Ira has a keen understanding of the trustee process and how to efficiently achieve the optimum resolution for the involved parties. He counsels bankruptcy clients on the necessity and timing of filing reorganization cases, and the rights of unsecured and secured creditors prior to and subsequent to bankruptcy filing. Ira is experienced in all facets of Chapter 11 reorganization cases, including preparing and confirming plans of reorganization in debtor cases, representing creditors’ committees, opposing debtors' plans on behalf of creditors, and representing creditors and debtors in preference and fraudulent conveyance litigation. He also counsels lenders on their rights as secured creditors. Ira is a member of the private panel of Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees and also represents panel trustees. Ira has also served as a federal equity receiver in SEC and DOL actions and has represented federal equity receivers in SEC and CFTC actions.
Appointed by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Ira served as the U.S. Trustee for Region 11, which includes the Northern District of Illinois and the state of Wisconsin, from May 1998 through January 2006. In that capacity, he served as head of the Justice Department's component with primary oversight responsibility for all bankruptcy cases filed in Region 11.
In 2018, Ira was named an Illinois Leading Attorney by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. He has an AV rating from Martindale Hubble and is listed in Who’s Who in America’s 70th Anniversary edition. Ira is a founding member and past president of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.
Ira earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and his B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College.