Willkie Farr & Gallagher added finance and restructuring lawyers Gregory Gartland and April Doxey as partners in the Chicago office. They are members of the firm’s finance department.
“We are thrilled to welcome Greg and April to Willkie,” Craig C. Martin, chairman, Americas at Willkie, said. “Greg and April are first-rate finance lawyers with deep roots in the industry and experience leading complex finance, liability management and distressed transactions for clients worldwide. Their additions deepen Willkie Chicago’s ability to extend the firm’s world-class transactional capabilities and restructuring and liability management experience to our clients across the country and around the world.”
For nearly 25 years, Gartland has advised clients across numerous industries in finance and insolvency related matters. He focuses on lending transactions, out-of-court workouts and recapitalizations, in-court restructurings, remedies exercises and distressed mergers and acquisitions. Gartland regularly steers private credit lenders, lenders, borrowers, agents and other stakeholders through distressed transactions and special situations, such as change of control restructurings, proxy exercises, foreclosures and Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
A nationally recognized leader in private credit, Doxey serves as lead counsel for private credit funds, special situation and opportunistic funds and other investment advisors, leading financial institutions and borrowers across the full spectrum of credit transactions — including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, rescues, exits, out-of-court restructurings and broadly syndicated financings. Her practices span both performing credit and the finance dimensions of in-court and out-of-court workouts and restructurings.
Gartland and Doxey join from Winston & Strawn, where Gartland served as co-chair of the financial restructuring practice, and April served as co-chair of the private credit practice.
“Greg and April are both talented finance lawyers who bring substantial experience advising sophisticated lenders and borrowers on large-scale domestic and cross-border financings, with a strong focus on liability management and distressed transactions,” Viktor Okasmaa, global chair of Willkie’s finance department, said. “We are pleased to welcome them to our growing global team.”
Gartland said, “I’m thrilled to join Willkie’s market-leading transactional team and its dynamic Chicago office. I have long admired the talented, collaborative culture in Chicago and across the firm, and look forward to working with colleagues to deepen the high-quality legal services we deliver to clients. Additionally, Willkie’s growing restructuring practice, led from Chicago and New York in the U.S., is a big plus for me and my practice.”
Doxey added, “Willkie is one of few firms with both the broad capabilities and cross-disciplinary strengths to excel at complex finance and restructuring transactions, including those involving private credit financing alternatives, which has grown tremendously in recent years. I’m excited to contribute to the firm’s innovative work in this space.”
