23 years as a member of the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit. Judge Feeney presided over a full range of cases, including complex commercial cases with multiple parties and conflicting interests. While on the bench, she wrote over 500 opinions in many different areas of the law.
Judge Feeney earned a reputation from the start of her career for being a supremely capable lawyer who always treated everyone with the utmost respect and civility. She has an incomparable ability to distill even the most complex case down to its essence, while still minding the details.
Impartial, compassionate, candid, fair-minded, tireless and a brilliant jurist are words that counsel have used to describe Judge Feeney. Her people skills are unparalleled, and she is able to offer compelling solutions to individuals with differing personalities.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
Representative Matters
Accounting/Finance
- mortgage and borrower relationships
- defective mortgages
- mortgage reformation
Bankruptcy
- bankruptcy jurisdiction, standing and eligibility
- compensation of professionals
- contested confirmation of plans of reorganization, including feasibility and liquidation analysis
- valuation of security, businesses and commercial and residential real estate
- automatic stay scope, exceptions and relief from stay
- single-asset real estate cases
- denial of discharge; exceptions to discharge for fraud, willful and malicious injury and other grounds
- estate’s avoiding powers
- fraudulent transfers and defenses; preferential transfers and defenses
- equitable subordination
- recharacterization of debt to equity
- substantive consolidation
- involuntary petitions
- nonprofit and church bankruptcies
- assumption and assignment of leases and executory contracts, including intellectual property licenses
Business/Commercial
- alter ego and veil piercing of corporate and trust entities
- contract interpretation
- fraudulent transfers
- fraud and injury to property
- breach of fiduciary duties and defalcation
- directors’ and officers’ liability and related insurance coverage disputes
- Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 perfection of security interests
- receiverships and negligence of receivers
- unfair acts and deceptive practices
- subordination agreements
- successor liability
- debt collection; Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
- construction contract disputes
Family Law
- property division
- alimony and support
Professional Liability
- attorneys’ fees disputes
- legal ethics
- attorney malpractice
Real Property
- title disputes
- lease and purchase and sale agreement interpretation
- priority of lien disputes
- evictions
- improper foreclosures
- predatory lending
- real estate and personal property tax liens
- rights of first refusal
- homestead exemptions