Drawing upon a ‘strong bench of talent’ within its core restructuring team as well as being able to leverage expertise in adjacent areas including banking and litigation, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP provides ’flexible and creative’ advice to debtors and creditors across the full spectrum of distressed mandates, from advice on out-of-court restructurings, and distressed investing through to formal restructuring and insolvency procedures. As well as his fee-earning work, which has recently included some high-profile transactions for bondholders on sovereign debt restructurings, the ‘very experienced and seasoned’ Andrew Wilkinson is recognised as a thought leader. Although he does handle some debtor mandates, including for institutional firmwide sponsor clients, the ’deeply respected’ Neil Devaney, who co-heads the team alongside Wilkinson, is best-known for his sophisticated offering for funds as fulcrum creditors on complex pan-European restructurings. The ‘super bright’ Lois Deasey regularly works alongside Devaney for ad-hoc noteholders, with both recently advising on several large situations involving UK restructuring plans. Gemma Sage and Mark Lawford are key members of the team, with the ’pragmatic’ Sage excelling in restructurings and formal insolvency procedures for debtors and creditors, and Lawford regarded as a ‘real expert in court led restructurings, particularly those with complex and contentious issues’.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Profile
Career
Neil Devaney is the Co-Head of the London Restructuring practice, a group dedicated to advising clients on all aspects of restructuring and insolvency law across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Neil’s practice is focused on providing practical, leading-edge advice to companies and their stakeholders on complex, high value debt restructurings. Neil works with credit funds, senior management and private equity sponsors on stressed, distressed and special situations. He also advises on associated M&A and alternative investments.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Very experienced but also flexible and creative, with a strong bench of talent but at the same time direct senior involvement.' 'Weil Gotshal remains the gold standard for restructuring work—globally renowned and consistently at the centre of the most high-profile matters. Its London team combines technical brilliance with practical execution, and leads from the front on industry trends and innovations.' 'Andrew Wilkinson is a very experienced and seasoned lawyer, who is always looking to find solutions.' 'Neil Devaney is a standout—calm under pressure, laser-focused, and deeply respected in the market.' 'Mark Lawford - a real expert in court led restructurings, particularly those with complex and contentious issues.' 'Lois Deasey - excellent lawyer; hard-working; super bright; and great at client service.' 'Gemma Sage - bright, pragmatic and gets things done.'
Key clients
- Vialto Partners Ad hoc group of Bondholders (Ukraine) Ad hoc committee of Bondholders (Zambia) Ad hoc group of senior noteholders (Petrofac) Ad Hoc Group of Lenders to McDermott International, Ltd Ad hoc group (Intrum) Ares Management as PIK lender and minority shareholder (TalkTalk Telecom Group) Scandinavian Airlines System VTB Capital plc (in administration), and its administrators GM Resins, an Astorg portfolio company
Work highlights
Advised the bondholders on $23bn restructuring of Ukraine’s sovereign debt.
Advised the bondholders on $13bn restructuring of Zambia’s sovereign debt.
Advising an ad hoc group of senior noteholders in connection with the complex multi-billion-dollar restructuring of Petrofac.