AABANY Committees Host a Panel on Pursuing a Specialization in Bankruptcy

What is bankruptcy law? How does it differ from general litigation and transactional practices? Why do people call it “restructuring?” And how do I get a job in this amazing field? 

On July 11, 2024, AABANY’s Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Student Outreach, and Young Lawyers Committees held a panel at the offices of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP to answer these questions—hopefully enticing students and junior attorneys to join the next generation of corporate bankruptcy lawyers and providing added perspectives for the benefit of current legal and non-legal practitioners in the audience. 

Our all-female, all-AAPI panel of attorneys from leading law firms—Cleary Gottlieb, Kelley Drye, Mayer Brown, Sidley, and Skadden Arps—went deep. They talked about the nuances of the corporate bankruptcy and restructuring practice and why it is such an appealing field. It’s a great mix of litigation and transactional work, the panelists emphasized, the work is dynamic and varies based on the nature of one’s representation, and bankruptcy’s faster pace makes it rather exciting and provides hands-on experience earlier on in an attorney’s career. The panel also fielded various questions from the strongly turned-out audience such as what qualities make for an effective bankruptcy lawyer and why the practice tends to concentrate in New York.

What further came out of the panel and the rest of the evening was just how closely knit the bankruptcy world is. During the reception, attendees caught up with old colleagues at other firms, and new and old friends stayed long after they finished their last glasses of wine. 

Thank you to our panelists Connie Choe, Dabin Chung, Weiru Fang, Hoori Kim, and Shan Lu for their insights, to Patrick Chen and Justin Lee for moderating, and especially to Kelley Drye for hosting our event. 

To find out more about the Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee, please click here.

To find out more about the Student Outreach Committee, please click here.

To find out more about the Young Lawyers Committee, please click here.

AABANY SOC & Bankruptcy Committee Present: What do Bankruptcy Lawyers Do?

On February 21, 2023, AABANY’s Student Outreach & Bankruptcy Committees hosted a virtual panel discussion to inform students about different career pathways for bankruptcy attorneys.  The event ran from 6-7pm virtually on Zoom.  The panel was moderated by Student Outreach Committee Co-Chairs Sharon Yang and Charlene Hong and featured the following panelists:

·      Courina Yulisa (Dorsey & Whitney LLP)

·      Patrick Chen (Morgan Stanley)

·      Jacqueline Tran (Law Clerk to SDNY Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane)

·      Annie Wells (U.S. Trustee Program, Department of Justice)

Panelists discussed the difference between bankruptcy and restructuring and the unique characteristics of bankruptcy as a legal practice.  In particular, the panelists highlighted how litigation and transactional skills overlap within a bankruptcy practice group at a firm.  The discussion also covered the day-to-day of a bankruptcy law clerk, the various hats an in-house counsel must wear, and the role of a government attorney in the U.S. Trustee Program.  The main takeaways included the importance of seeking various internships and opportunities to gain exposure to bankruptcy practice, and the value of networking with bankruptcy attorneys to understand their various roles.

AABANY thanks the Student Outreach and Bankruptcy Committees for organizing the event and all panelists, moderators, and students who attended. To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, please click here.  To learn more about the Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee, please click here.