Matthew
Bialick

Matthew represents lenders in distressed and undersecured credit relationships, frequently where fraud, asset conversion or insider misconduct has compromised recovery prospects. He manages the full recovery process: conducting investigations, negotiating forbearance agreements, pursuing guarantors and insiders, and coordinating litigation, receivership and bankruptcy actions.

Beyond distressed credits, Matthew handles loan participation and intercreditor disputes, conducts portfolio reviews to identify collateral defects and fraud, and drafts custom loan documents and disclosure templates for lenders. The common thread is the point where the legal position and the financial reality intersect: what can be recovered, which assets can be protected and how the available remedies restore value and control.

Banking and creditors’ rights

Matthew advises banks and businesses on regulatory, compliance and litigation issues arising from artificial intelligence. His work addresses AI-assisted business decisions, confidential information, vendor agreements, internal policies and the preservation and discovery of AI records. He applies his banking and commercial litigation experience to assessing legal exposure before a dispute develops and responding when one arises.

His writing includes “Your loan officer’s AI chat history is Exhibit A.” His speaking engagements include “When AI Becomes Exhibit A: Legal Risks for Minnesota Banks Associated with AI,” a Minnesota Bankers Association webinar dated January 28, 2027.

Explore AI law, regulatory compliance & litigation

Matthew’s agricultural work includes litigation involving farm assets, grain sales, ownership and competing claims. His practice also includes agricultural trust disputes and the legal relationships through which farms and agribusinesses operate.

Agricultural finance remains a substantial part of his work. Matthew advises banks on credit-policy design, portfolio exposure and liquidation strategy for crop, livestock and equipment credits. His experience includes workouts, farmer-lender mediation, distressed FSA-guaranteed loans, insider transfers and asset tracing. He has advised banks throughout the country, subject to applicable jurisdictional requirements.

Matthew has twice presented on agricultural litigation in national CLE programs offered through Strafford and BARBRI–Strafford. His portions addressed farm litigation and workouts involving agribusiness and agricultural finance. View national CLE presentations

Programs & presentationsExplore agricultural litigation

Read: When the Next Generation Disagrees: Trust Disputes Involving the Family Farm

Matthew represents clients in litigation involving public statements, privacy claims and First Amendment protections. His academic background includes service as managing student editor of Constitutional Commentary at the University of Minnesota Law School.

The work requires close attention to the original statement, its context, the asserted claim and the governing law. Matthew evaluates the complete record and available defenses in developing the litigation strategy.

First Amendment and privacy litigation

Matthew represents business clients in complex commercial disputes and transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, that demand both creativity and discipline. Many arise when standard legal paths will not achieve a practical result and require a tailored combination of litigation, negotiation and financial analysis.

He evaluates the record alongside the business objective: preserving value, limiting disruption and finding a workable resolution when competing pressures leave few straightforward options.

Litigation

Matthew’s speaking engagements include “Who Really Holds the Risk? Managing Integrator and Concentration Exposure in Agricultural Lending,” at the American Bankers Association’s national Agricultural Bankers Conference in Minneapolis, November 5, 2026. The session addresses production agriculture, integrator relationships and concentration risk. View the programs and organizer links.

His November 19, 2026 BankIn Minnesota Ag Network program in Mankato, “The Ag Lender’s Playbook for Workouts, Mediation, Collateral Conversion, and Chapter 12,” addresses legal and recovery issues arising when farm loans become distressed.

His speaking engagements also include “When AI Becomes Exhibit A: Legal Risks for Minnesota Banks Associated with AI,” a Minnesota Bankers Association webinar, Member Appreciation Week, January 28, 2027, 9:00–10:00 a.m. Central.

National continuing legal education presentations

Matthew’s portions of these national programs addressed agricultural litigation, including farm litigation and workouts involving agribusiness and agricultural finance. His presentations also addressed fraud litigation in the agricultural sector.

• Farm and Agribusiness Lending: Key Loan Terms, Workouts, and Enforcement Strategies: BARBRI–Strafford, national CLE, January 28, 2026.
• Structuring Farm and Agribusiness Loans: Key Terms, Mitigating Risks, and Role of the Farm Credit System and USDA: Strafford, national CLE, August 23, 2023.

Recent presentations

• Properly Documenting and Renewing Agricultural Loans — presenter, Minnesota Bankers Association, September 29, 2026.
• Chapter 12, Part II: Hot Topics: panelist, Minnesota CLE 2025 Bankruptcy Institute, October 10, 2025.
• Risk and Loss in a Commercial Real Estate Crisis: Minnesota Bankers Association, September 23, 2025.
• Lending and Workout Issues for Agribusiness Loans — Minnesota Bankers Association, May 8, 2025.
• Successfully Navigating SBA Repairs and Guaranty Denials — BankIn Minnesota, March 25, 2025.
• Lender Liability Issues for Ag Banks: How Far is Too Far — BankIn Minnesota annual agricultural conference.

Media appearances

• MBA Banking Buzz: Grain Fronting: Matthew joined Joe Witt, president and CEO of the Minnesota Bankers Association, to discuss grain fronting and its implications for agricultural lenders. The conversation draws on Matthew’s experience in agricultural fraud litigation involving grain fronting and the recovery of diverted farm proceeds. Published April 23, 2024. Watch the discussion. Read Matthew’s grain-fronting guide.

Recurring programs

• Successfully Renewing Agricultural Loans — Minnesota Bankers Association, presented on a recurring basis.

Matthew has presented through the Minnesota Bankers Association, BankIn Minnesota, Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota, the Commercial Finance Association of Minnesota, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education and Strafford, as well as directly to banks, businesses and financial institutions.

Matthew’s Banking Law Today archive includes writing on loan documentation, agricultural collateral, competing creditors and distressed credits, with original issue dates and article links.

Read the article archiveView webinars and past programsBanking newsletters

In January 2025, Star Bank announced Matthew’s appointment to its board of directors. Read Star Bank’s announcement.

Matthew has served as a board member and development committee chair for Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa and as a member of the Legislative Committee of Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota.

Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn