Jeffrey A. Marks

Practice Areas

Industries

Education

• University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 1980
• University of Cincinnati Law Review, Student Articles Editor, 1979-1980
• The Ohio State University, B.A., 1977

Bar & Court Admissions

• Ohio
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky
• U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan
• Admitted to practice law only in the states listed above.

Judicial Clerkships

• The Honorable Burton Perlman, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1980-1982

Jeff is a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the finance, energy and real estate group. He leads the Cincinnati office's bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice and has nearly 40 years of experience in bankruptcy and insolvency law. His insolvency practice focuses on Chapter 11 reorganizations and other commercial bankruptcy proceedings and litigation; debtors’ and creditors’ rights; and out of court workouts and restructurings. Jeff also counsels clients involved in secured lending and related workout arrangements, with emphasis in personal property/asset based lending activities, including senior secured, mezzanine, first/second lien and unitranche financings, as well as debt sales, Article 9 enforcement proceedings and other value maximizing strategies.

Jeff is a past president of the Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky Turnaround Management Association.  He is also a member and past chair of the Cincinnati Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Law Committee, a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and a past member of the Local Bankruptcy Rules Advisory Committee for the Southern District of Ohio.  Jeff is a former principal in the Cincinnati office of Squire Patton Boggs.

Jeff has presented on numerous bankruptcy and insolvency related topics, including recent presentations at the Southern District of Ohio Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Conference, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, the University of Cincinnati College of Law – Institute for the Global Practice of Law, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, the Columbus Bar Association and the Capital University Law School Graduate Program.

Representative Engagements

• Represented lender in connection with the $85 million prepetition and DIP revolver facilities in the 2019 chapter 11 cases of Jack Cooper Ventures, Inc. and affiliates in the Northern District of Georgia.
• Represented lender in connection with the $174 million prepetition senior secured revolving credit facility and as cash management bank in the 2017 chapter 11 cases of GST AutoLeather, Inc. and affiliates in Delaware.
• Represented lender in a 2017 out-of-court restructuring of a $200 million senior secured credit facility with a third party debt collector.
• Representation in 2012-2019 of administrative agents and lenders in sales/assignments of senior secured and mezzanine debt of more than $175 million.
• Represented prepetition and DIP lender and financial institution derivatives counterparty in connection with the 2017 chapter 11 cases of Appvion, Inc. and affiliates in Delaware.
• Represented cash management bank in connection with the 2017 chapter 11 cases of Cumulus Media Inc. and affiliates in the Southern District of New York.
• Representation in 2012-2019 of senior secured lenders and mezzanine lenders in structuring and documenting intercreditor relationships in financing transactions involving several hundred million dollars.
• Represented lender in connection with the $800 million senior secured prepetition credit facility, the $568 million U.S. revolving DIP financing facility, and the $720 million exit financing facility in the 2016 prepackaged chapter 11 cases of Modular Space Holdings and affiliates.
• Represented a New York-headquartered, leading publishing house in the 2011 chapter 11 cases of Borders Bookstores and affiliates in the Southern District of New York (Unsecured Creditors’ Committee member); the 2016 chapter 11 cases of Hastings Entertainment, Inc. and affiliates in Delaware (Unsecured Creditors’ Committee member); the 2015 chapter 11 cases of Family Christian and affiliates chapter 11 cases in the Western District of Michigan; and the 2012 chapter 11 case of Innovative USA, Inc. in the District of Connecticut.
• Representation in 2012-2019 of administrative and collateral agents, senior secured and mezzanine lenders, and other providers of capital in more than 80 out-of-court workouts in various industries involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Represented senior secured lender in connection with intercreditor relationships in the 2017 refinancing of loans to renovate an NFL team’s stadium.
• Represented lender in connection with the $200 million prepetition senior ABL revolving facility, a derivatives contract, and the $200 million ABL revolving DIP financing facility in connection with the 2016 chapter 11 cases of Bauer Hockey Corp. and affiliates in Delaware.
• Represented a New York-headquartered, leading entertainment media company and owner/operator of television networks in the 2015 chapter 11 cases of Relativity Media, LLC and affiliates in the Southern District of New York; the 2016 chapter 11 cases of MyPlay Direct, Inc. in the Southern District of New York; 2014 litigation in the chapter 11 case of THQ, Inc. and affiliates in Delaware; litigation in the chapter 11 cases of Circuit City and affiliates in the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Represented financial institution equipment lessor in connection with a 2017 restructuring of leases and disposition of hundreds of trailer units.
• Representation of Official Unsecured Creditors’ Committee in the Enron chapter 11 cases in the mid-to-late 2000s.
• Represented landlord in the 2016 chapter 11 cases of Don Pablo’s/Rita Restaurant Corp. in the Western District of Texas.
• Represented lender in 2016 Article 9 sale of food manufacturing business as a going concern.
• Represented 15-state restaurant franchisor in connection with a 2015 chapter 11 case in the District of Maryland.

Jeff received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he served as the student articles editor for the University of Cincinnati Law Review.  He received his B.A. from The Ohio State University.

Jeff is an avid road and trail runner and has qualified to run the 2020 Boston Marathon.

Professional and Community Activities

• Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky Turnaround Management Association
• Cincinnati Bar Association, Bankruptcy Law Committee, Past Chair
• Member of 1997 and 2007 Wyoming, Ohio Ten-Year Master Plan Committees
• Former President and Board Member, The Valley Temple, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cincinnati Public Schools / Be the Change Program, Tutor

Honors & Awards

• The Best Lawyers in America, Cincinnati Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law “Lawyer of the Year,” 2019
• The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2007-2021
• Chambers and Partners, Leading lawyer in Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2007-2021
• Ohio Super Lawyers, 2007-2014
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated

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