November 7, 2023
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman (Ret.), senior counsel in the Business Reorganization & Restructuring Department and Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, appeared on Debtwire’s Legal Lens podcast to discuss her trailblazing career on the bench and in private practice at Willkie.
Judge Chapman discussed her path to becoming a restructuring lawyer and a partner at Willkie, and her decision to pursue a judgeship in 2010 and serve as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York. In that role, she oversaw a multitude of landmark cases including the Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy, the largest on record, and served as a court-appointed mediator in the chapter 11 cases of Purdue Pharma and Sears, among many other major restructurings.
Judge Chapman also spoke about her reasons for returning to Willkie in 2022 as one of the country’s foremost bankruptcy practitioners and mediators, and the ways her experience as a judge informs her approach to private practice. In addition, the interview addressed emerging trends and issues in the restructuring field.
Listen to Debtwire’s Legal Lens podcast here.
