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M. Stephanie Wickouski joined the firm as a partner in August 2002. She is currently regional partner in charge of the New York City office, and co-vice-chair of the firm’s Corporate Restructuring Practice Group, and leads the firm's Corporate Trust practice. Stephanie has more than 27 years of experience in complex reorganization cases before federal bankruptcy courts throughout the country, and in counseling clients on all aspects of credit and financial relationships. In 2006, Stephanie was named one of the 12 Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers in the U.S. by Turnarounds & Workouts. For the past several years, she has been named in Best Lawyers in America in both the bankruptcy and corporate/M&A categories. In 2007, Stephanie was named one of the New York Super Lawyers.
Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie was a partner at Arent Fox, where she concentrated her practice on business bankruptcy, insolvency and commercial litigation. She has recently served or currently serves as lead bankruptcy counsel to indenture trustees in several notable cases, including Northwest Airlines, Loral Space and Communications, Inc., Petroleum-Geo Services, Magellan Health Services, Inc., WHX Corp., and Tower Automotive in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York; Fly.i, Inc., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware; and USGen New England in the District of Maryland. She was one of the bankruptcy counsel to the indenture trustees in United Airlines in the Northern District of Illinois and Atlas Air in the Southern District of Florida. She is currently representing a member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Bayou Group case. In the past few years, she served as the lead counsel to ServerVault, Inc. in its recent Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; as lead counsel to New York Medical Group, P.C. in its Chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York; and as lead counsel to Newsworld Communications (The Washington Times) in its acquisition of UPI.
Stephanie is the author of Bankruptcy Crimes, the leading authoritative treatise on the subject of bankruptcy fraud which was recently issued in its 3rd edition. She also has a national reputation in health care insolvency and is a frequent lecturer, author and commentator on bankruptcy subjects. Her articles have appeared in The National Law Journal, ABA Litigation Magazine, Legal Times, Washington Business Journal and official publications of the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania State Bar Associations. She is a frequent commentator in The Washington Post on bankruptcy issues, and has appeared on national television in connection with recent high-profile bankruptcy cases. Stephanie has taught creditors' rights at the Catholic University School of Law and was formerly a law clerk to the Hon. Roger M. Whelan, former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Columbia.
Prior to entering private practice, Stephanie was a trial attorney with the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she received several awards for her handling of litigation in airline bankruptcies. She has served as a panel trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and as a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. She presently is a panel mediator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. She has previously served as a co-chair of the District of Columbia Bar Law Practice Management Section Steering Committee and as chairman of the Judicial Endorsements Committee of The Women's Bar Association. | 