Recovery at Risk: A Global Turnaround Market Update

Kon Asimacopoulos

Partner, European Restructuring Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Kon Asimacopoulos is a Partner in Kirkland’s European Restructuring Group based in London and has acted on many of the world’s leading cross-border restructuring and restructuring related litigation matters over the past 20 years.

Kon is ranked in Band 1 of Chambers UK (2022) and in the Hall of Fame for The Legal 500 UK (2022). He is further recognised in IFLR 1000, the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal and other ranking publications as a leading corporate restructuring and insolvency lawyer, and has been a top ranked lawyer for many years.

Neil McDonald

Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, Hong Kong

Neil McDonald is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Kirkland & Ellis who heads the Firm’s market-leading restructuring practice in Asia. Bringing years of experience, a broad knowledge base and polished strategic skills, Neil advises on an expansive range of issues that arise in the restructuring and insolvency of troubled companies. Neil also advises financial institutions, insolvency appointment holders, turnaround management firms and hedge funds in respect of distressed situations. This includes helping clients source and maximize lucrative opportunities that manifest from financial distress. Apart from his work in the distressed world, Neil is a market leader when it comes to assisting private equity firms involved in tricky portfolio entanglements in emerging markets. He is known for engineering creative and pragmatic “exit solutions” for private equity clients who have investments that are in trouble.

Neil has been recognized as a market leader for restructuring and insolvency by Chambers Asia-Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific,  IFLR1000 and PLC Which Lawyer? guide book. Leading legal publications have described Neil as the “global elite thought leader” who “wins overwhelming praise from market players”, with clients commenting that Neil “impresses across a number of areas of expertise, including corporate turnarounds and distressed acquisitions”, “the top lawyer in Hong Kong” and a “highly impressive figure in the market.” – Who’s Who Legal.

With a well-earned reputation as a tenacious advocate, Neil prides himself on his 24/7 responsiveness and his refusal to never back down from a fight. At the same time, he’s known as a hopeful, upbeat person with a good sense of humor and the capability of showing clients that — even in the most stressful situations — there is almost always a positive outcome within reach.

Elaine Nolan

Partner, Restructuring, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Elaine is a restructuring partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. Elaine advises strategic investors, sponsors, insolvency practitioners, turnaround managers, directors, debtors and creditors in all forms of national and international financial restructurings and insolvencies.

Elaine was recognised by Chambers UK (2022), for her “notable experience of advising retailers and casual dining businesses regarding CVAs”, with clients commenting that “Elaine’s advice is fantastic; she’s commercial and she’s quick to respond.”

Elaine was listed as a leading individual in The Legal 500 UK (2022), where she is described as “a very strong practitioner, who has significant experience in dealing with complex Company Voluntary Arrangements” which she has “implemented to good effect on many of the most significant retail restructurings in the market.”

Elaine has recently published the first leading practitioner’s book on CVAs with Tom Smith QC (Oxford University Press).

Tim Sackar

National Practice Leader, R&I at Clayton Utz