Steve Jakubowski is a Shareholder in the Firm's Chicago office. He is a member of the Insolvency & Financial Law, Commercial Finance, Litigation, and Government, Regulatory & Administrative practice groups, with his main practice concentration being in distressed workouts, bankruptcies, receiverships, and related ancillary litigation.

He has served as lead and co-lead counsel in bankruptcy cases nationwide from Delaware to Hawaii on behalf of chapter 11 debtors, official and ad hoc creditors' and equity committees, distressed asset acquirors, and post-confirmation litigation trustees. These matters have involved him in a variety of industries, including: biotech; commercial real estate; premium fitness clubs; dairy and pig farms; chicken and beef slaughterhouses; farming; department stores; restaurant chains; convenience stores; metal fabricators; equipment lessors; and wholesale food manufacturing, packaging, and distribution.

Steve has remained a corporate lawyer to several companies following their out-of-court restructuring or bankruptcy reorganization.

Education

• University of Chicago Law School, J.D.
• Union College, B.S., Biology

Of Debtors and Acquirors

• Represented a debtor in obtaining from the bankruptcy court within nine days after a scheduled 363 sale hearing a permanent injunction compelling the buyer and its parent to close on the buyer's stalking horse bid for substantially all the debtor's assets
• Lead co-counsel in fraudulent transfer and breach of duty litigation involving a subprime auto company, resulting in $150 million in total settlements of behalf of bankruptcy estate
• Successful out-of-court workout for large international fitness club group of multistate US-based premium fitness clubs with over $100 million invested and substantial vendor and landlord lease termination claims
• Confirmed investor reorganization plan after effectuating a consent solicitation that removed the entrenched management team who filed for bankruptcy in order to sell the company's assets in a 363 sale to foreign investors
• Successful out-of-court wind down of 120 year old publisher of parish bulletins which maximized the value of the company's assets and minimized administrative expense
• Negotiated favorable plan settlements with three separate senior secured lenders to three large development parcels in Hawaii valued at over $75 million following the close of a contested confirmation hearing involving multiple appraisal and zoning experts
• Represented a Chinese publicly traded company that purchased hundreds of legacy pig farms in China worth over $50 million from a US-based public company in a 363 sale
• Represented multiple successful and backup bidders in assignment for the benefit of creditors and 363 bankruptcy sales
• Represented multiple medical practices in negotiations with private equity acquirors

Of Creditors' Committees and Ad Hoc Creditor and Equity Committees

• Representation of Creditors' Committees in multiple cases, including in cases involving: a 7,500 cow dairy farm; a major regional snack food manufacturer and distributor; a national branded retail ice cream manufacturer and with multiple retail store outlets; a popular donut franchisor; an EB-5 funded state-of-the-art slaughterhouse, packing, and distribution facility; and a 26,000 acre farming operation and grain dealer operation processed food and agricultural industries, and in all cases obtaining significant carve-outs for the benefit of unsecured creditors despite the senior lender being undersecured in every case
• Represented ad hoc committee of public shareholders in stopping pre-negotiated credit bid sale to private equity group, resulting in consensual plan of reorganization funded with shareholder investment capital
• Represented ad hoc committee of majority shareholders in removing management through a consent solicitation on the eve of a bankruptcy filing that would have resulted in a 363 sale of the company's assets to a competitor

Of Creditors

• Represented mezzanine lenders in multiple UCC foreclosures of mezzanine borrowers
• Represented asset-based lenders in forbearance negotiations and UCC foreclosures
• Obtained agreed-upon dismissal of Chapter 11 involuntary bankruptcy case filed within 60 days after involuntary petition filed
• Represented Chicago Bulls Hall-of-Famer in recovering $10 million from investment advisor's bankruptcy estate
• Initiated state receivership proceedings for lender clients
• Represented bondholder trustee in oil and gas bankruptcy
• Represent lender in battle regarding priority to assignment of rents
• Negotiated DIP lending facilities and related cash collateral / adequate protection orders for senior and junior secured lenders
• Litigated multiple contested cash collateral/adequate protection and related lift stay hearings
• Represented Chicago Bulls Hall-of-Famer in recovering $10 million from investment advisor's bankruptcy estate

Of Defendants in Adversary Proceedings

• Negotiated $150,000 nuisance value settlement of a fraudulent transfer / breach of fiduciary duty action seeking $17 million in damages from German-based clients
• Negotiated favorable settlements and defenses of businesses sued by trustees in numerous cases for avoidance of alleged preferential and fraudulent transfers

• Martindale-Hubbell - "AV Preeminent" Peer Review Rated 2012-2025
• The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Bankruptcy & Creditor Debtor Rights, Insolvency & Reorganization Law, 2025 Edition
• Illinois Super Lawyers, Corporate Bankruptcy and Restructuring, 2015-Present
• Chicago Community Kollel, Tree of Life Awardee, 2001

• Beware the Post-COVID Revenge of the Mezz Lender
• Bankruptcy Litigation Blog 2.0
• New Law Makes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy An Attractive Option for Small Businesses in Distress
• Changes to Federal Bankruptcy Law Will Reduce Your Preference Risk
• Private Equity Lender Forced to Defend Strict Foreclosure After Court Sustains Multi-Count Complaint
• Standards for Awarding Attorney's Fees Under Section 506(c)
• 2011 Advanced Licensing Agreements
• The Continuing Impact of the General Motors and Chrysler Bankruptcies Presented at Perrin Asbestos Conference
• Treatment of IP Licenses in Bankruptcy
• Legal Ethics and Web 2.0: Revisiting the "Law of the Horse"
• The Cytomedix Story: From Bankruptcy to Success through Licensing and IP Licensing & Bankruptcy: An Issue Spotting Checklist Presented at the Licensing Executives Society Winter Meeting
• Consumer Bankruptcy Case Law Update
• Valuation in Bankruptcy
• Bankruptcy Basics: From the Creditor's Perspective Sponsored by ISBA
• Steve Jakubowski Featured on LODGING On Demand Podcast
• Steve Jakubowski Featured on Lexis-Nexis Podcast