Education

• Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, J.D., Editorial Board, Washington University Law Review, 2001
• Kenyon College, B.A., Political Science, cum laude, 1996

Bar Admissions

• Illinois

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Commercial Real Estate Finance Council

• Represented a secured creditor with a more than $52 million claim in the bankruptcy cases of an Illinois homebuilder and its affiliates, and successfully defeated confirmation of the debtors' proposed chapter 11 plan.
• Obtained confirmation of a secured creditor's contested chapter 11 plan, and denial of the debtor's proposed plan, for a Las Vegas office center.
• Represented a secured creditor and post-petition lender in a textile manufacturer's chapter 11 case and recovered its approximately $30 million pre-petition claim and its post-petition loan through the sale of debtor's assets.
• Represented the purchaser in an approximately $80 million competitive bankruptcy sale of the assets of a major chicken producer in chapter 11.
• Represented a high-end seafood restaurant with sixteen locations located throughout the country in its chapter 11 case.
• Represented a public company that designed and produced manufacturing equipment for industrial and consumer products in its and its affiliates' chapter 11 cases.
• Successfully defended a reorganized financial institution against at least $50 million of discharged claims.
• Represented the court appointed examiner in the chapter 11 case of a major airline.
• Represented the official committee of unsecured creditors in a chapter 11 case of a large plant nursery and represented the post-confirmation creditor trust in the substantial adversary litigation that followed.
• Obtained a more than $57 million judgment order of foreclosure and sale on behalf of the lender to a major Chicago area shopping center.
• Obtained a more than $27 million judgment order of foreclosure and sale on behalf of the lender to a Chicago area office building.
• Obtained a more than $6.8 million judgment order of foreclosure and sale on behalf of the lender to a Chicago area apartment building.
• Obtained a more than $1.6 million judgment on behalf of the lender on a personal guaranty of a commercial loan.
• Obtained a judgment for a defendant in litigation involving a claim for millions of dollars based upon an erroneous joint venture manufacturing theory.
• Represented the lender in an approximately $50 million financing transaction with a multi-state health care provider.
• Represented the lender in an approximately $112 million financing automotive business.
• Represented the lender in an approximately $23.5 million financing transaction with a material testing business.
• Represented the lender in an approximately $10 million financing transaction with a skilled nursing provider.
• Represented a bulk freight shipping service business in an approximately $100 million financing transaction.
• Represented a national banking association in numerous foreclosures and loan workouts involving apartments, condominiums, retail space, office space and undeveloped land in connection with loan portfolios purchased from the FDIC.

• Gould & Ratner Earns International M&A Deal of the Year as Legal Counsel, October 15, 2024
• Gould & Ratner Attorneys Named to 2025 Best Lawyers and “Ones to Watch” Lists, U.S. News, August 15, 2024
• Gould & Ratner Lawyer Named to 2020 U.S. News Best Lawyers List, August 15, 2019
• Matthew A. Olins Joins Gould & Ratner as Partner in Corporate Practice, GR Media Release, September 17, 2018

• Be Prepared: What to Do When a Customer or Vendor Files for Bankruptcy Protection , April 6, 2020
• Sales Under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code , AIRA Journal, Vol. 31, Q2 (2017) , March 2017

“Welcome to the Jungle: LLC Members and Their Rights and Interests in Bankruptcy – A Primer for the Business Counselor,” Illinois State Bar Association,September 16, 2015