Valerie Bantner Peo focuses her practice on creditors’ rights and commercial litigation with significant experience at the trial and appellate levels in bankruptcy, federal and state court. She regularly represents financial institutions, including agribusiness lenders and alternative lenders, software licensors, commercial landlords and tenants, equipment lessors, officers and directors, companies in distress 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. She is 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 chaired the inaugural IWIRC@INSOL conference in Tokyo and 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.

She is a past Chair of the Executive Committee of the San Francisco Bar Association’s Commercial Law and Bankruptcy section and a current Board member of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum. She was recognized by Super Lawyer Magazine as a Northern California Super Lawyer from 2019-2024. In 2025, Ms. Banter Peo is recognized in the Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law.

Ms. Bantner Peo served as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward D. Jellen (Ret.), U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of California, Hastings College of the Law
• Smith College

Significant Accomplishments
<p><strong>Bankruptcy Litigation & Restructuring</strong></p><ul><li>Prevailed on summary judgment on behalf of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lender targeted by chapter 7 trustee in preference action.</li><li>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).</li><li>Regularly represents commercial landlords in all aspects of chapter 7 and chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.</li><li>Regularly represents senior secured lenders in all aspects of chapter 11, including post-petition financing and use of cash collateral.</li><li>Regularly represents agribusiness lenders in collection actions, chapter 11 and chapter 12 “family farmer” bankruptcy proceedings.</li><li>Represented software licensor, vendors, and community choice aggregator trade organization in Pacific Gas & Electric chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.</li><li>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).</li><li>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.</li></ul><p><strong>Real Estate Litigation</strong></p><ul><li>Prevailed on appeal on behalf of shopping center tenant in dispute regarding enforceability of co-tenancy rent following anchor tenant closure.</li><li>Obtained district court judgment in favor of tenant department store against shopping center owner validating co-tenancy rent following anchor tenant closure. (Las Vegas).</li><li>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.</li><li>Routinely and efficiently regains possession of commercial real estate on behalf of landlords.</li></ul><p><strong>Commercial Litigation</strong></p><ul><li>Achieved summary judgment on behalf of secured lender in state court litigation and successfully defended against business tort counter-claim at bench trial.</li><li>Obtained pre-judgment order for writ of attachment on behalf of unsecured creditor against defaulting borrower.</li></ul>

• 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

Additional Articles

• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: PPP Loans Now Available to Otherwise-Eligible Companies That Have Ended Their Bankruptcy Proceedings
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: PPP Application Deadline Extended to May 31, 2021
• 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
• 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 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: Chuck E. Cheese: The Mouse Who Didn’t Get the (Rent Relief) Cheese
• What Every Technology Company Needs to Know About Assumption, Assumption and Assignment, Or Rejection Of Its Contracts In Bankruptcy
• Insolvency: What Every Technology Company Needs to Know About Claims Against Bankrupt Customers And Business Partners