Gregory Gennady Plotko, a veteran bankruptcy attorney who has steered clients through many high-profile Chapter 11 proceedings, joined Richard Kibbe & Orbe as a partner in its New York office.

“Greg will add significant value to our bankruptcy, restructuring and special situations investing practice areas,” said Jennifer Grady, managing partner of Richards Kibbe & Orbe. “His extensive experience will prove invaluable to our clients investing in distressed situations, and we expect him to provide additional depth to our growing corporate practice.”

Plotko joins Richards Kibbe & Orbe from the bankruptcy and restructuring group at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. His many notable engagements include his recent representation of an ad hoc group of lenders in the Peabody Coal and Patriot Coal bankruptcies, holders of $1 billion in certificates of participation in the bankruptcy of the City of Detroit and his representation of St. Vincent’s hospital.

Plotko has also played significant roles in the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Chrysler and AES Eastern Energy. Earlier in his career, Plotko acted as the lead associate on a litigation team that pursued the recovery of deferred compensation paid to Enron management before the company’s bankruptcy filing, and represented numerous creditors’ committees in the retail industry.

“There’s no substitute for the experience Greg has gained representing clients in some of the country’s largest and most complex bankruptcies,” said Jon Kibbe, RK&O founding partner.

“I am looking forward to contributing at Richards Kibbe & Orbe,” Plotko said. “It’s exciting to join a team with a well-deserved reputation for being equally effective and creative in approaching bankruptcies and other special situations.”