Mr. Bauch has practiced law in the District of Columbia, Florida and Illinois. He concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation and business workouts and reorganizations. He is particularly experienced in matters involving designing and implementing debtor´s and creditor´s reorganization plans and workout plans for real property portfolios, settlement of secured and unsecured claims, development of asset management programs, and recovery of distressed construction projects. He has extensive experience negotiating with creditors, trustees, equity security holders, broker-dealers, and governmental authorities.

Mr. Bauch has represented major participants in nationally significant bankruptcy proceedings, including, Air Florida; A.H. Robins Company; Calumet Industries; Days Inns of America; Drexel Burnham Lambert; EPIC Associates; Geo International Corporation; Grabill Corporation; Jim Walters Corporation; Kaiser Steel Corporation; Jartran, Inc.; National Gypsum Company; Pettibone Corporation; UNR Industries; Laventhal & Horwath; V.N. DePrizio Construction Company, K-Mart Corporation, and Clark Retail Enterprises. He has also represented numerous participants in workouts, financial restructurings, and bankruptcy proceedings involving middle-market companies.

In 1983, he earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, where he was an Editor of the Law Review. He graduated in 1980 from Western Michigan University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration. Mr. Bauch was an honored guest speaker at the 1983 Florida attorney induction ceremony for obtaining one of the highest scores on the bar exam.

He has been a speaker and panelist at numerous conferences including the National Business Institute´s seminars on Illinois Collection Law; the American Banker´s Association´s Annual Corporate Trust Workshop; the National Business Institute´s Seminar on Advanced Collections and the Bankruptcy Process in Illinois; the Illinois CPA Society´s Annual Meeting; Deloitte & Touches´ Real Estate Workouts Seminar; and the American Bankruptcy Institute´s Central States Bankruptcy Workshop. Mr. Bauch has served as Vice Chair of the ABA Business Law Section´s Banking Law Subcommittee on Workouts.

Mr. Bauch is the former Chairman of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd´s Creditors´ Rights, Bankruptcy and Business Reorganization Group. He is a member of the Bars of the States of Illinois and Florida, and the District of Columbia. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Northern District of Texas, Western District of Michigan, and District of Columbia. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits. Mr. Bauch is a member of the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois.

In addition to his legal experience, he has significant business experience. Mr. Bauch was the Senior Vice President of a real estate development company. He has also served as primary outside counsel to a publicly traded international jewelry distribution and manufacturing concern.

In his youth, Mr. Bauch played goalie for a Michigan State Champion hockey team, earning the most valuable player award.

Kenneth A. Michaels Jr.

Mr. Michaels graduated from The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1983. Prior to law school he graduated from Brother Rice High School on Chicago´s southwest side and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (with a concentration of Economics courses in the Business School prior to taking a degree through the School of Arts and Sciences) from Loyola University of Chicago. During law school he was appointed to the school´s moot court board and worked to develop a nationally competitive appellate advocacy program that is still outstanding to this day. Subsequent to graduation he worked as Research Director for the newly-founded Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law at JMLS.

Michaels worked at the Center until 1989, ultimately becoming the Center´s first Fellow. He was responsible for supervising legal research on dozens of projects; preparing annual updates to a three-volume treatise on Privacy Law published by Mathew Bender & Company (which he provided editorial assistance in writing); working with the development of the Uniform Criminal History Records Information Act and computer crime legislation; drafting problems and bench memoranda for the annual John Marshall National Moot Court Competition in Privacy Law (formerly known as the Benton Competition); implementing computers throughout the law school; establishing the Software Law Journal (now known as the John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law) at the law school; and overall executing and administering dozens of projects and programs.

Michaels concentrates in commercial and business litigation and transactional work. He has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Michigan; and the Illinois Supreme Court. Michaels is a member of the Federal Trial Bar in the Northern District of Illinois. He has conducted both bench and jury trials and regularly appears in state court, federal court, and administrative hearings. He has argued appeals in both state and federal appellate courts.

Michaels has represented businesses and individuals through hundreds of contract disputes and common law and statutory claims. He has also represented clients through a broad spectrum of transactions including complex condominium and property developments; sales of hotel property; reorganization of debtors; preparing, coordinating, and monitoring multiple construction contracts; sales of businesses and assets; and assignments for the benefit of creditors.

Michaels is married to an attorney and pharmacist, and they are raising their daughter. He is presently serving his fourth term appointed by members of the Illinois General Assembly as a trustee to the Northern Moraine Wastewater Reclamation District located in Lake and McHenry Counties, Illinois, where he also serves as President and oversaw a $5+ million facilities expansion. During his tenure, the District has doubled in size. He is currently responsible for implementing a $47 million expansion project. He also has served as chairman of his parish building committee which worked on developing a $4.5 million parish facilities and school expansion. Previously he has served on the Village of Island Lake Economic Development Committee, Transfiguration School Long-Term Planning Commission, and various not-for-profit boards of directors.

He is an active member in the American, Illinois State, and Chicago Bar Associations and is a regular member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Through the past 20 years he has authored numerous published law review and journal articles and presented seminars, training, and speeches to clients and large audiences.

Carolina Y. Sales

Ms Sales joined the firm in 2005, before her admittance to the Illinois bar. She assisted with research and case preparation while working as a law clerk. As an attorney at the firm, Ms Sales has worked on a wide span of commercial litigation issues, including spoliation of evidence, dischargeability of claims against bankruptcy debtors, lien priority, mechanics liens, personal liability of corporate directors, collection of judgments, and the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act.

In May 2005, Ms Sales obtained her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. During law school, Ms Sales was a lead articles editor for the Law Review and a Distinguished Scholar Award recipient. She worked as a judicial extern for mortgage foreclosure judges in the Cook County Circuit Court and served as an intern for the City of Chicago Department of Buildings.

Ms Sales is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and Illinois Supreme Court. She earned her bachelor´s degree, cum laude, from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2002. Her undergraduate majors were in English Literature and Philosophy. Ms Sales is currently pursuing a Master of Laws in real estate. Her husband is also an attorney and John Marshall graduate.

Support Staff

Sonserese Hatch

Ms. Hatch obtained her paralegal certificate with honors from Roosevelt University in January of 2007. She also earned a bachelor´s degree in commerce from DePaul University. Ms. Hatch was a judicial intern for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Mortgage Foreclosure/Mechanics Lein section. She currently provides support to the firm in the areas of business and business licensing, real estate, probate, research and litigation.

Staci Mohan

Ms. Mohan has 19 years of experience in secretarial operations and office administration. She is a 1989 graduate of Robert Morris College. Ms. Mohan has worked with Mr. Bauch since 1990. She and her husband live in the south suburbs where they are raising their two daughters.