Portrait of Albena Petrakov

Albena Petrakov

Principal

Albena Petrakov is a principal in the firm's Creditors Rights, Reorganization and Bankruptcy Practice Group. Albena has extensive experience representing clients in restructuring, bankruptcy and commercial matters in both civil and common law jurisdictions. She has represented secured and unsecured lenders, landlords, suppliers, trustees and debtors in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases in various industries including financial services, retail, hospitality, aircraft, manufacturing, energy and technology, to name only a few.

She has counseled creditors on maximizing their return on secured and unsecured claims, including protecting and realizing collateral, negotiating critical vendor agreements, acquiring assets from a bankruptcy estate, reducing the risk of lender liability claims, foreclosures and D&O insurance.

Albena is experienced in prosecuting and defending actions to avoid and recover fraudulent conveyances and preferential transfers,  actions to deny a debtor a discharge, successor liability actions, contract dispute actions, and breach of fiduciary duties actions.

As a member of the firm’s International Practice Group, Albena helps international clients pursuing foreign direct investment in the U.S., and U.S. clients expanding their operations and distribution into new markets.

    Education

    • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (J.D., cum laude)
    • Sofia University (J.D.)

    State Bar Admissions

    • New York

    Court Admissions

    • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    • United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

    Professional Affiliations

    • Turnaround Management Association, NYC Chapter
    • New York Institute of Credit
    • Bankruptcy Litigation Committee, Federal Bar Council, Member
    • American Bankruptcy Institute, Member
    • Foreign and Comparative Law Committee and Secretary of European Affairs Committee, New York City Bar Association, Member (2013-2015)
    • Consumer Bankruptcy Project, City Bar Justice Center, Volunteer Attorney
    • New York Building Congress, Member

    Recognitions

    • JD Supra Reader's Choice Award, No. 7 in Bankruptcy, 2026
    • Selected to New York Metro Rising Stars® (2015-2019)
  • Biography
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  • Featured Works

Firm Highlights

  • Podcasts
    Artful Donations: Exploring Museum Exchange
    In this episode of The Legal Canvas, host Caryn Keppler welcomes Robert Wainstein and Michael Darling, co-founders of Museum Exchange, the first digital platform dedicated to facilitating art donations to museums and nonprofit institutions across North America. Together, they explore how technology is transforming the way collectors, artists, estates, and cultural organizations connect through charitable giving. Robert and Michael explain the inspiration behind Museum Exchange, the challenges they set out to solve, and how the platform has grown into a network of more than 400 museums. They walk listeners through the donation process—from evaluating artwork and matching donors with institutions to handling logistics, documentation, and tax considerations. Along the way, they discuss the realities of museum collecting, why many donations are declined, and how thoughtful placements can help preserve artists' legacies while expanding access to important works of art. The conversation also explores Museum Exchange's work with living artists, artist estates, hospitals, universities, and smaller regional museums, as well as the launch of the Charis Foundation for the Arts, a nonprofit designed to steward significant collections before placing them with institutions that can best benefit from them. Robert and Michael conclude by sharing their vision for the future of charitable art transactions and how Museum Exchange is helping reshape philanthropy in the arts for generations to come.