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In Vault's Practice Area Resource Centers, among other things, we highlight Q&As from various attorneys employed at law firms who have ranked for prestige in the relevant practice area. In this series, we will highlight some answers from attorneys at ranked firms regarding what their typical day is like working in a given practice area. Today, we feature some answers from our Bankruptcy/Restructuring Practice Area Resource Center.
Megan M. Wasson, Associate & Alexander Woolverton, Partner, HSF Kramer:
"Megan: On any given day, I can be on an all-day Zoom hearing in another jurisdiction, and then the next day, I could be doing deposition preparation all morning and then negotiating financing agreements in the afternoon. Each day ends up being a combination of some litigation work and some corporate work. I often find that I can have a schedule set for the day, but that can quickly change by 9 a.m. Similar to Xander’s approach though, I consider that unpredictability to be what makes bankruptcy an exciting practice.
Xander: I often start my day before my kids are up so that I can make time to take them to school in the morning, and I try to make time to have dinner with my kids, which means I have to make up the work time after they’ve gone to bed. I am an avid runner and run five or six days a week, schedule permitting—often with my phone so that I can be reached even when exercising. I can’t count the times that I’ve had to take work calls while running in Prospect Park in Brooklyn or across the Williamsburg Bridge! The bottom line is there is no typical daily schedule, but that fits perfectly well with the organized chaos that goes along with being a parent to three young kids."
Nelly Almeida & Dennis Dunne, Partners, Milbank:
"Dennis: From arguing in court and advising a board of directors to creating new and innovative structural solutions, I would say one of the most rewarding things about this practice is that there is no typical day. Everything we do is bespoke, and it’s rewarding and challenging.
Nelly: On any deal we do, restructuring lawyers are the backbone of the case. We have to be knowledgeable of all elements of a deal so that we can make quick decisions when issues arise. We are constantly working through the different pieces of the puzzle while balancing the various legal issues, limitations, and desired outcomes. The end result is often satisfying."
Jeff Michalik & Aparna Yemanandra, Partners, Kirkland & Ellis:
"Jeff: No two days are the same in restructuring, but it’s always a mix of Zoom meetings and phone calls, a healthy dose of email, and drafting/revising of memos, pleadings, letters, etc. Restructuring lawyers at Kirkland are both transactional lawyers and litigators; you could finalize a Transaction Support Agreement and then stand up in court to defend it in front of a judge that same day.
Aparna: I have been at Kirkland for just over 11 years; a typical day for me at this stage is a mix of fielding questions from a senior management team and board members, navigating complex deal or litigation issues both internally with other Kirkland practice groups or with creditor constituencies, and, as needed, preparing for court. I am also constantly staying in communication with my co-advisors (within and outside of Kirkland) to ensure that we are working together as cohesively as possible."
Alice Belisle Eaton, Deputy Chair of the Restructuring Department & Sean A. Mitchell, Partner, Paul, Weiss:
"Alice: There’s not a lot of commonality in my day to day because it is really driven by the specific matters on my plate and client demands. I spend most of my time interacting with clients, providing advice, solving the problems before us, and trying to anticipate future issues clients may face. I then work directly with our team to determine how to tackle the various tasks at hand—whether that’s conducting analyses, fielding client inbounds, negotiating, or doing other strategic work.
Sean: Like Alice, a good chunk of my day is spent on calls with clients, listening to their concerns, understanding their goals, and interpreting recent developments in the courts to help them make more informed decisions. I split my time between litigation and transactional work, reviewing and preparing filings and transactional documents. I dedicate a significant amount of time to strategic planning, considering what recommendations to make to our clients so they can meet their goals. My days also include time for client relationship building, which may involve lunches or dinners with prospective clients."
Alexa Kranzley, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell: "
There are three different kinds of common days. A typical day in the office consists of a number of meetings, both internally and with external advisors such as company or financial advisors, where we discuss strategy and next steps. In addition to participating in these meetings, I work with associates in reviewing and preparing motions, orders, pleadings, and declarations for court filings. I also review transactional documents such as purchase agreements, financing documents, vendor agreements, and the like.
Because I primarily focus on company-side restructurings, there are several days each month where our team is in court. A typical day in court is not quite argument—there’s no jury or trial—but I appear and represent companies in front of the judge and other constituents. Occasionally, when the judge has a difficult schedule and we cannot be in person, our team takes the hearing from S&C’s internal Moot Courtroom, which is a newly developed space in our building that can be arranged to approximate different types of courtroom venues. In fact, our Moot Courtroom looks so much like court rooms that counsel have asked how we are before the judge when the hearing is virtual.
Representing these companies also means that our cases have numerous interested parties: creditors, lenders, people who want to buy the assets. So, lastly, I have a lot of meetings with these counterparties to negotiate and try to reach resolutions. More often than not, this practice is not as adversarial as people think; it is most beneficial when we have consensus."
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