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Ira Bodenstein has been involved in bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and commercial litigation cases for over 20 years. Having been appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno, Mr. Bodenstein joins Shaw Gussis as a member, after serving as United States Trustee for Region 11, which is comprised of the Northern District of Illinois and the State of Wisconsin from May 1998 through January 2006. As United States Trustee, Mr. Bodenstein served as head of the Justice Department component with primary responsibility over all bankruptcy cases filed in Region 11. His duties included serving as chief legal strategist for U.S. Trustee positions in large cases such as Conseco, Kmart, and UAL; appointment and supervision of trustees and examiners in all chapter 7, 11 and 13 cases; and appointment of unsecured creditor, equity and other committees in chapter 11 cases. Mr. Bodenstein supervised a staff of 45 employees in offices located in Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Bodenstein also served as U.S. Trustee for Region 9 from September 2001 to August 2002 and assumed supervisory authority over all cases and an additional 70 employees in the Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan and Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio U.S. Trustee offices.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bodenstein was in private practice, concentrating in the areas of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and commercial litigation. In that capacity, he counseled clients with respect to the necessity and timing of filing reorganization cases, and the rights of unsecured and secured creditors prior and subsequent to the filing of a bankruptcy. He is experienced in all facets of chapter 11 reorganization cases, including preparing and confirming plans of reorganization in debtor cases, representation of creditors’ committees, opposing a debtor’s plan on behalf of creditors, and representation of creditors in preference litigation. Mr. Bodenstein also counsels lenders on their rights as secured creditors, negotiates loan renewals on a secured basis, restructures troubled loans and litigates loan defaults in both the state and federal courts.
Mr. Bodenstein has served clients in diverse industries, including real estate, retail apparel, construction, manufacturing, restaurant and transportation. His engagements have included representing the bank syndication group led by Citicorp in the chapter 11 restructuring of a 65 million dollar office building in Washington D.C., serving as debtors’ counsel in the Channel Earth Communications, Demicco Youth Services and Nobart, Inc. chapter 11 cases, and representing the unsecured creditor committees in the chapter 11 cases of Process Control, Mactron, Thomas Steel and Dartmoor Homes.
EDUCATION
Franklin and Marshall College (BA, 1977)
University of Miami School of Law (JD, 1980)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Bankruptcy Institute
Chicago Bar Association
Chair, Young Lawyers Section (1988-1989); Board of Managers (1990-1992); Chair, Public Affairs/Media Relations Committee (1993); Chair, Association Meetings Committee (1994); Chair, Membership Committee (1997)
LICENSES AND ADMISSIONS
Admitted to bar 1980, Illinois; 1983, Florida; United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois including the Trial Bar; United States District Court, Central District of Illinois; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
PRESENTATIONS
View Mr. Bodenstein’s presentations
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