David P. Leibowitz

DAVID P. LEIBOWITZ

dleibowitz@lakelaw.com

312-662-5750

Attorney David P. Leibowitz is a bankruptcy attorney in Chicago, Illinois, with over 47 years of experience. The founder of the Law Offices of David P. Leibowitz, LLC, he handles both business and consumer bankruptcy matters, representing clients in Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area, including Southern Wisconsin and Northwestern Indiana

In addition to serving his private clients, Mr. Leibowitz acts as a Chapter 7 trustee for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and as an assignee and trustee in other bankruptcy cases. Over the course of his career, he has handled a high volume of complex bankruptcy matters and has served as both a litigator and a bankruptcy mediator.

Serving in various leadership roles, Mr. Leibowitz was co-chair of an American Bankruptcy Institute bankruptcy task force and co-chair of its Consumer Bankruptcy Committee and Commercial Fraud Committee. In 2021, he was the co-chair of the highly acclaimed ABI Consumer Practice Extravaganza – CPEX21. He writes and speaks on bankruptcy and mortgage topics and is a former adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School Chicago, now known as the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Honoring his professionalism and commitment to legal ethics, Martindale-Hubbell awarded Mr. Leibowitz an AV Preeminent* peer review rating. This is the highest available rating and is presented to only a select group of attorneys. He has also received pro bono awards for his commitment to volunteer work over the years.

Mr. Leibowitz received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and went on to graduate cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He holds certifications in business bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy from the American Board of Certification and is qualified to appear before the state courts of Illinois and Wisconsin.

EXPERIENCE

1990-present Chapter 7 Panel Trustee, Northern District of Illinois

  • Administered more than 10,000 chapter 7 cases
  • Pioneered use of Truth in Lending claims in trustee cases
  • Administered more than 1,000 assets cases including many highly significant cases such as:
    • IFC Credit Corporation
    • McDonough and Associates
    • Arthur B. Adler and Associates, Ltd.
    • Goldblatt’s Bargain Stores, Inc.
    • Discount Merchandise, Inc.
    • Teknek, Inc.

1999 – Present Law Offices of David P. Leibowitz, LLC
Founder and Managing Member

  • Practice built from solo practice in Lake County, Illinois to interstate firm with offices in Illinois and Wisconsin. Now sole office in Chicago.
  • Representation of principal as Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors
  • Complex bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy and foreclosure defense in Illinois and Wisconsin
  • Foreclosure defense training in Wisconsin under federal grant.
  • Counsel to principal in his role as Chapter 7 Trustee and to clients in complex bankruptcy and insolvency matters including student loan resolution
  • Expert witness and mediation service

1991-1999 Freeborn & Peters
Partner – Head of Insolvency Practice

  • Led practice group of five attorneys and two paralegals.
  • Successfully prosecuted to judgment leading case of: Leibowitz v Parkway Bank & Trust Co (In re Image Worldwide, Ltd), 139 F3d 574 (7th Cir. 1998)
  • Confirmed numerous chapter 11 cases and represented many secured creditors in real estate reorganization cases
  • Represented Creditors Committee in Straight Arrow Products, Inc., (Allentown PA) paying over 65% dividend to unsecured creditors

1976-1990 Schwartz Cooper Kolb & Gaynor Chtd. Chicago, Illinois
Associate, Partner from 1980-1990

  • On brief in In re UNR Industries, 736 F.2d 1136 (7th Cir. 1984) establishing the concept of “legal representative” in mass tort bankruptcy cases
  • Represented Hon. John Powers Crowley, trustee in significant embezzlement-defalcation case, In re Cooper & Cooper
  • Won appeal in leading case of Kramer v. Exchange National Bank of Chicago, 118 Ill. 2d 277, 515 N.E. 2d 57, 113 Ill. Dec. 248 (1987)
  • Recovered hidden assets utilizing fraudulent transfer and RICO theories in Leibowitz v. Saleh (In re Discount Merchandise), (1994 Bankr. LEXIS 29 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 1994) an international bust-out case
  • 1990-present American Bankruptcy Institute Washington, DC
  • Member, past chair – Unsecured Creditors Committee Subcommittee Contributor to Creditors’ Committee Handbook)
  • Past co-chair – Commercial Fraud Committee – Editor in Chief and Principal Author of ABI Fraud Manual
  • Past co-chair – Consumer Bankruptcy Committee
  • Member of Board of Directors
  • Co-chair- Task Force on Individual Chapter 11 cases
  • Author of numerous articles in American Bankruptcy Institute Journal
  • Speaker at numerous American Bankruptcy Institute conferences

1998-2000 International Law Institute Washington, DC
Senior Faculty Advisor

  • Developed and led insolvency training for judges and bankruptcy trustees in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
  • Developed and published Mongolian Bankruptcy Trustee’s Handbook
  • Organized Mongolian Bankruptcy Trustees Association
  • Served as delegate to Asian Development Bank Insolvency Conference in Manila, Philippines (January, 1999)

National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees

  • Past editor and frequent contributor to NABTalk, quarterly journal of National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees.
  • Frequent speaker at NABT Conferences
  • Past member of the Board of Directors

Chicago Bar Association Chicago, Illinois
Member and past chair of Arbitration Law Committee

  • Developed initial plan and rules for court-annexed arbitration in Cook County, Illinois

1974-1976 Illinois Appellate CourtChicago, Illinois
Judicial Clerk to Hon. John C. Hayes

Member – American Bar Association
American Bankruptcy Institute
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Wisconsin Bar
National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys

Admitted: Illinois and Wisconsin, Third, Seventh and Tenth Circuits
Courts of Appeals. District Courts in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and
Wisconsin.

EDUCATION

  • Loyola University of Chicago, JD cum laude, 1974 (Alpha Sigma Nu honor society)
  • Northwestern University, BA 1970 (Economics)

PRO BONO

  • Lake County Bar Association, Pro Bono Committee
  • Prairie State Legal Services, Waukegan, Illinois
  • CARE volunteer

HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS – PUBLIC SERVICE

  • Recipient of 2006 Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award from United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • Recipient of 2007 Pro Bono Award – Volunteer Legal Program – Lake County Bar Association
  • Recipient of 2010 Liberty Bell Award from Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County Illinois for “extraordinary service to the justice system”
  • Board Certified in both business and consumer bankruptcy – American Board of Certification
  • Accredited as mediator by the Chicago Bar Association
  • Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation
  • Former Member and past president of North Shore School District 112 Board of Education, Highland Park, Illinois
  • Former Member and past president of Highland Park Public Library Board of Trustees
  • Frequent contributor to Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education publications and seminars on bankruptcy related topics
  • Former Member of Board of Directors and past Secretary – South Central Community Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
  • Recognized by:Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, Law Dragon 500 (Bankruptcy), Leading Lawyers, Martindale Hubbell (Av Preeminent)

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