Katten Pulls In Two More Bankruptcy Partners in New York

10/29/20

Julia Winters and Michael Comerford

Katten announced today that Julia Winters and Michael Comerford have joined its Insolvency and Restructuring practice as partners in New York.

Winters is a seasoned litigator who has built a reputation for representing both creditors and debtors in high-stakes litigation in bankruptcy courts across the country. Comerford has substantial experience counseling a wide array of clients in all types of in-court and out-of-court restructurings.

“Both Julia and Mike have extensive experience that allows them to effectively evaluate and tackle head-on the many issues that impact client interests in bankruptcy matters,” said John Sieger, chair of Katten’s Insolvency and Restructuring practice. “Their presence heightens our already expansive capabilities. We look forward to working with them.”

Specifically, Winters focuses her practice on bankruptcy and commercial litigation. She has represented creditors and debtors in several high-profile Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and provided counsel on commercial litigation matters in both federal and state court. Winters helps clients through the entire lifecycle of the bankruptcy litigation process, from negotiations and mediation through trial and prosecuting appeals.

Comerford represents debtors, ad hoc groups of creditors, hedge funds, private equity firms, secured lenders, and creditors’ committees to help them develop and implement transactions that maximize value. He is particularly skilled in addressing matters involving both in-court restructurings (including pre-packaged and pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases) and out-of-court restructurings.

Comerford formerly was of counsel in the Corporate practice of Paul Hastings LLP in New York. Winters was counsel in the Commercial Litigation practice at White & Case LLP in New York.

With the addition of Winters and Comerford, Katten has added five attorneys to its Insolvency and Restructuring practice within the last two months and 12 this year. Last month, Michaela Crocker and John Mitchell joined the practice in Dallas, and Terence Banich joined in Chicago.

Katten’s Insolvency and Restructuring practice was much more in demand during the first half of 2020 than during the same period in 2019 as the practice continues to take on key roles in some of the most noted bankruptcy cases. The practice generally represents debtors, independent directors, key creditor constituencies and stakeholders in major Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 cases throughout the country.

Katten is a full-service law firm with nearly 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm’s core areas of practice include commercial finance, corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, and trusts and estates. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com.

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