Latham's global restructuring group — one of the world’s largest restructuring practices — advises the full array of stakeholders involved with financially distressed businesses, including debtors and issuers of both public and private securities, all types of creditors, equity holders, new investors, boards of directors, and senior management teams.

Combining practical commercial insight and a nuanced understanding of today’s most innovative financial structures, we drive consensus and lay out a clear and confident vision for the best path forward. 

A significant part of our work focuses on developing creative and value-maximizing strategies in complex, and often contentious, restructuring and insolvency matters with multi-layered capital structures — including some of the largest restructurings in the past decade. Our greatest strength is cross-collaboration with other market-leading practices in all of the major financial centers across the world, including the firm’s tax, M&A, private equity, capital markets, employment and benefits, and debt finance groups. We also collaborate closely with leading practitioners across Latham’s industry teams to deliver innovative and bespoke solutions for our clients. 

Our breadth of experience spans financial and operational restructurings, often with a cross-jurisdictional dynamic. We are equally adept at pursuing solutions in and out of court, including creditor compromise procedures, security enforcements, debt rescheduling, liability management transactions, exchange and tender offers, refinancings, new money and distressed financings, debt to-equity swap transactions, equity capital raises, and strategic and distressed M&A transactions. And because corporate governance is a key consideration in any stressed or distressed situation, we work closely with companies and their boards to identify and manage risk effectively, minimize fiduciary liability, and navigate stakeholder negotiations. 

Regardless of the challenge at hand, our team responds with strategic and comprehensive counsel — allowing clients to surmount the varied legal, financial, operational, and corporate governance obstacles that may arise in troubled situations, and achieve their business or investment goals.

We offer superior representatoin in court, supported by our dedicated Bankruptcy Litigation & Creditors' Rights group.  The Bankruptcy Litigation & Creditors' Rights lawyers bring trial-tested litigation skill, deep knowledge of bankruptcy law and procedure, and extensive experience in federal bankruptcy courts, as well as district and state courts nationwide, to aggressviely advance clients' interests in high-profile restructuring matters.  Latham lawyers have been trial counsel in almost all of the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcies in the last decade.  We represent clients in the full spectrum of bankruptcy disputes, including contested Chapter 11 proceedings, auctions and sale hearings, post-emergence and adversary litigation, fiduciary duty and officer/director matters, and complex fee and engagement disputes. 

In addition, when clients face complex financial situations in which traditional financings fall short, our market-leading Liability Management Practice delivers solutions.  Our specialized team of liability management attorneys has designed and executed many of the largest and most complex liability management transactions in the field.  We work with companies, sponsors, and credit investors facing challenging balance sheet and liquidity issues to find creative solutions that will raise financing, extend the maturity runway, and address other core capital needs.  

Key Contacts

Ray Schrock, Global Chair of Restructuring & Special Situations 
Andrew Parlen, Head of Restructuring & Special Situations US 
Bruce Bell, Head of Restructuring & Special Situations EMEA
Christopher Harris, Chair of Bankruptcy Litigation & Creditors' Rights Practice
John R. Sobolewski, Global Chair of the Liability Management Practice