Jeff is counsel in Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group, practicing in the areas of Asset and Equipment Finance and Restructuring and Insolvency.
Jeff has 24 years of experience representing clients on complex commercial loan and lease workouts, restructurings, litigations and bankruptcies as both in-house and outside counsel. Jeff’s deep proficiency in loan workouts includes inventory finance (recreational vehicles, marine, outdoor power, electronics, appliances, motorsports and powersports), equipment finance (office technology, construction, industrial, transportation, commercial & specialty vehicle, and material handling equipment), supply chain finance (technology), vendor finance, and transportation finance.
Experience
Representative matters
Representative matters
Represented numerous lenders in their pursuit of corporate and individual guarantors on account of loan and lease deficiency balances.
Represented numerous lenders in connection with the chapter 11 cases of commercial borrowers in the manufacturing, construction, metals and healthcare industries.
Represented numerous lenders in commercial loan workouts, including the negotiation and documentation of out-of-court restructurings or liquidations through forbearance agreements, voluntary surrenders of collateral, forbearance agreements, assignments for the benefit of creditors, private and public non-judicial foreclosure sales, and deed-in-lieu transactions.
Experience
Represented numerous lenders in their pursuit of corporate and individual guarantors on account of loan and lease deficiency balances.
Represented numerous lenders in connection with the chapter 11 cases of commercial borrowers in the manufacturing, construction, metals and healthcare industries.
Represented numerous lenders in commercial loan workouts, including the negotiation and documentation of out-of-court restructurings or liquidations through forbearance agreements, voluntary surrenders of collateral, forbearance agreements, assignments for the benefit of creditors, private and public non-judicial foreclosure sales, and deed-in-lieu transactions.
Represented numerous lenders and lessors in arbitrations and state and federal court actions seeking provisional and/or injunctive relief, prejudgment attachment of collateral, replevins, foreclosures, and money damages.
Represented many lenders in chapter 11 bankruptcies requiring negotiation, documentation and litigation on DIP financing, cash collateral and adequate protection, 363 sales, stay relief motions, motions to convert or dismiss cases, motions for appointment of examiners, trustees or receivers and numerous other related procedural matters in bankruptcies.
Represented the first lien revolving agent of a lender to a tier one automative supplier in its chapter 11 case.
Represented prepetition and DIP lender of a temporary healthcare staffing company in its chapter 11 case.
Represented an accounts receivable lender in multiple adequate protection disputes in a home healthcare provider’s chapter 11 case in connection with a proposed DIP lender’s attempts to acquire priming liens on accounts receivable.
Represented accounts receivable lender in a hospital’s chapter 11 case in connection with a lien priority dispute with the IRS arising from the debtor’s proposed reorganization plan treatment of secured claims.
Represented DIP lender in the chapter 11 case of one of the last rayon fiber manufacturers in the United States.
Represented DIP lender in the chapter 11 case of the largest maker of small, specialty molded glass containers in the United States.
Represented DIP Lender in the chapter 11 case of one of the prominent names in the tabletop, giftware and home décor industries.
Represented DIP Lender in the chapter 11 case of one of the largest home healthcare providers in the United States.
Represented receiver of two suppliers of consumer electronics in their chapter 11 cases.
Represented Illinois bariatric hospital in its chapter 11 case.
Represented foreign representative of a Montreal-based automotive parts manufacturer and distributor in its chapter 15 cross-border insolvency case.
Represented institutional lenders in many non-residential commercial real estate mortgage foreclosure lawsuits.
Represented a distributor of in-flight and catering products in connection with its claims against several major airlines, including UAL Corp., US Airways, Delta, Northwest, ATA I and II, Aloha Air, Frontier and Mesaba Airlines.
Represented insiders against substantial preference and fraudulent transfer exposure arising from transactions in connection with management incentive plans of a food and beverage producer in its chapter 11 case.
Represented certain executives in connection with their substantial administrative expense claims arising under compensation agreements and benefits plans in a major airlines chapter 11 case.
Represented a hotel owner in connection with its substantial prepetition claim arising from the airline-debtor’s rejection of its hotel services contract in its chapter 11 case.
Represented various stalking horse bidders and alternative overbidders in all facets of their purchases of chapter 11 debtors’ assets pursuant to section 363 sale orders in various jurisdictions.
Represented owner operator of manufactured home community in connection with its substantial prepetition unsecured and chapter 11 administrative expense claims in a large financing company’s chapter 11 case.
Represented landlords in connection with their commercial lease rejection damages claims and administrative expense claims in various chapter 11 debtors’ cases in various jurisdictions.
Credentials
Education
Education
- Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2001, J.D., cum laude, Managing Editor, Indiana Law Journal
- Wabash College, 1998, B.A., History, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Professional admissions & qualifications
Professional admissions & qualifications
- Illinois
- Iowa
Court admissions
Court admissions
- U.S. District Court - Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court - Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court - Western District of Wisconsin
- U.S. Court of Appeals - Seventh Circuit