Steve Jakubowski, born Syracuse, New York, October 27, 1957.  Admitted to the bar:  Illinois, 1985; USDC, N.D. Ill., 1987

Education: Union College (B.S., 1980); University of Chicago Law School (J.D., 1985)

Author:

• Bankruptcy Litigation Blog (founder)
• IP Licensing & Bankruptcy:  An Issue Spotting Checklist and The Cytomedix Story:  From Bankruptcy to Success through Licensing (presented at the 2007 LES Winter Meeting), Feb. 2007
• Consumer Bankruptcy Case Law Update (presented at Univ. of Texas Law School CLE program), June 2006
• Standards for Awarding Attorney's Fees Under Section 506(c) to Secured Creditors, Norton Annual Review of Bankruptcy, 1991 (with John Wm. Butler, Jr. and Kelly A. Chesney); Valuation in Bankruptcy, 1990 (Seminar Tract) (with John Wm. Butler, Jr.).

Professional History:

• Of Counsel, The Coleman Law Firm (1998-present)
• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Line Snacks Corp., Lynn, Massachusetts (1996-1997)
• Chief Operating Officer and Director, Magic Restaurants, Inc., Yonkers, New York (1995-1996)
• Principal, Jakubowski Law Offices, (1992-1995)
• Associate, Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Chicago, Illinois (1989-1992)
• Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, Illinois (1986-1989)
• Other:  Principal, Lindner-Jakubowski Films, Inc., Washington, D.C. (1985-1986); Intern, Arvey, Hodes, Costello & Burman (1984-1985); Research Assistant to Professor (now Judge) Diane P. Wood and Professor Mary Becker (1983).

Affiliations:

• Member, Trial Bar, N.D. Ill.
• Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
• Commissioner, Lincolnwood Traffic Commission, Lincolnwood, Illinois, 2006-present
• Vice President, Lincolnwood Kollel, 2004-present
• Director, Chicago Loop Synagogue, 1999-2006
• Eitz Chaim (Tree of Life) Awardee, Chicago Community Kollel Institute of Advanced Torah Studies, December 2001

Biographical Sketch:

Mr. Jakubowski, founder and author of nearly all posts for the Bankruptcy Litigation Blog, has worked in complex chapter 11 bankruptcies and reorganizations for 22 years.  He received his bankruptcy training at Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for the first seven years of practice, including as Skadden's lead bankruptcy counsel on behalf of the debtor in the chapter 11 case of Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc. (Broadway/Emporium Department Stores). He established his own private practice in 1992 and represented investors and acquirors in chapter 11 reorganizations in a host of diverse industries.

Between 1995 and 1997, Mr. Jakubowski served as officer of two reorganizing companies, with the Delaware bankruptcy court appointing Mr. Jakubowski to be the chief operating officer of a public restaurant company in 1995 and the chairman and chief executive officer of New England's top regional snack manufacturer in 1996. In both engagements, the operating entity emerged from chapter 11.

In 1998, Mr. Jakubowski became of counsel to the firm. Upon his arrival, he became deeply involved in the firm's representation of the bankruptcy estate of Reliance Acceptance Group, Inc., a failed sub-prime auto lender from which the Chicago-based Cole Taylor Bank split-off in early 1997. The firm negotiated approximately $150 million in aggregate settlements on behalf of the bankruptcy estate's constituents. Since the resolution of that case in 2001, Mr. Jakubowski has represented diverse parties and interests on a variety of bankruptcy litigation and reorganization matters, as well as in commercial litigation in federal and state courts involving distressed companies or situations and receiverships proceedings, achieving successes that include:

• Dismissal of chapter 11 involuntary petition filed against BioSafe Medical Technologies, Inc., within 60 days of the involuntary filing.

• Successful reorganization and post-confirmation patent litigation (with Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery) for Cytomedix, Inc.

• Recovery of approx. $10 million for Scottie Pippen in the Robert J. Lunn bankruptcy cases.

• Settlement for $150,000 nuisance value of fraudulent transfer / breach of fiduciary duty action seeking $17 million in damages from German-based clients AM GmbH and Arnold Mattschull.

• Creditors' Committee representation, including most recently in the Jay's Snacks and Glazed Investments (Krispy Kreme franchisee) bankruptcy cases.

• Initiated state receivership proceedings on behalf of The Washington Post, and later Canaccord Adams, against a local data and website hosting firm to insure that sensitive customer and billing data were preserved and that hosting, billing, and servicing functions were transitioned to replacement vendors with minimal disruption to each client's operations and customer relations.

• Favorable settlements and defenses of businesses sued by trustees in scores of cases seeking avoidance of alleged preferential transfers.