Ford has developed a national practice in bankruptcy law and has extensive experience in every aspect of insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy issues, from the most complex Chapter 11’s to small business, agricultural and consumer matters.
Among notable Chapter 11 achievements, Ford represented the Bonner Mall Partnership in successfully arguing to the Ninth Circuit the principle of the new value exception to the absolute priority rule, and later, in the same case, argued for the elimination of the routine vacating of lower court decisions to the United States Supreme Court, resulting in a 9-0 landmark decision. More recently, Ford represented a number of the creditor parties in the Sunwest Management, Inc., U. S. District Court case in Eugene, Oregon, arguably the most complex case on the West Coast in recent years, in a case which resulted in dividends that should approach 60¢ on the dollar, mostly for elderly real estate investors.
Ford has represented unsecured creditors committees on numerous occasions. In recent years, he has represented the parishes and schools directly impacted by the Catholic organizations that have filed bankruptcy due to abuse lawsuits.
Ford's first major Chapter 11, filed in the mid-1980s, was the case of Riley Creek Lumber Co. This company was one of the few lumber companies to ever successfully reorganize. Riley Creek, now known as Idaho Forest Group, is the largest lumber producer in the inland Northwest.
Ford has served as a Chapter 7 Trustee since 1984, handling well in excess of 20,000 cases, and has served as a Chapter 12 Trustee for all of the Eastern District of Washington and Northern Idaho since 1986. He has served and continues to serve as a Chapter 11 Trustee and “Plan Trustee” in cases throughout the Northwest, as well as cases in Arizona and Nevada, and has served as a federal court-appointed receiver, operating the Schweitzer Ski Area (1996-1999), and more recently appointed as a receiver on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission.
Ford has served as an expert witness on numerous occasions, testifying as to the standard of care and standard of practice in regard to lawyers, trustees, and debtors-in-possession in a wide variety of state and federal lawsuits.
Member: Moot Court Team; Order of the Barristers. Adjunct Professor, St. John's University School of Law LL.M. Program (2002—); Adjunct Professor, University of Idaho College of Law, Bankruptcy Program (2005—). Fellow: American College of Bankruptcy, Sixth Class.
