The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers

We are honored to introduce The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers.

In a world gone mad, these are the advisors who can keep their cool for companies, investors, governments and others on the fiscal precipice. Once a practice that seemed more black and white – you’re solvent or you’re not – this burgeoning group of specialists reflects the reality of the modern economy, in which few corporate entities truly go bust. Instead, they are re-leveraged, managed as special situations, sold as a distressed transaction, and – if all else fails – may truly become bankrupt.

Also represented here are the lawyers who have harvested paths forward from fraud, such as that of the Bernard Madoff Investment Securities, which began in 2008 and has recovered more than $15B. A new crop of lawyer specialists has also emerged who fuse mass tort and restructuring skills to find a way forward for companies on the defense side of massive claims.

Marshall S. Huebner is co-head of Restructuring at New York’s Davis Polk. He is lead counsel to Purdue Pharma in its Chapter 11 restructuring effectuating a settlement of $40T in opioid claims, converting the company into a public benefit company for the benefit of its victims. He was lead counsel for the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve in the historic $182B rescue of AIG, and has also served as lead counsel restructuring Ford, Purdue, Spirit Airlines and Lehman Brothers Europe. He has also served as lead lender and creditor counsel for Silicon Valley Bank, FTX, Hertz, Enron, Lyondell, American Airlines, Kodak, Polaroid and Toys “R” Us.

Susheel Kirpalani is the head of Special Situations and founder of Quinn Emanuel’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group. Based in New York, he has represented the founders of WeWork and Steward Health Care; ad hoc groups of debt coalition bondholders during Puerto Rico’s financial crisis; the Joint Liquidators of the Kingate Global and Euro Funds in the Madoff case; and was special litigation counsel to the company in Wesco Aircraft, TriMark, Kingfisher Midstream, New GM and Washington Mutual. Kirpalani is also often called upon to advise globally on legislation, including the Government of Antigua & Barbuda and Dubai World in drafting Dubai’s legislation for public decree companies.

Debra Sinclair is U.S. Co-Chair of Willkie’s Restructuring Department and Chair of the Company Restructuring & Reorganization practice. Based in New York, she is representing the debtors in the bankruptcies of Saks Global Holdings, NanoStrings Technologies, Pace Industries, and Square Two Financial Services Corp. She has also served as counsel to Platinum Equity as sponsor of Aventiv Technologies, Charah Solutions in its acquisition by SER Capital Partners, and the U.S. Independent Directors in the bankruptcy of the world’s second-largest cinema chain, Cineworld Group.

We selected this guide through our time-honed process combining your fantastic nominations, independent research and vetting with peers. Those included are traditional bankruptcy lawyers, specialists in leveraged finance and restructuring, and litigators well-versed in financial litigation and distress. Liability Management, Special Situations and Distressed Transactions have emerged as strong focuses of many of the recognized lawyers. Those designated with an asterisk are members of the Lawdragon Hall of Fame.