Jason M. Torf is a partner in Ice Miller’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Group. Jason focuses his practice on helping companies dealing with financially troubled customers and other counterparties to maximize their recovery and minimize their risk. Jason also serves as a Recruiting Partner for the Firm's Chicago office.
In Jason’s creditor-focused bankruptcy practice, he is a creative thinker who considers possible avenues for higher priority claims and better recoveries that might otherwise not be apparent. Jason devises and implements strategies to accomplish the goal of maximizing recovery for creditor-side clients, sometimes through negotiation after creating leverage through a court filing and other times through litigation in the bankruptcy court.
Jason has significant experience representing all parties in bankruptcy and other financial distress situations, including:
- Trade creditors
- Creditors’ committees
- Secured lenders and other secured creditors
- Landlords
- Preference and fraudulent transfer defendants
- Trustees
- Liquidating trustees
- Utility companies and forward contract merchants
- Bondholders
- Parties to contracts with debtors
- Intellectual property and trademark licensees and licensors
- Asset purchasers in § 363 sales
- Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession
- Troubled companies in financial restructurings
This broad experience representing a wide variety of parties in the bankruptcy process enables Jason to negotiate and litigate effectively for his clients due to his ability to anticipate issues and arguments.
The creative approach Jason employs extends to his defense of preference cases to reduce liability. Rather than taking a mechanical approach, Jason looks at some of the more subjective defenses from many different angles, which allows him to put his clients’ best foot forward in preference settlement negotiations. This more creative approach allows Jason to reach solutions in preference cases that otherwise might not be obtainable through a more mechanical and less creative analysis.
Jason frequently educates his clients about rights and remedies that are available under the Uniform Commercial Code and works with clients to exercise those remedies. When utilized properly, these tools often help get our clients a step ahead of other unsecured creditors.
Jason also believes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This philosophy causes Jason to work with clients to ensure they have a good, comprehensive, seller-friendly set of documents. He has helped clients by revising or rewriting their terms and conditions, credit application forms, purchase order forms, sale agreements, and other operative documents to ensure they have good rights and remedies in the event of a customer default. Jason also counsels clients regarding best practices for ensuring enforceability of their terms and conditions.
As part of his creditor-focused practice, Jason regularly speaks to creditor-side trade groups, including:
- National Association of Credit Management (NACM)
- Credit and Financial Development Division (CFDD)
- Various NACM industry credit groups
- RiemerPlus
- Toy Industry Association
Jason frequently discusses ways credit managers, credit departments, CFOs and other C-suite executives can become more proactive creditors to minimize risk and maximize recoveries when dealing with troubled customers.