Jill Nicholson is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and chair of the firm's national Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice. She concentrates her practice in commercial bankruptcy and insolvency matters as well as out-of-court workouts and restructurings, and complex litigation. She is also a member of the firm's Real Estate Practice.
Ms. Nicholson has represented a broad array of clients in bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, including secured lenders, special servicers, creditors committees, SIPA trustees, bondholder committees, foreign representatives, unsecured creditors, Chapter 11 debtors, indenture trustees, commercial landlords, governmental agencies, and federally chartered entities. Her experience encompasses all facets of bankruptcy and insolvency, including Chapter 11 plan restructuring and related litigation, 363 sales, valuation disputes, single asset real estate, debtor-in-possession financing, tax credit bond finance deals, adversary actions, bankruptcy appeals, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and broker-dealer liquidations.
Ms. Nicholson is an adjunct professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis where she teaches a course on advanced commercial bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. She is board certified as a business bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification. She was selected as a Leading Lawyer, Finance - Corporate Restructuring, by Legal 500 US 2010. Ms. Nicholson has been named to the list of Illinois Super Lawyers-Rising Stars® (2008 - 2012) for her work in the field of bankruptcy. The Rising Stars® list represents the top 2.5 percent of lawyers under 40 years old in Illinois based upon a survey of Ms. Nicholson's peers. Ms. Nicholson has also been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, a mark of excellence in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system.
Ms. Nicholson counsels a number of Fortune 500 companies regarding best practices with respect to bankruptcy and insolvency issues, including distressed real estate, commercial lending, special servicing, and automotive restructuring.
Ms. Nicholson received her juris doctor degree, with honors, from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she served as an editor of the University of Illinois Elder Law Journal. While in law school, she received the American Bankruptcy Institute's Medal for excellence in bankruptcy and the American Bankruptcy Law Journal Prize and was named the Rickert Scholar for excellence in trial advocacy, legal writing, and legal publications. Ms. Nicholson received her undergraduate degree, with honors, from the University of Chicago, where she was selected as a Norman Maclean scholar. She also served as president of the University of Chicago Debate Team.
Ms. Nicholson is a past vice director of North American Programs for the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), is a past chair of the board of directors of the Chicago Network of IWIRC, and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Executives' Club of Chicago.
Ms. Nicholson is admitted to practice in Illinois and New York and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits and is a member of the Trial Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Representative Engagements:
· Lead counsel to member of Chrysler LLC Unsecured Creditors Committee
· Lead counsel to member of Federal Mogul Corp. Unsecured Creditors Committee
· Lead counsel to member of Monaco Coach Unsecured Creditors Committee
· Lead counsel to member of Motor Coach Unsecured Creditors Committee
· Lead counsel to member of Sentinel Management Group Inc. Unsecured Creditors Committee
· Lead restructuring counsel to secured lender in connection with $700 million loan portfolio
· Lead counsel to special servicer in connection with $180 million loan portfolio
· Outside counsel to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) in connection with broker-dealer liquidations
· Lead litigation counsel for government sponsored enterprise in connection with mortgage and real estate related class action litigation
· Outside counsel to numerous commercial mortgage-backed securities special servicers
Recent Decisions:
· In re Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) Litigation, 2011 WL 4550189 (D. Ariz. 2011)
· Cervantes, et al. v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., et al., 2011 WL 3911031 (9th Cir. 2011)
· Figueroa v. MERSCORP, Inc., 766 F. Supp. 2d 1305 (S.D. Fla. 2011)
· In re Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) Litigation, 744 F. Supp. 2d 1018 (D. Ariz. 2010)
· Goodwin v. Executive Trustee Services, LLC 680 F.Supp.2d 1244 (D. Nev. 2010)
· Cervantes, et al. v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., et al., 2009 WL 1636169 (D. Ariz. 2009)
· Trevino v. MERSCORP, Inc., et al. 583 F. Supp. 2d 521 (D. Del. 2008)
Publications:
· "Involuntary Bankruptcy," Chapter 8 in Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education's 2011 edition of Business Bankruptcy Practice (contributing author)
· "Weighing Chapter 11 For Nonprofits In The 5th Circuit," Bankruptcy Law360, March 2, 2011 (author)
· "Lender and Originator Bankruptcy," Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation Handbook, Thomson West Publications 2009 (contributing author)
· "Key Considerations for Commercial Landlords When Faced With a Tenant's Bankruptcy," The Real Estate Finance Journal, Fall 2007 (author)
· "The Importance of Full Disclosure in Seeking Success Fees under § 328(a): How Engaging is Your Engagement Letter?" American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, April 2007 (co-author)
· "Seventh Circuit Addresses Chapter 7 Trustee's Ability to Serve as Class Action Representative," American Bankruptcy Institute's Cracking the Code, August 22, 2003 (author)
· "Fraudulent Transfers Under the Bankruptcy Code," the Illinois State Bar Association's The Challenge, August 2002 (author)
· "Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Holds Burden of Proof Remains with Taxpayers," American Bankruptcy Institute's Cracking the Code, August 2, 1999 (author)
· "Promises Made, Promises Broken: Securing Defined Benefit Pension Plan Income in the Wake of Employer Bankruptcy. Should We Rethink Priority Status for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation?" 6 University of Illinois Elder Law Journal 77 (author)
Speaking Engagements:
· "Collection Techniques for Landlords," Lorman Education Services (2012)
· "The Care and Feeding of Corporate Employees as Witnesses," Panelist, Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting (Denver, CO) (2011)
· "Solvency, Restructuring and Bankruptcy," Panelist, Pocket MBA: Finance for Lawyers, Practicing Law Institute (Chicago, IL) (2011)
· "The Nuts and Bolts of Single Asset Real Estate," IWIRC Chicago Network (2011)
· "Commercial Tenant Bankruptcies: Understanding Rights, Remedies, and Strategies," Lorman Education Services (2010)
· "The ABC's of the FDIC, SIPC & SEC: All You Wanted to Know About Non-Traditional Insolvency Proceedings," Moderator, IWIRC International Fall Conference (Las Vegas, NV) (2009)
· "Branding the Cattle: Executory Contracts - How to Keep the Ones You Want," American Bankruptcy Institute Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference (Denver, CO) (2009)
· "Strategies for Surviving the Depressed Home Construction Market," Lorman Education Services (2008)
· "The Fallout from the Subprime Lending Crisis," Suffolk University College of Law (Boston, MA) (2008)
· "Case Studies in Financial Market Insolvency," Eleventh Annual Conference on Corporate Reorganizations (Chicago, IL) (2008)
· "The Subprime Lending Crisis, Impending Recession, and the New Rules for Environmental Properties in Bankruptcy," American Bar Association's Environment, Energy, and Resources Law Summit (Phoenix, AZ) (2008)
* The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no certificate, award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.
(Also at Chicago, Illinois Office) (Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification)