News

Paul Hastings’ Finance and Restructuring Rise Progresses with Bi-Coastal Partner Team

Los Angeles and New York — Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, continues its hiring spree with another significant bolster to its dynamic Finance and Restructuring practice, announcing the addition of a bi-coastal Finance and Restructuring partner duo from Winston & Strawn.

, who currently leads Winston & Strawn’s Restructuring practice, will join as a partner in Los Angeles, and

Phil Ratner

will join as a partner in New York.

“The investments we are making in our Finance and Restructuring practice reflect the trust major financial institutions are placing in us to help them with their most important transactions and restructurings,” said Seth Zachary, chair of Paul Hastings. “In the current economic environment, the need for expertise with restructurings and other distressed transactions is likely to increase and Justin’s and Phil’s legal and business prowess in tackling this complex area positions Paul Hastings well for achieving the greatest success for our clients,” he added.

“Paul Hastings’ global platform, particularly the firm’s strength in California, Houston, New York and London, and the firm’s financial strength and economic trajectory were extremely attractive to me,” said Rawlins. “The momentum of Paul Hastings’ Finance practice and the expected market conditions make the firm the ideal place to best serve my clients.”

“The growth and depth of Paul Hastings’ Finance and Private Equity practices, along with the entrepreneurial spirit throughout the firm were huge draws,” said Ratner. “I’m looking forward to taking our practice to the next level with Justin and our new partners.”

Rawlins represents credit and hedge funds, lending institutions, companies, and committees in providing counseling on financing transactions, restructurings, recapitalizations, corporate governance matters, acquisitions and divestitures, with an emphasis on distressed and special situations.

Ratner’s practice focuses on the representation of credit funds, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, corporations, and investment banks on a diverse range of complex secured and unsecured corporate finance transactions. He also has substantial experience with special situations and distressed debt transactions, including chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings, and strategic lending transactions.

The addition of Rawlins and Ratner continues the firm’s lateral hiring boom after a strong 2019. In 2019, the firm announced the addition of Capital Markets and Leveraged Finance partner 

 and Derivatives partner 

Joyce Xu

 in New York; Capital Markets partner 

Jonathan Ko

in Los Angeles; Mergers and Acquisitions partner 

Jonathan Kellner

 and Capital Markets partner 

David Flechner

, along with several members of their team, in São Paulo, Brazil; Private Equity partners 

Ed Harris

 and 

Leanne Moezi

 and M&A partner 

Steven Bryan

 in London; Private Equity partner 

Alex Kaufman

 and M&A partners 

Bill Choe

 and 

Jason Rabbitt-Tomita

 in Palo Alto; Energy transactional partners

Ned Crady

and

David Peterman

in Houston; Tax partner 

Bruno Leroy

, Capital Markets partner

Charles Cardon

, and Managing Director of Investigations and Compliance

Nicola Bonucci

in Paris; and Private Equity partner 

Adam Brown

 and Investigations and White Collar Defense partners Jonathan Drimmer, 

Matt Herrington

 and 

Tom Best

 in Washington, D.C.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.