Timothy J. Anzenberger

Tim Anzenberger represents financial institutions and other creditors when borrowers face financial distress. A partner and leader of the Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Team at Adams & Reese, he handles commercial Chapter 11 matters and litigates for creditors in state and federal courts across Mississippi and North Carolina. His work includes defending avoidance actions, challenging fraudulent transfers and handling lender-liability claims. He also briefs and argues appeals in financial services cases and has represented and advised parties filing amicus briefs.

Tim is active in the bankruptcy community as a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Board of Directors. He writes for the ABI Journal and ABI committee newsletters, summarizes appellate opinions for the institute’s VOLO platform and speaks at industry conferences on bankruptcy ethics, creditor rights and financial restructuring. He serves on the advisory board of the ABI Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop and the board of the Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference. He previously co-chaired ABI’s Business Reorganization and Ethics and Professional Compensation Committees. In 2022, ABI named him to its “40 Under 40” list, which recognizes emerging leaders in bankruptcy and insolvency.

Chambers USA ranks Tim Up & Coming for Bankruptcy/Restructuring in Mississippi. Best Lawyers has recognized him for Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation–Bankruptcy.

Tim’s pro bono work includes membership in the appellate pro bono programs of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits. He also serves on the North Carolina Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee and as a pro bono coordinator at Adams & Reese. He authored a chapter on appellate pro bono opportunities in Mississippi for the American Bar Association Council of Appellate Lawyers’ Pro Bono Manual.

Before private practice, Tim clerked for Presiding Justice Jess H. Dickinson of the Mississippi Supreme Court and was a legal extern in the Staff Attorney’s Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He graduated first in his class from Mississippi College School of Law in 2011, earning his J.D. summa cum laude. He was executive editor of the Mississippi College Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board, with competition honors that included a finalist finish at the Elliot Cup Bankruptcy Competition. He is a member of the Order of Barristers.

• Community Trust Bank v. First National Bank of Clarksdale, 150 So. 3d 683 (Miss. 2014). Handled all stages of appeal, including post-trial motions and hearings. Briefed and presented oral argument on issues of first impression before the Mississippi Supreme Court, securing a unanimous reversal of the trial court’s decision below and a rendering of judgment in client’s favor.
• Linde Health Care Staffing v. Claiborne County Hospital, 198 So. 3d 318 (Miss. 2016). Handled all stages of appeal. Briefed and presented oral argument before the Mississippi Supreme Court in a case involving the Federal Arbitration Act.
• Smith v. James L. Henley and Trustmark National Bank, 548 B.R. 724 (S.D. Miss. 2016). Handled all stages of bankruptcy appeal, including drafting appellee’s brief, successfully obtaining affirmance of bankruptcy court’s final judgment converting a debtor’s case to Chapter 7 for bad faith.
• In re Patricia L. Smith, 530 B.R. 327 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 2015). Handled all stages of trial involving a debtor’s bad faith bankruptcy filing, fraudulent transfers, and hidden and commingled assets, securing a favorable ruling and judgment converting a debtor’s bankruptcy case.
• Bryant v. Syncom Space Services, L.L.C., No. 24-60266 (5th Cir. 2025). Briefed appeal on behalf of employer in employment dispute and obtained affirmance of summary judgment, securing complete dismissal of all claims.
• Gillham v. Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, et al., No. 23-2478 (3d Cir. 2024). Briefed and presented oral argument on issues of constitutional law, including the First Amendment, obtaining affirmance of order dismissing lawsuit.
• Defended billion-dollar contracts awarded by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid to a coordinated-care provider, prevailing before the state agency on administrative appeal.
• Represented one of the largest customers in a complex Chapter 11 case for a furniture manufacturer and its affiliates, negotiating resolution of multi-million-dollar claims among the debtors, senior-secured lender, and customer.
• Represented holder of a $75 million unsecured term loan in a complex oil-and-gas Chapter 11 restructuring, securing favorable plan confirmation through a negotiated restructuring support agreement.
• Represented creditors in multiple bankruptcy cases involving debtor bad faith, obtaining dismissals and orders lifting the automatic stay to protect clients’ collateral and contractual rights.
• Mississippi True v. Dzielak, et al. (Miss. 2020). Defended billion-dollar contract awarded by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid to a coordinated-care provider before state agencies, the trial court, and the Mississippi Supreme Court, obtaining affirmance at every stage.
• Colson v. Warren, 358 So.3d 1096 (Miss. Ct. App. 2023). Obtained affirmance of order denying judicial dissolution of a limited liability company, preserving the client’s ownership interests.
• Newsome v. Peoples Bancshares, Inc., 328 So.3d 87 (Miss. 2021). Defended financial institution against breach of contract and lender-liability claims, obtaining affirmance of the trial court’s dismissal of all allegations.
• In re Collins, 2018 WL 6605913 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. Dec. 13, 2018). Obtained judgment denying debtor a discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a), protecting creditor’s recovery rights.

Education

• Mississippi College School of Law, J.D. summa cum laude | 2011
• North Carolina State University, B.A. Political Science | 2007

Bar Admissions

• Mississippi
• North Carolina

Court Admissions

• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
• United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

• Best Lawyers®  Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Bankruptcy, 2027
• Best Lawyers® Ones To Watch - Commercial Litigation
• Mid-South Rising Star® (by Thomson Reuters) Appellate, Bankruptcy: Business, Business Litigation
• American Bankruptcy Institute’s “40 Under 40” Class of 2022 
• Leadership in Law, Mississippi Business Journal
• Order of Barristers
• Does the Bankruptcy Code Allow Tiered Chapter 12 Plans? Best of ABI 2019: The Year in Consumer Bankruptcy

• American Bankruptcy Institute, Board of Directors
• American Bankruptcy Institute's Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, Advisory Board
• Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, Board of Directors
• Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference's Annual Seminar, Advisory Board
• North Carolina Bar Association, Pro Bono Committee
• Mecklenburg Bar Association, CLE Committee