Overview
Mark is a member of the firm’s Bankruptcy, Litigation and Corporate practice groups.
Mark advises companies, their principals, and their investors and stakeholders in both healthy and distressed situations, with a focus on economic and practical solutions to the business and legal problem at hand. In addition to helping clients navigate financially-distressed situations, Mark advises clients on capital-raising transactions, opportunistic asset purchases and sales, business expansions, business transformations, and corporate governance matters.
Clients include public and privately held companies, their principals, secured and unsecured creditors, asset purchasers, landlords, tenants, and investors, as well as assignees, creditors’ committees, bankruptcy trustees, receivers, and similar parties unique to the commercial bankruptcy and restructuring sectors.
He regularly writes and speaks on issues pertaining to business matters involving business transformation and financial challenges, including serving as co-Editor in Chief of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s treatise on agricultural bankruptcies. He has been published in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, the Bankruptcy Strategist, Law.com, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, DailyDAC, and Student Lawyer. He is currently a contributing author to the treatises Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation (Thomson Reuters), and Strategic Alternatives for and Against Distressed Businesses (Thomson Reuters) and has written for the Cornell University Legal Ethics Library, Wiley Bankruptcy Law Update, and the treatise Ginsberg & Martin on Bankruptcy (Aspen). During law school, Mark won the Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for his monthly articles for Student Lawyer, an America Bar Association publication.
Mark is rated AV Preeminent (5.0/5.0) by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named as an Illinois Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters and a Leading Lawyer by Leading Lawyer Magazine (Chicago).
He has served on the board of several organizations over the years, including roles as a director of Chicago’s Public Interest Law Initiative, an organization dedicated to expanding pro bono legal representation in Chicago, and San Francisco’s Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (now known as the Giffords Law Center), a national public policy organization dedicated to the reduction of gun-related violence in our communities. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the Turnaround Management Association. When he is not lawyering, Mark plays guitar and keys for the Fomites, a Chicago-based band that covers post-punk, post-Mod, alternative British/American/Australian music.
Education
- J.D., Northwestern University School of Law, Dean’s List, Senior Research Honors
- B.A., Colorado State University
Admissions
- State Bar of Illinois
- United States Appeals Court, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Courts, Central and Northern Districts of Illinois
Significant Engagements
- Served as special healthcare reorganization counsel and lead transaction counsel to Central Iowa Healthcare in its chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the Southern District of Iowa, a hospital and clinic system serving four Iowa counties. In 2017, led a successful Section 363 sale of hospital assets to a large not for profit healthcare system, resulting in uninterrupted operations and the retention of over 95% of hospital employees.
- Counsel to global financial institution and special litigation counsel to Horace Fox, the chapter 7 Trustee, in the chapter 7 liquidation of Sage Enterprises, Inc. (Bankr. N.D. Ill.), a $400+ million annual revenue supplier of on-board supplies to the airline industry. Co-lead counsel and coordinator of the team that successfully prosecuted a $2.2 million contract collection dispute action against Continental Airlines, and successfully defended the lender and debtor in a multi-million-dollar litigation brought by a vendor under the Perishable Commodities Agricultural Act.
- Counsel to official bankruptcy committees of creditors or equity holders in the following cases – In re Keast Enterprises, Inc., et al (Bankr. S.D. Iowa); In re Etcher Farms, Inc. et al (Bankr. S.D. Iowa); In re Quadrant 4 Systems Corp. (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re AgFeed USA LLC et al (Bankr. D. Del.); In re World Marketing Chicago LLC, et al (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Newton Manufacturing (Bankr. S.D. Iowa); In re Lyons Workspace Products (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re: Natural Pork Production II LLC (Bankr. S.D. Iowa); In re Trainor Glass Company (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re JS II, LLC (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Builders Plumbing & Supply Co. (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Golden Bear Oil Specialties (Bankr. C.D. Cal.); In re Telehub Communication Corporation (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Emerald Casino (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Midcom Communications, Inc. (Bankr. E.D. Mich.)
- Counsel to chapter 11 trustees, liquidating trustees and plan administrators in various notable chapter 11 cases, including: In re AgFeed USA, LLC et al. (Bankr. D. Del.); In re Trainor Glass Company (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re World Marketing Chicago et al (Bankr. N.D. Ill.); In re Newton Manufacturing (Bankr. S.D. Iowa); In re Food Management Group LLC (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.); In re Duke & King Acquisition, Inc. (Bankr. D. Minn.); In re Workflow Management Corp. (Bankr. E.D. Va.); In re Favorite Brands International Holding Corp. (Bankr. D. Del.); In re Golden Bear Oil Specialties (Bankr. M.D. Cal.).
- Counsel to one of the nation’s largest financial institutions in the chapter 11 reorganization of Kmart Corporation (Bankr. N.D. Ill.), in which the client held mortgages on approximately 100 of Kmart’s owned or leased retail properties and distribution centers.
- Counsel to a multi-national Fortune 500 insurance and professional services company in numerous large chapter 11 cases over the past few years including In re Patriot Coal (Bankr. E.D. Mo.) and In re AMR Corporation (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.).
