Valerie Bantner Peo represents stakeholders in all aspects of restructuring, insolvency and commercial litigation. She regularly represents financial institutions, including agribusiness lenders and alternative lenders, software licensors, commercial landlords and tenants, equipment lessors, buyers of distressed assets and fiduciaries such as receivers and assignees.

Ms. Bantner Peo is the Administrative Co-Chair of Buchalter's Insolvency & Financial Law Group and a past chair of the Women@Buchalter committee. Since 2022, she has served as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council for the Northern District of California, and served as co-chair of the Lawyer Representative Committee in 2023-24.

Ms. Bantner Peo serves on the Board of Directors of the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation ("IWIRC"). In 2023, Ms. Bantner Peo received the IWIRC Fetner Award, presented to a member whose contributions to IWIRC have helped to fuel growth and expansion of IWIRC's mission globally.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, J.D., cum laude
• Smith College, B.A., English Language and Literature

Bankruptcy Litigation & Restructuring

• Prevailed on summary judgment on behalf of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender targeted by chapter 7 trustee in preference action.
• Defend trade vendor in $45 million avoiding action brought by the representatives of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, pursuant to Title III of the Puerto Rico Oversight Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA).
• Regularly represents commercial landlords in all aspects of chapter 7 and chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
• Regularly represents senior secured lenders in all aspects of chapter 11, including post-petition financing and use of cash collateral.
• Regularly represents agribusiness lenders in collection actions, chapter 11 and chapter 12 "family farmer" bankruptcy proceedings.
• Represented software licensor, vendors, and community choice aggregator trade organization in Pacific Gas & Electric chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.
• Represented digital entertainment company in out-of-court winddown of business operations and resolution of creditor claims through ABC (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors).
• Pursued fraudulent conveyance claims, preference actions, and substantive consolidation against debtor's numerous affiliated entities on behalf of Chapter 11 trustee of grower and processor of vegetable products, and handled cross-border insolvency issues to protect and enforce the bankruptcy estate's claims to assets located internationally.

Real Estate Litigation

• Prevailed on appeal on behalf of shopping center tenant in dispute regarding enforceability of co-tenancy rent following anchor tenant closure.
• Obtained district court judgment in favor of tenant department store against shopping center owner validating co-tenancy rent following anchor tenant closure. (Las Vegas).
• Secondment with the Port of Oakland Port Attorney's office for litigation matters including commercial lease disputes, evaluating and responding to claims made against the Oakland International Airport, and evaluating agency policies.
• Routinely and efficiently regains possession of commercial real estate on behalf of landlords.

Commercial Litigation

• Achieved summary judgment on behalf of secured lender in state court litigation and successfully defended against business tort counter-claim at bench trial.
• Obtained pre-judgment order for writ of attachment on behalf of unsecured creditor against defaulting borrower.

• Ag "Distributor" Cannot Use PACA Trust to Jump Ahead of First-Lien Creditor, Circuit Court Rules

  By Valerie Bantner Peo |February 2021

• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: Congress Incentivizes Rent Deferral During COVID-19 Pandemic Through Bankruptcy Code Amendments in Stimulus Bill

  By Valerie Bantner Peo |January 2021

• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: Chuck E. Cheese: The Mouse Who Didn't Get the (Rent Relief) Cheese

  By Valerie Bantner Peo |December 2020

• Insolvency: What Every Technology Company Needs to Know About Claims Against Bankrupt Customers And Business Partners
• What Every Technology Company Needs to Know About Assumption, Assumption and Assignment, Or Rejection Of Its Contracts In Bankruptcy
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: Chuck E. Cheese: The Mouse Who Didn't Get the (Rent Relief) Cheese
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: New PPP Changes in the Stimulus Bill: Second PPP Loan for Hardest-Hit Existing PPP Borrowers, Additional Categories of Forgivable Expenses, Tax Deductibility for Expenses Paid with PPP Proceeds, Lender Liability Limitations, Simplified Forgiveness Application for Loans of $150,000 or Less, and Other Changes
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: Congress Incentivizes Rent Deferral During COVID-19 Pandemic Through Bankruptcy Code Amendments in Stimulus Bill
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: New Treasury PPP Rules Clarify Recent Changes to PPP Program, Extend Time to Obtain a PPP Loan to March 31, 2021
• Ag "Distributor" Cannot Use PACA Trust to Jump Ahead of First-Lien Creditor, Circuit Court Rules
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: PPP Application Deadline Extended to May 31, 2021
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: PPP Loans Now Available to Otherwise-Eligible Companies That Have Ended Their Bankruptcy Proceedings
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Panelist at the 2015 California Bankruptcy Forum Conference
• Forum Shopping: What Drives Venue Selection in Bankruptcy?
• Speaker, Nuts and Bolts: Trials in Bankruptcy Court
• Jennifer A. Smith and Valerie Bantner Peo, Speakers at the NCUCA Annual Conference
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Moderator at the Bar Association of San Francisco
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at Sacramento Valley Bankruptcy Forum 2018 Fall Symposium
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Moderator at IWIRC on the Vine Conference
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Presenter at California Bankruptcy Forum
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Moderator at The Bar Association of San Francisco
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at the Bar Association of San Francisco
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at the Insolvency 2020 Restructuring, Insolvency & Distressed Debt Virtual Summit
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Program Producer, The Automatic Bankruptcy Stay – Advanced Topics
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at Alameda County Bar Association
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Panel Producer at the California Bankruptcy Forum Annual Conference
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at Fifth Annual Bay Area Bankruptcy Judges’ Conference
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Program Producer at the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Panelist at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2024 Southwest Bankruptcy Conference
• Real Estate Shop Talk Podcast: Retail & Restaurant Bankruptcies Due to COVID-19
• Business Law Roundtable Podcast: Introduction
• Business Law Roundtable Podcast: COVID-19 Stimulus Bill Amends Bankruptcy Code To Encourage Payment Deferral Plans
• Valerie Bantner Peo, Speaker at the American Bankruptcy Institute's 2025 Southwest Bankruptcy Conference