Binder & Binder of Hauppauge seeks Chapter 11, gets OK for financing

Binder & Binder LLC, a Hauppauge-based Social Security disability advocacy firm whose commercials feature Charles Binder wearing a cowboy hat and vowing to fight for his clients, has filed for Chapter 11 protection in bankruptcy court, according to court papers.

Kenneth A. Rosen, the attorney representing Binder & Binder in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, said in an email that Monday a judge agreed to let the firm pay its employees as scheduled and receive $26 million in financing from U.S. Bank and Capital One Bank. The firm filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday.

Binder & Binder's largest creditor is a Houston private equity firm, Stellus Capital Management LLC, which loaned the firm $16.7 million, according to court papers. Also appearing on the list are Integrated Media Solutions, which engineers media campaigns, and Internet search giant Google Inc.

The firm listed both assets and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million on the court filing.

Rosen said Binder & Binder has 900 employees.

The firm has offices in 13 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to its website.

Rosen said a committee of unsecured creditors will be formed in early January.

The firm traces its beginnings to 1975, when a former New York City firefighter walked into Charles Binder's law office in Patchogue.

Charles Binder's tagline in commercials is: "We'll deal with the government; you have enough to worry about."

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.