Graham Lane > Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP Offices
CITYPOINT
1 ROPEMAKER STREET
LONDON
EC2Y 9AW
England
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Graham Lane
Work Department
Business Reorganization & Restructuring
Position
Graham Lane is a partner in the Business Reorganization & Restructuring Department and Co-Chair of the European Restructuring Group. He advises stakeholders in all types of restructuring and insolvency matters, with a particular focus on complex cross-border projects.
Graham is frequently called upon to: (i) act for par and distressed investors in both “yield” and “loan to own” scenarios; (ii) act for large multinational debtor groups in the negotiation, documentation and implementation of complex and frequently hostile restructuring transactions; (iii) act for private equity and venture capital investors seeking to capitalise on restructuring opportunities and to protect and optimise existing investments; and (iv) provide advice and guidance for insolvency practitioners, particularly in connection with novel and ground-breaking issues arising from “COMI shifts” and pre-packaged administrations.
Graham has gained extensive experience from playing key roles in some of the largest and most noteworthy market-leading restructurings of the last decade, including Intu, Lecta, Europcar, Agrokor, Premier Oil, Travelodge, Klöckner Pentaplast, MF Global and European Directories. He is also known for his broad experience in the French market having been involved in CGG, Vivarte, Latécoère, Eurotunnel and other significant French restructurings.
Education
College of Law, PDLP, 2001; King’s College London, LLB, 2000; Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne, Maîtrise en Droit, 2000
Lawyer Rankings
London > Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
(Leading partners)Although it remains relatively compact in comparison with some ranked peer firms, Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP‘s partner-led team ‘punch well above their weight’ for a creditor/investor-focused client base engaged in a myriad complex restructuring and distressed and special situations investing matters. ‘Very calm through difficult situations’, team head Graham Lane leads from the front, providing ‘clear, commercial advice that cuts through the complex legal knots’, including for funds seeking to capitalise on restructuring opportunities and to protect and optimise existing investments. Much of the workflow is multi-jurisdictional, with clients benefiting from access to lawyers on the ground across both Europe and US. Edward Downer and Iben Madsen round at the team at partner level, and are both also adept at working with fund clients in particular, both as creditors and investors. At an associate level, Alexander Roy is ‘incredibly creative’ on behalf of corporates, IPs and funds; he recently worked alongside Lane for the debtor in what was the first use of a restructuring plan involving a regulated healthcare business in the UK.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners London > Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Corporate restructuring & insolvency London > Finance
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Finance > High yield
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – mid-large cap
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration