Barnes & Thornburg Welcomes New Restructuring Partner Aaron Gavant to Chicago Office

CHICAGO – Barnes & Thornburg is pleased to announce that Aaron Gavant has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring department. Aaron offers a diversified practice focusing both on traditional in-court and out-of-court restructurings as well as all types of special situations within the structured finance space. Aaron’s arrival to the firm closely follows that of fellow restructuring partner Gregory Plotko, who joined the firm’s New York office earlier this year. Aaron joins the firm from Mayer Brown.

With respect to the traditional restructuring aspect of his practice, Aaron’s clients, which include institutional lenders, syndicated bank groups, and other credit and equity providers of all types and sizes, rely on him in a range of distress scenarios, including M&A transactions both within and outside of the judicial process, litigation leading up to and following bankruptcy, liquidation related issues, and wholesale Chapter 11 reorganizations.

“Aaron brings almost 15 years of experience in the restructuring space to our clients in Chicago and nationally,” said Michael Carrillo, managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office. “He is our third partner addition of 2023, and will be a great addition to our team. We are looking forward to continuing this momentum through the rest of the year.”

In connection with the structured finance special situation aspect of his practice, Aaron most prominently represents indenture trustees, special servicers, administrative agents and other similarly situated entities as they navigate issues both in the lead up to, and during the course of, distress and/or other unique situations. He is experienced in a range of deal types, from residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities trusts, to student loan and whole business securitizations, and in a range of industries including mortgage finance, energy, and retail. 

“Aaron is an exciting addition to our deep bench of restructuring attorneys, and his focus on both pre- and post-default issues will be a valuable skillset to have on board,” said Mark Owens, chair of the firm’s Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring department. “Our clients are in need of well-rounded counsel in this area, and we’re excited to have Aaron on our team as we continue to meet this need.”

Aaron received his B.A. from Yeshiva University and his J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law. His work has received industry-wide recognition on multiple occasions including being named an Emerging Leader by the M&A Advisor and a Rising Star Dealmaker by the Global M&A Network. 

With more than 800 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, Boston, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, South Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.