Baker McKenzie Adds Restructuring Partner in Cross-Border Lateral Hire as Global Firms Continue to Invest in Insolvency and Restructuring Capacity
Baker McKenzie has recruited a restructuring partner, adding specialist cross-border insolvency and restructuring capability to its global platform. The hire, noted in a Law.com lateral moves round-up, continues the pattern of elite international firms investing in restructuring capacity during a period of elevated corporate stress — driven by elevated financing costs, geopolitical supply chain disruption, and sector-specific distress in real estate, retail, and leveraged buyout (LBO) portfolios carrying debt originated during the low-rate era. Baker McKenzie's global platform — spanning over 70 offices — gives it particular strength in cross-border restructuring matters where assets, creditors, and operating entities are spread across multiple jurisdictions, requiring coordinated insolvency proceedings and recognition of foreign restructuring orders. The COMI (centre of main interests) analysis under the EU Insolvency Regulation and its UK equivalent, the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006, is central to determining which jurisdiction's courts supervise a multi-jurisdictional restructuring. The addition of a restructuring partner suggests Baker McKenzie is anticipating continued, or growing, demand for this type of advisory work through 2026.
Why this matters
Cross-border restructuring is one of the most technically demanding practice areas for international law firms: it requires simultaneous coordination of insolvency proceedings across jurisdictions, analysis of competing creditor classes, and often contested recognition proceedings in multiple courts. Baker McKenzie's hire signals the firm's expectation of sustained deal flow in this space — consistent with wider market signals that leveraged buyout portfolios from the 2019–2022 vintage are approaching stress points as debt maturities and covenant tests approach. For City firms, cross-border restructuring mandates are high-value and defensible — they are relationship-intensive and hard to commoditise — making lateral investment in this area a strategically rational move.
On the Ground
On a cross-border restructuring matter, a trainee would coordinate local counsel instruction letters to Baker McKenzie offices in relevant jurisdictions — requesting opinions on the recognition of English or other restructuring orders — and assist with sanctions screening memos for counterparties and creditors. Preparing choice-of-law summaries identifying which jurisdiction's insolvency regime governs each entity in the corporate group is a common trainee task.
Interview prep
Soundbite
Cross-border restructuring lateral hires signal firms are positioning for an LBO vintage stress cycle that is only beginning to show.
Question you might get
“How does a court determine the 'centre of main interests' (COMI) for a cross-border insolvency, and why does COMI matter for a creditor deciding whether to challenge jurisdiction?”
Full answer
Baker McKenzie has added a restructuring partner to its global platform, reinforcing its capacity to handle multi-jurisdictional insolvency and restructuring mandates at a time when corporate stress levels are rising across LBO portfolio companies carrying expensive legacy debt. Cross-border restructuring matters are legally complex — COMI analysis, competing recognition applications, and coordinated creditor processes across EU and UK frameworks require specialist expertise that cannot be quickly assembled. Baker McKenzie's global network makes it particularly well-positioned for matters where the debtor group spans multiple jurisdictions. The hire is consistent with a broader market pattern of elite international firms quietly building out restructuring benches ahead of what many practitioners expect to be a busy restructuring cycle through 2026 and 2027.
My notes
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