Thomas H. Forrester

Section Leader

Tom Forrester is a business bankruptcy and litigation lawyer in Nashville. His practice is focused primarily on business bankruptcy cases under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, workouts and commercial litigation. Tom represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, court-appointed creditor and equity committees, buyers and sellers of assets, lenders, trustees, lessors and others in the field of insolvency. Tom also has extensive experience in claims litigation and lien-enforcement litigation in the Bankruptcy Courts. He works with clients on matters ranging from Chapter 11 reorganizations to out-of-court restructurings, receiverships and loan workouts.

Tom advises clients on distressed acquisitions, debtor-in-possession financing, assignments for the benefit of creditors and investing in distressed assets. He also has experience with creditors’ rights and insolvency-related litigation, including collection and recovery motions, defending and prosecuting preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as establishing and enforcing receiverships, under both state and federal receivership statutes.

Tom frequently counsels companies with regard to pre-bankruptcy planning, reorganizations, liquidations and other bankruptcy alternatives, as well as insolvency planning. He works with both lenders and borrowers in restructuring complex credit relationships.

As a business bankruptcy and litigation lawyer in Nashville, Tom’s experience spans a broad range of industries, as well as specialized markets such as retail, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, hospitality and service, real estate, air carrier, multi-use projects, healthcare and finance, to name only a few. Tom lectures frequently on insolvency and bankruptcy topics. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Tennessee Bar Association Bankruptcy Bar Committee and the Nashville Bar Association Bankruptcy Bar Committee. He is a former officer and a current director of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, and a former member of Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Board.

Outside of his law practice, Tom is involved with the Room in the Inn program, fundraising for the Nashville Bar Association’s Pro Bono Program, the Justice for Our Neighbors project, Belle Meade United Methodist Church, running, hiking, backpacking, water sports, tennis and golf.
University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., 1984
University of Tennessee, B.A. with high honors, 1981
Martin College (now known as the University of Tennessee Southern), A.A., summa cum laude, 1979
Tennessee, 1984
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee
Tennessee Supreme Court
  • American Bar Association
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Nashville Bar Association
    • Bankruptcy Court Committee
    • Pro Bono Panel
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Middle Tennessee State University
    • Guest Lecturer, Bankruptcy Litigation
  • MidSouth Commercial Law Institute
    • Board of Directors and Former Officer
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated
  • Listed in Chambers USA for Litigation-Bankruptcy
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation-Bankruptcy
  • Named Nashville Best Lawyers® Litigation-Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year, 2012
  • Named Nashville Best Lawyers® Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Lawyer of the Year, 2018
  • Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers for Creditor-Debtor Rights
  • Selected as Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar”
  • Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 1994
  • Tennessee Bar Association Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 1994
Tom Forrester is a business bankruptcy and litigation lawyer in Nashville. His practice is focused primarily on business bankruptcy cases under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, workouts and commercial litigation. Tom represents debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, court-appointed creditor and equity committees, buyers and sellers of assets, lenders, trustees, lessors and others in the field of insolvency. Tom also has extensive experience in claims litigation and lien-enforcement litigation in the Bankruptcy Courts. He works with clients on matters ranging from Chapter 11 reorganizations to out-of-court restructurings, receiverships and loan workouts.

Tom advises clients on distressed acquisitions, debtor-in-possession financing, assignments for the benefit of creditors and investing in distressed assets. He also has experience with creditors’ rights and insolvency-related litigation, including collection and recovery motions, defending and prosecuting preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as establishing and enforcing receiverships, under both state and federal receivership statutes.

Tom frequently counsels companies with regard to pre-bankruptcy planning, reorganizations, liquidations and other bankruptcy alternatives, as well as insolvency planning. He works with both lenders and borrowers in restructuring complex credit relationships.

As a business bankruptcy and litigation lawyer in Nashville, Tom’s experience spans a broad range of industries, as well as specialized markets such as retail, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, hospitality and service, real estate, air carrier, multi-use projects, healthcare and finance, to name only a few. Tom lectures frequently on insolvency and bankruptcy topics. He is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Tennessee Bar Association Bankruptcy Bar Committee and the Nashville Bar Association Bankruptcy Bar Committee. He is a former officer and a current director of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, and a former member of Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Board.

Outside of his law practice, Tom is involved with the Room in the Inn program, fundraising for the Nashville Bar Association’s Pro Bono Program, the Justice for Our Neighbors project, Belle Meade United Methodist Church, running, hiking, backpacking, water sports, tennis and golf.
University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., 1984
University of Tennessee, B.A. with high honors, 1981
Martin College (now known as the University of Tennessee Southern), A.A., summa cum laude, 1979
Tennessee, 1984
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States District Court for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee
Tennessee Supreme Court
  • American Bar Association
  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Nashville Bar Association
    • Bankruptcy Court Committee
    • Pro Bono Panel
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Middle Tennessee State University
    • Guest Lecturer, Bankruptcy Litigation
  • MidSouth Commercial Law Institute
    • Board of Directors and Former Officer
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated
  • Listed in Chambers USA for Litigation-Bankruptcy
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation-Bankruptcy
  • Named Nashville Best Lawyers® Litigation-Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year, 2012
  • Named Nashville Best Lawyers® Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Lawyer of the Year, 2018
  • Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers for Creditor-Debtor Rights
  • Selected as Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar”
  • Nashville Bar Association Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 1994
  • Tennessee Bar Association Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 1994