JOHN N. TEDFORD, IV, is a partner at Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Golubchik L.L.P. John joined Levene Neale in February 2025, after over 22 years at Danning, Gill, Israel & Krasnoff, LLP.
John started his bankruptcy career as a law clerk at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. During his first two years out of law school, John was the Relief Law Clerk for the Honorable Alan M. Ahart, Ellen Carroll, and Kathleen P. March. He then served as Judge Ahart’s lead law clerk until September 2002, when he joined Danning Gill as an associate.
John has represented chapter 7 and 11 trustees, debtors and creditors before bankruptcy courts, district courts, the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also represented receivers appointed by the U.S. District Court and the L.A. County Superior Court. He is a member of the bar of the State of California as well as the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
John was recently selected to be a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and will be inducted in the 36th Class of the College in March 2025. He is currently a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, President of the California Bankruptcy Forum, and Treasurer of the Century City Bar Association. He is a board member and former officer of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum (serving as its President in 2017-2018) and Financial Lawyers Conference (serving as its President in 2023-2024). John also is a former co-chair of the Insolvency Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.
John frequently writes and speaks on bankruptcy issues. His most recent article, Equitable Tolling: Prophylactic Orders and Applicable Standards After Smith v. Davis, appeared in the May 2022 publication of the California Bankruptcy Journal. He also has published articles in the ABI Journaland the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law, and has written over twenty e-bulletins for the Insolvency Law Committee addressing a variety of bankruptcy- and insolvency-related issues.
John attended the University of Southern California, where he received an undergraduate degree in Business Administration (1996) and a law degree from the Gould School of Law (1999). John is an avid supporter of the Trojans.