Mark A. Berkoff

Of Counsel/Chair

Mark is chair of the firm’s Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy practice group. He represents debtors, creditors’ committees, and secured creditors, including bondholders and landlords in complex commercial Chapter 11 cases in diverse industries (such as media, manufacturing,  gaming, bank holding companies, retail, office products, food services and medical). He handles Chapter 11 proceedings from pre-bankruptcy planning through plan confirmation and post-confirmation matters.

Mark also handles business reorganizations/restructurings, single-asset real estate cases, out-of-court compositions, workouts and liquidations (including liquidations pursuant to Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code) and asset sales in and outside of Bankruptcy Court. He has counseled directors, officers and trustees and has prosecuted and defended involuntary petitions in bankruptcy. Mark has represented assignees and handled assignments for the benefit of creditors. He has prosecuted and defended thousands of preference cases and has successfully argued a case before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mark is also an experienced mediator and completed a mediation certification program at Northwestern’s School of Business in August 2017. Shortly thereafter, Mark was approved as a mediator by United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Pamela Hollis in the Central Grocers bankruptcy case pending in Chicago and, in that role, successfully presided over many mediations. Additionally, Mark has been involved in numerous successful mediations throughout his 37-year career as a practitioner and advocate.

Mark is a Turnaround Management Association (TMA) 2013 Small Company Turnaround of the Year Award recipient for having “orchestrated the most successful turnaround” in a company with revenue of up to $50 million. Mark is also a 2010 Mid-Size Transaction of the Year Award recipient for leading a transaction that, according to the TMA, rescued a company with over $500 million in debt “from the shadow of complete ruin.”

He is a member of the Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the TMA. He served as the co-chairman of the TMA’s Education Committee (2001–2003), the TMA’s Special Events Committee (2005), and the TMA’s Entertainment Committee (2009). Mark was a member of the Corporate Donations Committee for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois for 20 years. He is former general counsel to the Business Products Credit Association, Inc.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business recognizes Mark as one of the country’s leading bankruptcy and insolvency lawyers. Clients call him “simply a great lawyer” with an “impressive understanding of how to best get a deal done.” Clients have also said he is a “very bright individual. He’s tenacious, has good instincts and handles himself well. He’s terrific. He’s always done a fantastic job. He’s a very nice person and very respectful.”

Professional Certifications

  • Completed a one-week trial advocacy program with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) in March 1994.
  • Graduated from the DLA Piper Harvard Leadership Program at Harvard Business School in 2007.
  • Completed the Certificate Program in Mediation Skills Training at Northwestern University in August 2017.

Published Opinions

  • In re Crane, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 25600 (7th Cir. December 23, 2013)
  • The Gifford State Bank v. Richardson (In re Crane), 487 B.R. 906 (C.D. Ill. 2013) 
  • River East Plaza, LLC v. LNV Corporation (In re River East Plaza, LLC), 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1048 (7th Cir. January 19, 2012)
  • Slavin v. Morris Publishing Group, LLC (In re Morris Publishing Group, LLC), 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32025 (S.D. Ga. March 28, 2011)
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, recommended in “Bankruptcy/Restructuring” since 2009
  • The Best Lawyers in America, recommended in “Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law” since 2008
  • Illinois Super Lawyers, recommended in “Business Bankruptcy” since 2005
  • Martindale-Hubbell, rated AV Preeminent (the highest rating given), since 1997
  • Banking Finance and Transactional Expert Guide 2014, selected as one of the world’s leading insolvency and restructuring attorneys
  • Turnaround Management Association (TMA), “2013 Small Company Turnaround of the Year Award”
  • Turnaround Management Association (TMA), “2010 Mid-Size Transaction of the Year Award”

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit