J. Ford Elsaesser

J. Ford Elsaesser is the managing partner of Elsaesser Anderson, Chtd. and has developed a national bankruptcy practice. Ford handles restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy law, commercial litigation, trusteeships, federal and state court receiverships, mediation, arbitration, and expert-witness work in commercial and bankruptcy matters. His experience ranges from complex Chapter 11 cases to small business, agricultural, and consumer matters, with substantial work for creditors, trustees, and other parties in financial distress.

Ford earned a bachelor’s degree from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Idaho College of Law. He is admitted to the Idaho State Bar, the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. His education and extensive federal practice support work involving sophisticated bankruptcy procedure, restructuring, litigation, and fiduciary responsibilities.

Ford has representative experience includes major Chapter 11 reorganizations, unsecured creditors’ committees, trustee appointments, receiverships, and complex commercial disputes. Ford has served as a Chapter 7 Trustee since 1984 and as a Chapter 12 Trustee for Northern Idaho and the Eastern District of Washington. He has also served as a Chapter 11 trustee, plan trustee, federal court-appointed receiver, mediator, arbitrator, and expert witness on standards affecting lawyers, trustees, and debtors-in-possession.

J. Ford Elsaesser has served as President and Chairman of the American Bankruptcy Institute and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. His honors include Idaho State Bar professionalism and pro bono awards, a University of Idaho College of Law Faculty Award of Legal Merit, and an American Bankruptcy Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. Ford also teaches bankruptcy law and has spoken extensively to lawyers, judges, and other professionals on bankruptcy and commercial law issues.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Elsaesser Anderson, CHTD.
• Member, Idaho State Bar

Licensed State

• Idaho

Awards & Badges