Linda Worton Jackson

Co-Chair of the Business Reorganization and Bankruptcy
Corporate Department

Linda.Jackson@InfanteZumpano.com
Direct: 786-581-4764

With her hard-charging, fast-paced, style, it is no surprise that Linda Jackson is always one step-ahead-of-everyone-else. She has over two-decades of bankruptcy experience, and is known as one of the most accomplished business and insolvency practitioners in the field.  An alumni of two of the top Bankruptcy firms in the country – Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll and Greenberg Traurig – Linda joined Infante Zumpano in 2010 and serves as Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Department. She is often cited in the press for her accomplishments, and most recently, she was noted by Miami’s Daily Business Review as a leader of the Infante Zumpano bankruptcy team that guided First Foliage, one of the largest nurseries in the country, through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, successfully recovering over $21 million for creditors.  She was interviewed by CNBC for her expertise in the area of fraud work and in connection with her representation of several victims of a Ponzi Scheme and has appeared on Network Financial News as a commentator on business and bankruptcy related issues.  Linda has led teams on numerous deal closings which have received national attention and has been identified as the attorney responsible for closing a deal that was awarded the 2012 Distressed Deal of the Year Award by the M&A Advisors.  She is a business person’s lawyer, representing clients with any business related issue, whether the business is healthy or distressed, and regardless of whether the situation calls for aggressive litigation or a friendly transaction.

Linda has broad experience in all types of transaction and litigation matters, with significant emphasis in bankruptcy and corporate reorganization. Her areas of expertise include:

• Representing debtors, creditors, DIP lenders, equity holders, purchasers, committees, equipment lessors and other interested parties in all phases of workout/bankruptcy proceedings.
• Advising buyers and sellers in due diligence and the sale of assets both outside of bankruptcy and outside bankruptcy proceedings.
• Representing secured and unsecured lenders in workouts of problem loans with troubled customers and ultimate recovery of collateral.
• Assisting clients with the negotiation and structuring of business acquisitions and the purchase/sale of loan portfolios both inside and outside the bankruptcy context.
• Representation of Chapter 11 and 7 trustees in large liquidation proceedings.
• Delivering comprehensive, formal legal opinions to support complex business transactions.
• Uncovering fraud in situations where fraudulent activity has occurred in Ponzi Schemes and other types of litigation and obtaining the highest possible recoveries for the victims.

Significant Bankruptcy Representations
• Representation of the Chapter 11 Trustee of Seacoast Towers, one of the earliest failed real estate condo conversions, culminating in the sale of the condominium tower.
• Represented the Trustee in the Thomas A. Warmus Chapter 11 case, one of the most cunning fraud perpetrators in Florida history, and spear-headed efforts that led to his conviction for fraud and imprisonment.
• Lead Counsel for the Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Mission Health in that company’s chapter 11 bankruptcy case, securing a 100% return for the unsecured creditors.
• Long-term trusted advisor to General Electric as a secured creditor in numerous financing matters and Chapter 11 cases.
• Led the successful Chapter 11 reorganization and emergence of Employee Information, Inc., which included a first-of-its-kind acquisition of a company by a bankrupt debtor in Chapter 11.

Significant Corporate Representations
• Ongoing representation of Swiss Watch International, a privately held internet company, in a series of acquisitions of internet watch and jewelry companies, including the sought after Lucien Picard brand.
• Representation of Solares, Inc., a multi million dollar company leading the market in distribution of equipment for oil, petroleum, gas and process markets in Florida, the Caribbean and Central America, in the sale of its Florida Division
• Representation of Florida Gaming, Inc. (Miami Jai Alai) in an $87 Million refinancing.
• Closing the sale of the First Foliage nursery for $21 Million in a contentious sale, including real estate, hard assets, foliage, and all other assets of the Company.  The sale won 2012 Deal of the Year by the M&A Advisors.

Areas of Concentration
• Corporate Restructuring
• Insolvency
• Corporate Acquisition and Sale
• Bankruptcy

Noteworthy Experience
• Appeared as a commentator on bankruptcy issues on Network Financial news.
• Seen on February 8, 2012 on the television show “American Greed” on CNBC.

Articles
• Guest editorial on proposed changes to the Bankruptcy Code in the Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Multiple articles published in Florida Medical Business Newspaper, most notably “Health Care and Bankruptcy Trends” and “Mounting Financial Pressures Spark Trend in Health Care Bankruptcies.”
• “Workout or Bankruptcy?” a guide to pre-bankruptcy planning, published as a chapter in the industry standard Workouts & Turnarounds.
• “Swiss Watch International Buys Lucien Piccard Brand”- South Florida Business Journal
• “Nevin Shapiro’s High Stakes Fraud”- Daily Business Review
• “Judge in Ponzi Case Deals Blow to Hoosier Developer”– Indianapolis Business News
• “First Foliage Heads to Auction Block” – South Florida Business Journal
• “$20.5 Million Bid Buys First Foliage”- Daily Business Review
• “Fraud Workouts Take a Turn in Some Bankruptcy Court Cases “ – South Florida Business Journal
• “Judge Turns Down Innovida Plan”- The Miami Herald
• “BFN Growers Supplants First Foliage Stalking Horse” – The Deal

Lectures
• “Banking, Accounting and Litigation Issues in Bankruptcy Proceedings,”
• “Complex Foreclosures and Issues Relating to Multiparty and Multiparcel Mortgage Enforcement,”
• “The Decision Whether to Do an Out of Court Workout or File for Bankruptcy Relief,”
• “Risks Associated with Leveraged Buyouts,”
• “Ongoing Struggles in the Healthcare Industry: HMO’s and Hospitals.”

Professional and Community Involvement
• Florida Bar
• Pennsylvania Bar
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida.
• City of Miami Beach Committee for Quality Education, appointed in 2010.
• Director on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

Education
• J.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Law, 1988
• B.A., Political Science, Duke University

Admitted to Practice
• Florida
• Pennsylvania