William S. Hackney

Clients often come to Bill in the midst of a potential financial calamity. Whether the call comes from company management or one of the dozens of financial institutions he represents, each of these financial crises comes with its own unique set of problems. Knowing that Bill will create a tailored approach to address those problems provides comfort.

Bill is a trusted restructuring counselor. He helps his clients analyze and resolve their financial issues, representing debtors, lenders, secured creditors, creditors' committees and trustees, among others, in all manners of chapter 11 and chapter 7 cases as well as out-of-court workouts and restructurings. Bill assists financial institutions and cannabis-related businesses on the interaction between state cannabis laws and federal banking and bankruptcy laws.

He also acts as outside bankruptcy counsel to a number of corporations and provides general business counseling in distressed situations, and represents a number of his clients in their FDCPA, FCRA, and similar consumer finance defense claims. Bill strives to find the right customized strategy for each client, knowing that it is the key to a successful resolution. Bill is on the panel of Chapter 7 Trustees for the Northern District of Illinois and in that role is a fiduciary responsible for the preservation, liquidation, and distribution of assets in both consumer and commercial chapter 7 cases. 

• Selected to the Illinois Super Lawyers List: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
• Selected to the Illinois Super Lawyers List of "Rising Stars": 2011, 2012

• American Bankruptcy Institute: Member
• National Creditors Bar Association: Member; Co-editor, Bankruptcy Section Newsletter
• Turnaround Management Association: Member; Past Steering Committee Member; Past Co-chair: Future Leaders Committee (2006-2007)
• Past Member: Northern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee
• Past Board Member: Auxiliary Board of Lincoln Park Zoo
• Past Board Member: Roscoe Village Neighbors Board of Directors (June 2004 - December 2007) ; Illinois Chapter of the American Liver Foundation (April 2005 - December 2007)
• Past President: Illinois Chapter of the American Liver Foundation Junior Board of Directors (April 2005 - December 2007)