Thank you for considering a donation to the Sykes Award Fund in honor of Larry Kotler! These funds will benefit the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project.

A little more about this year's award recipient...

Larry is a Partner at Duane Morris and co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Representations division of Duane Morris' Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. He practices in the area of reorganization and finance, representing chapter 11 debtors-in-possession, chapter 11 trustees, chapter 7 trustees, liquidating trustees, creditors' committees, secured creditors and large institutional unsecured creditors in all facets of bankruptcy.

Larry is known for being an active and dedicated member of the bankruptcy bar, demonstrated in part by his involvement with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference for which he served as President from 2011 to 2012. Larry is also a long standing board member of the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP) for which he also served a two-year term as President ending in 2017.

In addition to his board service, Larry is an active pro bono attorney for CBAP, representing low-income Philadelphia debtors. He was previously honored with the CBAP Volunteer of the Year Award, in 1999 and 2001. He is remembered by his clients for his expertise, thoroughness, openness and providing needed clarity through the difficult process. Importantly, Larry also promotes a culture of pro bono service within his practice group by encouraging his associates to accept pro bono CBAP cases and mentoring them throughout the duration of the case. Larry further contributes to the local community by serving as Executive Vice President for the board of directors of the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) and will be HAP’s President in 2026, by serving on his local library board (where he served as President) and for currently serving on the board of his local fire company.

Larry is a member of the American College of Bankruptcy, where he serves as Co-Chair of the Educational Committee for the Third Circuit and is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is also a board certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist and has been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2006 as one of the top Bankruptcy lawyers in Pennsylvania. He has been named a Super Lawyer in Pennsylvania since 2005, a Super Lawyer in New York from 2017-2021 and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2009. In 2022, Larry, along with Regina Kelbon, another former CBAP President, co-won Best of the Bar for Bankruptcy by the Philadelphia Business Journal and in their 2023 publication, The Best Lawyers in America, recognized Larry as “Lawyer of the Year” for Bankruptcy – Litigation in the Philadelphia metro region.

David T. Sykes Award 2024

By Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project

David T. Sykes Award 2024

Please join the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project in congratulating this year's worthy recipient, Lawrence J. Kotler, Esq.!