Deborah C. Swenson / Biography
Before retirement, Deb Swenson provided clients with practical, cost effective legal advice in the area of commercial bankruptcy and commercial litigation. In bankruptcy matters, she assisted clients who had customers that had filed bankruptcy matters no matter where they arose in the United States. Her philosophy is based upon the belief that clients shouldn’t have to pay the cost to reinvent the wheel to repeatedly educate attorney after attorney about a legal issue that is common to their business. Instead, she used her knowledge of her clients’ businesses to work as a team with a specially chosen local counsel to bring about positive results without the high cost of travel. Her practice was unique as over the last 20 years she developed relationships with counsel in all 50 states, enabling her to provide clients with a one-stop process to have their commercial bankruptcy and commercial litigation matters handled efficiently and effectively.
She enjoyed providing these services to clients across the country. Clients included Fortune 500 companies in the transportation, staffing and services industries. She also worked on appellate matters in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Of special interest to her is the defense of avoidance actions, including preference and fraudulent transfers. During her long legal practice she defended corporations in hundreds of avoidance actions in over 40 jurisdictions.
Deb also worked to protect her clients’ interests in bankruptcy through an active motion practice, including relief from the automatic stay and other motions in the bankruptcy courts throughout the United States. She also served as a liquidating trustee in a Minnesota Chapter 11 liquidation case involving former franchisee.
Deb is rated AV Preeminent® for the highest level of professional excellence by Martindale-Hubbell.
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., 1995
- University of Minnesota, B.A., summa cum laude, 1992
News + Articles
Net Winners in Madoff Ponzi Scheme Lose
SECOND CIRCUIT UPHOLDS MADOFF BANKRUPTCY COURT RULING THAT INVESTORS NOT ENTITLED TO DETERMINE LOSSES BASED ON LAST STATEMENT. On August 16, 2011, "net winners" in the massive Madoff Ponzi scheme were delivered a blow by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The...
Grandparent Visitation Clarified
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently clarified the bounds of grandparent visitation in its decision in the case of In re the minor child C.D.G.D. v. Darst. Minnesota has long recognized a statutory right for grandparents to petition the Court for visitation with...
Duty to Defend
John Crawford spoke at the Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook & Seminar on July 18, 2011 for Minnesota CLE. Session description: Duty to Defend: An interactive presentation discussing duty to defend, when attorney’s fees are recoverable in coverage disputes,...
Client Wins Partnership Breakup Case
Lommen attorneys Thomas Jacobson, Kay Hunt and Diane Odeen successfully represented David Bushard before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a case that dealt with the breakup of a partnership. In 1995, Bushard and Steven Reisman formed PressEnter, a partnership that...
Lommen Abdo Files Suit Against Distributor of Defective Hip Replacement System
MINNEAPOLIS – 4/29/11 – A lawsuit was filed today in the Minnesota First District Court in Carver County on behalf of three plaintiffs who are claiming injuries resulting from a defective hip replacement system. The suit alleges that Simpson & Associates of...
Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook, 4th Edition
John Crawford serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook, 4th Edition (2011) (Updated 2015). In addition to serving as the Deskbook's editor, John wrote chapter 6 of the Deskbook regarding the duty to defend. Read the full article.