Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is pleased to announce that Jim E. Morgan and John E. Zummo have joined the firm. They will both practice out of the firm’s Chicago Office.
Mr. Morgan’s practice is focused on creditors’ rights, helping clients navigate all legal issues raised by financially distressed companies. His experience includes handling significant commercial and bankruptcy litigation with an emphasis on representing trustees for litigation trusts, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and bankruptcy cases. As a commercial litigator, prior to expanding into bankruptcy law, he worked on complex cases ranging widely from employment discrimination to securities fraud to legal malpractice.
Mr. Morgan represents borrowers, lenders and other creditors in work-outs, bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings, and liquidations. He is frequently consulted on transactional risks such as potential fraudulent or preferential transfers, lender liability, and bankruptcy exposure. Mr. Morgan represents creditors and debtors in all courts. He has prosecuted and defended clients in state and federal courts around the country for state law and bankruptcy causes of action, including commercial foreclosure, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, and conversion, among others. Mr. Morgan has independently handled all aspects of litigation, including pleadings and discovery, evidentiary hearings, trials, and appeals.
As a writer and speaker, Mr. Morgan has written dozens of published articles and book chapters as well as presented to various groups on a wide range of legal topics relevant to bankruptcy and commercial litigation. Recently, the second edition of his chapter, “Bankruptcy Issues under BAPCPA,” was published in IICLE’s Asset Protection Planning (2012). The book chapter, “Asset Sales under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code,” was published in 2010 by Thomson Reuters in its book, Collier’s Guide to Chapter 11 Practice. In 2009, Aspatore published his chapter, “Representing the Unsecured Creditor in a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case,” in the book titled Creditors’ Rights in Chapter 11 Cases.
Mr. Morgan received his J.D., cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law at Bloomington in 1992 and his B.S., with high distinction, from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1989. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Turnaround Management Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Mr. Morgan is licensed to practice in the state of Illinois and is admitted to practice in numerous federal courts around the country.
Mr. Zummo concentrates his practice on representing financial institutions in litigation, bankruptcy and receivership proceedings, as well as out-of-court workout and restructuring matters, throughout the United States. He has significant experience enforcing commercial lending agreements, representing creditors in bankruptcy main case and adversary proceedings, protecting secured lenders’ interests in collateral, prosecuting fraud and conspiracy claims against defaulting commercial borrowers, defending lender liability claims, negotiating workouts and restructurings, and handling UCC sales.
Mr. Zummo also represents financial institutions and other corporate clients in a wide range of other matters, including federal securities fraud and shareholder derivative matters, inter-lender disputes, formal and informal government investigations, internal investigations, loan origination matters, and class action consumer fraud matters. Additionally, he has experience in all aspects of litigation, appeals and post-judgment proceedings, including more than 20 bench and jury trials.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Zummo served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Navy and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California. He has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer in 2012 and 2013. Mr. Zummo received his B.A., cum laude, from Marquette University in 1992 and his J.D., cum laude, from John Marshall Law School in 1997. He is licensed to practice in the State of Illinois and the District of Columbia as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Seventh Circuits and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