- Counsel to the collateral trustee of a 26-aircraft leasing trust secured by commercial aircraft leased to the following entities in their chapter 11 cases – Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.), United Air Lines (Bankr. N.D. Ill.), and Northwest Airlines Corporation (Bankr. S.D. N.Y.).
- Counsel to the Liquidating Trustee for Favorite Brands International Holding Corporation (Bankr. D. Del.) throughout the liquidation and closure of its $300 million estate.
Recognitions
- Selected by peers as a Leading Lawyerin: Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial
- Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism, Columns/Commentary (1993) – given by The Chicago Headline Club (http://headlineclub.org/)
- 0/5.0 Overall Client Rating – AV Preeminent – Martindale.com
- Selected by peers for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers
- Turnaround Management Association, Chicago/Midwest Chapter – 2022 Outstanding Service of the Year Award (as chair of the Continuing Education Committee)
- TMA Global Transaction of the Year (2013) – counsel to the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders in AgFeed USA, LLC
- The M&A Advisor 12th Annual Turnaround Award (2018) – Section 363 Sale of the Year ($10MM to $25MM), Sale of Central Iowa Healthcare (CIH) assets to Allen Health Systems, Inc. (UnityPoint)
- The M&A Advisor 8th Annual Turnaround Award (2014) – Restructuring Deal of the Year – Consumer and Retail Products Sector – Sale of Certain Assets of Natural Pork Production II, LLP to AMVC and the Handlos Family
Professional Affiliations
- Turnaround Management Association, Chicago/Midwest Chapter – Numerous leadership positions since 2012; currently a Director and Co-Chair of the Education Committee
- Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (San Francisco, CA) – Board of Directors (2009-2014)
- Adoption-Link (Oak Park, IL) – Board of Directors, Secretary and Executive Committee (2007-2015)
- Public Interest Law Initiative (Chicago, IL) – Board of Directors (2008-2015)
- Near North Montessori School (Chicago, IL) – Board of Directors (2004-08), Chair of Audit and Corporate Governance Committees
Publications and Speaking Engagements
Books
- Co-Editor in Chief and Contributor, “Chapter 12 from A to Z: A Guide to Bankruptcies of Family Farmers and Family Fishermen,” (American Bankruptcy Institute, 2021)
Chapters
- Contributing Author, “Strategic Alternatives For and Against Distressed Businesses,” Thomson Reuters (2022)
- Contributing Author, “Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation,” Thomson Reuters (2017 through 2022 editions)
- Co-author of Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Treatise on Bankruptcy Claims (2022)
- Contributing Author, Reorganizing Failing Businesses: A Comprehensive Review and Analysis of Financial Restructuring and Business Reorganization, 3rd Edition (American Bar Association, 2017).
- Contributing Author and Editor, A Guide for Nonprofit Organizations: Bankruptcy Issues (The Law Project of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, 2014).
- Contributions to other treatises include the Wiley Bankruptcy Law Update, Ginsberg & Martin on Bankruptcy, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, and the Cornell University Legal Ethics Library.
Articles
Contributing Editor and Author, The Bankruptcy Strategist (ALM Publications, monthly newsletter) – author/co-author of:
- There is No Post-Confirmation True-Up of Projected Disposable Income in Sub V (May 2021)
- The ABCs of Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors (July 2020)
- Advertising 363 Sales in the Digital Age (May 2020)
- Debtor v. UST: Retention of a Chief Restructuring Officer (with Expanded Powers) (Nov 2018)
- Mission Impossible? Addressing WARN Act Liability in Liquidating Mid-Market Liquidating Cases (February 2017)
- A Cure by Any Other Name (February 2016)
- The Troubled Energy and Production (Oil And Gas) Sector (Sept 2016)
American Bankruptcy Institute Journal
- Author, “What Good are PPP Funds in Bankruptcy? Plenty Good!” (Oct 2020)
- Co-author, “Lenders Given Cause to ReLAX: Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Credit-Bidding Rights for Chapter 11 Sales in RadLAX” (Aug 2012)
DailyDAC
- Author, “Legacies of the Jevic Case: Structured Dismissals Five Years after the Fall” (DailyDAC Jan 19, 2022)
- Co-author, “PPP Loans for Chapter 11 Debtors? Maybe … But You Have Other Options” (DailyDAC, June 1, 2020)
Representative Speaking and Panel Engagements
- Financial Poise/West LegalEd – Moderator – Bankruptcy 301 annual series of three webinars on commercial chapter 11 bankruptcy issues aimed at sophisticated practitioners (15 webinars from 2017 to present)
- Federal Bar Association 8th Circuit All Iowa Conference – Speaker/Panelist on various issues (2013, 2015, 2021)
- Turnaround Management Association (Chicago/Midwest) – Moderator, Health Care Webinar (June 2022)
- Northwest Suburban Bar Association of Illinois, Options for Businesses Facing Financial Pressure (April 2010)
- Chicago-Area Chambers of Commerce, How to Plan and Execute for Effective Board Meetings and Committee Formation (May 2008)