
Overview
Peter S. Burke is a partner in the firm’s Global Finance practice group and serves as the vice-chair of the Los Angeles office of Paul Hastings. He previously served as the chair of the Corporate Department of the Los Angeles office from 2013-2017.
Mr. Burke has practiced law for over twenty-five years, in both the public and private sectors. He has been recognized by Chambers USA for the last fifteen years, has been recognized as a Los Angeles, California “Super Lawyer,” and has been included in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Lawyers” list.
Graduating from The University of Virginia School of Law in 1996, Mr. Burke worked in the bankruptcy courts, first clerking for the Honorable E. Stephen Derby, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge for the District of Maryland, and then serving in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Trustee Office in Los Angeles, being admitted through the prestigious and highly selective U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program.
After serving in the bankruptcy courts, Mr. Burke transitioned to private practice, where he focuses on commercial and corporate finance transactions, and represents major banks, private credit funds, and other direct lenders in working capital facilities (cash flow and asset-based), acquisition financings, structured financings, and restructurings and recapitalizations—both cross-border and U.S. focused. He has industry experience in a variety of business sectors including technology and software, healthcare, transportation and logistics, energy, retail, food and beverage, and manufacturing and industrials.
Mr. Burke has significant experience negotiating intercreditor agreements, including 1st lien/2nd lien arrangements, split collateral arrangements, and unitranche arrangements. He also has extensive experience in complex commercial reorganizations in out-of-court restructurings and in insolvency proceedings, including debtor-in-possession and exit financings and asset sales of distressed companies. Mr. Burke also structures credit facilities with private equity funds in subscription, NAV, hybrid, and asset-backed financings.
As a thought leader in the finance industry, Mr. Burke speaks and writes on critical issues facing lenders. His publications include "Borrower in Distress? A Toolbox for Secured Lenders," "UCC Foreclosures on Collateral: Effecting a Sale and Evaluating Article 9 Alternatives," "Certainty of Execution – Asset-Based Lending in Leveraged Finance," and "Comparing Intercreditor Arrangements." Over the past decade, his continuing legal education webinars on "UCC Foreclosures on Collateral: Effectuating a Sale and Evaluating Article 9 Alternatives" and "Split Collateral Intercreditor Agreements" have also been popular.
He is a member of the California State Bar, the Maryland State Bar Association, and the Virginia State Bar.
Recognitions
- Named by Chambers USA to the list of leading attorneys in the United States for Banking and Finance each year since 2009 (2009 – 2023)
- Named to US. News & World Report's “Best Lawyers” list (2023)
- Named as a Los Angeles, California “Super Lawyer” (2012 – 2013, 2018)
- M&A Advisor 40 under 40 Award Finalist (2011)
- Admitted to the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program (1997)
Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1996
- College of William and Mary, B.A., cum laude, 1993
news
- Paul Hastings Advised Lenders in BC Partners’ $750 Million Acquisition of Madison Logic - January 10th, 2023
- Paul Hastings Advises Oak Hill Advisors in One of Largest-Ever Private U.S. Conservation-Focused Forest Investments - November 2nd, 2022
- Paul Hastings Ranked as Top Three Firm for New Rankings and Recognized for Numerous Practice Strength and Growth in Chambers USA 2021 - May 21st, 2021
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2020 - May 1st, 2020
- Bumble Bee Receives $200 Million Credit Facility from Wells Fargo - November 25th, 2019
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2019 - May 1st, 2019
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2018 - May 11th, 2018
- Bass Pro Shops Secures $4.745 Billion Loan; Finalizes Acquisition of Cabela’s - September 25th, 2017
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2017 - June 5th, 2017
- Paul Hastings Advises Banks on Financing for Innocor Acquisition - December 19th, 2016
- BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Securities LLC and Other Major Banks Provide $5.1 Billion Financing for Bass Pro Shops’ Acquisition of Cabela’s - October 3rd, 2016
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2016 - June 8th, 2016
- Wells Fargo Completes Acquisition of GE’s North American Corporate Finance Business - March 1st, 2016
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2015 - May 20th, 2015
- Paul Hastings Advises Banks on Financing Mattress Firm’s Purchase of The Sleep Train - October 20th, 2014
- Paul Hastings Practices and Lawyers Score Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2014 - May 27th, 2014
- Paul Hastings Represents Lenders in Closing the Financing of Southwires Acquisition of Coleman Cable, Inc - February 18th, 2014
- Paul Hastings Represents Banks in Financing Southwire's Acquisition of Coleman Cable, Inc. - December 20th, 2013
- Paul Hastings Employment Practice Honored with Chambers ''Award for Excellence'' and Firms Leading Practices and Lawyers Ranked in Chambers USA 2013 - May 27th, 2013
- Paul Hastings Excels in Chambers USA 2012 Guide - June 7th, 2012
Recognitions
- Paul Hastings Global Finance Practice Recognized by Chambers USA 2022 - June 1st, 2022
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2020 - May 1st, 2020
- Ranked by Chambers USA 2019 - April 26th, 2019
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2018 - May 15th, 2018
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2017 - June 5th, 2017
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2016 - June 8th, 2016
- M&A Advisor - June 20th, 2011
insights
- The coming revolution in global electric power - March 1st, 2021
- Borrower in Distress? A Toolboxfor Secured Lenders - October 5th, 2016
- Comparing Intercreditor Arrangements - May 19th, 2015
- Ninth Circuit Holds Jury Waiver in Agreement Governed by California Law Unenforceable in Federal Court Where Federal Jurisdiction Is Based on Diversity of Citizenship - May 19th, 2015
- United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Holds That a UCC-3 Filing Without Authorization is No Filing At All - March 28th, 2013
Engagement & Publications
- Co-author of “The Coming Revolution of Global Electric Power” – The M&A Journal (December 2020/January/February 2021)
- Co-author of “Borrower in Distress? A Toolbox for Secured Lenders” – Secured Lender (October 2016)
- Co-author of “Comparing Intercreditor Arrangements” – LSTA Loan Market Chronicle (2015)
- Co-Presenter of “Split Collateral Intercreditor Agreements” – Strafford Webinar (April 6, 2017)
- Co-Presenter of “UCC Foreclosures on Collateral: Effecting a Sale and Evaluating Article 9 Alternatives” – Strafford Webinar (From 2010-2014)
- Co-author of “Certainty of Execution – Asset-Based Lending in Leveraged Finance” – ABF Journal (May/June 2013)
Involvement
- Member of the American Bar Association
- Member of the California State Bar
- Member of the Maryland State Bar Association
- Member of the Virginia State Bar
- Secured Finance Network (formerly the Commercial Finance Association)
- Loan Syndications & Trading Association
- Served as a member of the Uniform Commercial Code Committee for the Business Law Section of the California State Bar
- Served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable E. Stephen Derby, United States Bankruptcy Judge, District of Maryland
- Shane’s Inspiration – Inclusive Playgrounds and Programs for Children
- Institute for Educational Advancement