Overview
Douglas S. Draper is a nationally known bankruptcy practitioner having represented debtors and creditors in cases throughout the United States. He also has an LLM in Taxation from NYU which provides him with a special insight in the tax issues that are faced by a distressed company. A leader in the fields of corporate bankruptcy and commercial law, Douglas is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, Class XI. His practice involves an equal mix of litigation and business negotiation. His clients are primarily debtors in large commercial and business cases, unsecured bondholders, and creditors’ committees. He has represented clients in successful reorganizations of hotels, grocery chains, apartment complexes, office buildings, oil companies, shipyards, clothing stores, an oil refinery, and fast food franchises. He has developed an expertise in the bankruptcy aspects of environmental issues, asbestos cases, plugging and abandonment of oil and gas wells, mass torts, franchise restaurants and maximizing the use of Subchapter V to minimize the cost and expense to a company in bankruptcy. He specializes in coming up with solutions to complex problems for which a solution is not readily apparent.
Chambers USA describes Douglas Draper as combining “a very engaging personality” with “the ability to give you the bottom line and the only logical solution in even the most complex of bankruptcies.”
Outside the Office
Douglas was born and raised in New York City. In a prior life, he produced television shows on HBO and MTV and in 1983 won an Ace Award for “The Red Shoes,” Best Children’s Special. His other credits include his work on the star-studded gala held at Radio City Music Hall, “To Basie with Love: A Tribute to Count Basie” and the off-Broadway production of “Scrambled Feet” with the late Madeline Kahn.
Douglas and his wife, Leslie, deeply care for the well-being and safety of animals. They spend most of their free time volunteering as board members of the St. Francis ‘no kill’ Animal Sanctuary on the North Shore. They are also passionate baseball fans. Douglas’ favorite t-shirt even proclaims “Baseball is life, the rest is just details.”
Professional
- Louisiana Bar Association
- Colorado Bar Association
- Federal Illinois Bar Association
- Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, Class XI
- Best Lawyers in America® – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization; Litigation – Bankruptcy; Banking and Finance Law; Litigation – Banking and Finance (1987 – 2026)
- Super Lawyers (2007-2026)
- Chambers USA Guide – ‘Band 1’ Ranking, Bankruptcy/Restructuring (2017-2025)
- Super Lawyers Top 50 New Orleans (2013 – 2015, 2017 – 2020, 2023)
- Super Lawyers Top 50 Louisiana (2008 – 2015, 2018 – 2020)
- New Orleans Magazine’s “Top Lawyer” – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization (2019)
- The Prentice Hall Award in Taxation (1975)
- The American Jurisprudence Award in Corporations (1972)
- “Five Aggressive Debtor Techniques, Debtor Representation” – Speaker, Commercial Law League
- “In Re Failco, A Case Model” – Speaker, Louisiana State Bar Association
- “Single Asset Bankruptcy Ahlers and Beyond, Single Asset Issues” – Speaker, Commercial Law League
- “Bankruptcy Issues Concerning Officers and Directors” – Speaker, Commercial Law League
- “Bankruptcy Ethics” – Speaker, National Bankruptcy Institute
- “Judge Schiff Welcome to Sequel to Kramer, Domestic Issues in Bankruptcy” – Speaker, Western District of Louisiana Newsletter
- Louisiana Bar Association – Speaker
- American Bar Association – Speaker
- Commercial Law League – Speaker
- Practicing Law Institute
- Professional Education Systems, Inc.
- National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges – Educational Chairman
- American Bankruptcy Institute Unsecured Creditors’ – Co-Chairman
