Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Restructuring

M. Natasha Labovitz is a corporate partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Restructuring Group, and a member of the Special Situations team. She has extensive experience advising a range of clients, including private equity firms, fund investors and portfolio companies, in complex corporate restructurings and transactions, representing debtors and creditors in and out of bankruptcy and in cross-border insolvencies across multiple jurisdictions.

Ms. Labovitz is ranked as a leading restructuring lawyer by Chambers USA, where clients say she is “a great problem-solver who always keeps her cool in tough situations” and “a very well-respected lawyer with a measured, unflappable approach.” They have also said that she is “extremely sharp” and “has a soft touch in terms of working with opposing counsel and clients,” adding that she “provides excellent business advice, knows the Bankruptcy Code inside and out, and keeps what is always a contentious crowd level-headed and on the right path.” She was named Best in Insolvency & Restructuring by Euromoney Legal Media Group at the Americas Women in Business Law Awards 2018 and was selected as Dealmaker of the Year by The American Lawyer in 2015. She received Turnaround Management Association’s Transaction of the Year: Pro Bono Award for leading Big Apple Circus’ restructuring and acquisition by Compass Partners. She also received Turnaround Management Association’s 2016 Transaction of the Year: Large Company Award for her role in advising Altegrity in its Chapter 11 proceedings and successful restructuring of more than $1.8 billion in funded indebtedness. Ms. Labovitz is also recognized as a leading restructuring lawyer by The Legal 500 US, where she has been described as an “excellent advocate and deal doer,” and was recognized in each of 2014 and 2015 by Turnarounds & Workouts in their annual list of 12 Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers in the United States. Ms. Labovitz is listed as a Notable Practitioner by IFLR1000 and was named MVP for 2015 by Law360 for her exceptional work in restructuring. In 2021, Ms. Labovitz was awarded The M&A Advisor’s Distressed Deal of the Year ($500mm - $1B) for her representation of High Ridge Brands in its Section 363 asset sale and Chapter 11 plan of liquidation.

Ms. Labovitz has authored or co-authored articles on many bankruptcy-related topics and is a frequent speaker on industry panels. Her recent publications include “When Statutory Schemes Collide: The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Environmental Law,” Turnaround Management Association (July 2021); “Recent Court Decisions Add Potential Risks in Workout Transactions,” Journal for Corporate Renewal (October 2016); “Litigating Make–Whole Premiums in Bankruptcy,” New York Law Journal (September, 2014); “The Art of Spinning Off,” Transaction Advisors (August, 2014) and The M&A Lawyer (May, 2014); “Second Circuit Limits Availability Of Chapter 15,” Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable (April, 2014); “Court Rules that Due to Misrepresentations by Plaintiffs’ Firms, Garlock’s Settlement History Does Not Accurately Represent Its Actual Asbestos Liability,” Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law (February/March, 2014); and “Second Circuit Limits Availability of Chapter 15,” The American Bar Association International Law Section’s Secured Transactions & Insolvency Committee Newsletter (January, 2014).

Ms. Labovitz is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. She is also a member of the NYSB Business Bankruptcy Advisory Committee, Turnarounds & Workouts Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, the Managed Funds Association, INSOL International and the Global Restructuring Review editorial board.

Ms. Labovitz joined the firm in 2011 from a leading international law firm, where she was a senior partner in the firm’s Restructuring Group. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from New York University School of Law in 1996 and her B.A. magna cum laude from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1992.