Attorney Profile
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Mr. Backman is an Illinois attorney with exceptional education and experience in numerous areas of commercial and general civil law and litigation. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1987, Mr. Backman clerked for federal District Judge Brian Barnett Duff in Chicago and then practiced with large firms in Chicago and New York City over the next 12 years.
Mr. Backman is a member of the American, Illinois and McLean County Bar Associations.
Mr. Backman frequently writes and speaks on a wide variety of legal topics. He is a member of the Board of Contributors of the Bankruptcy Strategist. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Central Illinois Center for Independent Living. He is also a regular commentator on the WBJC Forum radio broadcast on 1230 AM, Bloomington.
Mr. Backman relocated his family and his practice to Bloomington, Illinois. He opened the Firm on October 1, 2001. |
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Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, 1987
J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
Honors: Cum Laude
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, 1984
B.A., Bachelor of Arts
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Major: Economics
Bar Admissions
Illinois, 1987
U.S. Supreme Court, 2006
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1990
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 2001
U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2004
U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1989
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, 1992
U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 2001
Selected Representations
MONTGOMERY WARD (1997-1999)
Lead counsel to lender group comprised of domestic and international lending institutions holding in excess of $200 million of claims in Chapter 11 restructuring of large multi-state retailer.
KARSTEN MAHLMANN (1991-1998)
Co-counsel to Mr. Karsten Mahlmann, former Chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade, in multi-million dollar Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and related adversary proceedings.
THE WHITLOCK CORPORATION (1996-2002)
Lead counsel to debtor-corporation in successful Chapter 11 reorganization of $200 million multi-state auto parts wholesaler and retailer.
AMERICAN SPEEDY PRINTING CENTERS (1996-1997)
Lead counsel to debtor-franchiser in successful Chapter 11 reorganization of large, multi-state printing center chain.
NOBART, INC. (1994-1997)
Lead counsel to The Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd., in connection with its more than $20.0 million of secured and unsecured claims in the reorganization of one of Chicago’s largest printing and graphics arts companies.
NORTHWEST AIRLINES (1992-1995)
Lead counsel to lender group comprised of 13 international financial institutions holding in excess of $1.1 billion of debt in restructuring of $2.3 billion credit facility with airline and its parent company and domestic and foreign subsidiaries.
INTERCO, INCORPORATED (1991-1992)
Co-counsel to lending group comprised of 11 international lending institutions holding in excess of $400 million of claims in Chapter 11 restructuring of large interstate conglomerate.
Selected Publications
"Controlling the Stock of an Owner Who Files for Bankruptcy," XIX Bankruptcy Strategist 11 (September 2002)
"Hartford Insurance Revisited: Sellers Beware," XVIII Bankruptcy Strategist 1 (September 2001).
Backman and Ellsworth, "Subordination of Tax Penalties: Dead or Alive," XVI Bankruptcy Strategist 1 (March 1996).
Backman and Ellsworth, "Banks May Freeze Funds Subject to Setoff," XV Bankruptcy Strategist 1 (November 1995).
Gilford, Backman and Rosenthal, "Alternatives to Insurance Liquidation, a U.S. Perspective," 4 Int’l J. Ins. L. 218 (October 1994).
Kaplan and Backman, "Civil RICO Claims in Bankruptcy," Civil RICO Practice: Causes of Action (1993 Supp.).
"Appeals Court Upholds New Value Exception," X Bankruptcy Strategist 11 (September 1993).
"How Courts Split on Res Judicata Doctrine," X Bankruptcy Strategist 8 (June 1993).
"Landlord Damage Claims in Chapter 11," IX Bankruptcy Strategist 4 (February 1992)
"Face Value Debt Swap Does Not Create OID," IX Bankruptcy Strategist 7 (May 1992).
Prager and Backman, "Pursuing Alter-Ego Liability Against Non-Bankrupt Third Parties: Structuring a Comprehensive Conceptual Framework," 35 St. Louis L.J. 657 (Spring 1991).
