Overview
Geoffrey S. Goodman is a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Geoffrey’s practice covers broad areas of bankruptcy and insolvency law and has focused on commodities and securities bankruptcies, as well as health care and energy bankruptcies. He is co-chair of the firm's Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice and a member of the Appellate Practice.
Geoffrey has represented chapter 11 debtors, official creditors' committees, ad hoc committees, trustees, secured lenders, purchasers of assets and unsecured creditors in chapter 11 cases, including some of the largest chapter 11 cases in the country. In addition, Geoffrey counsels clients in liquidations, workouts, assignments for the benefit of creditors and transactions and handles bankruptcy and creditors' rights litigation in both federal and state court.
Geoffrey has extensive experience in the area of commodities and securities bankruptcies, having represented a consortium of customers holding over $100 million in claims in the MF Global bankruptcy case and serving as special commodities counsel to the chapter 7 trustee in the Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. bankruptcy. Geoffrey also served as counsel to one of the largest creditors in the multi-billion dollar chapter 11 case of In re Refco, Inc. in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and as counsel to an Ad Hoc Committee of Customers in the billion dollar case of In re Sentinel Management Group, Inc. in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Geoffrey has counseled large mutual funds, hedge funds, futures commission merchants, exchanges and other entities in this area.
Geoffrey's practice also covers the areas of healthcare and energy bankruptcies, having served as counsel to the debtor and large secured and unsecured creditors in significant healthcare cases and counsel to the creditors' committee in the large chapter 11 cases of coal companies Horizon Natural Resources Company, Trinity Coal Corp., and Black Diamond Mining Company, LLC.
Education
Geoffrey received his J.D. degree, summa cum laude, in 1999 from the University of Illinois College of Law, where he was notes editor of the Law Review and elected to the Order of the Coif. He received his bachelor's degree in political science (B.A., with honors, 1996) from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Prior to joining Foley, Geoffrey clerked for Judge Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Recognition
Geoffrey was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2023). He has been recognized by The Legal 500 for his work in finance – corporate restructuring, including bankruptcy (2014 and 2015). He also was selected for inclusion in the 2014 - 2016 Illinois Super Lawyers® lists and the 2009 Illinois Super Lawyers–Rising Stars® Edition.*
Admissions
Geoffrey is admitted to practice in Maryland and Illinois.
*The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.