Willkie Farr & Gallagher Bolsters European Restructuring Group with the Appointment of Simon Baskerville

Willkie Farr & Gallagher Bolsters European Restructuring Group with the Appointment of Simon Baskerville

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has expanded its European restructuring team by recruiting Simon Baskerville as a partner from Latham & Watkins in London. He will co-chair the group alongside the existing leader.

Simon Baskerville, a restructuring veteran with over two decades of experience, joins Willkie Farr & Gallagher's London office after spending nearly eight years at Latham & Watkins, where he served as global vice chair of their restructuring and special situations practice. He was also associated with Ashurst in the past. Baskerville's expertise in handling stressed, distressed, and insolvency situations across the UK and internationally will be a valuable asset to Willkie.

Matthew Feldman, Willkie chairman, hailed Simon Baskerville as a Willkie Chairman and expressed his delight at the development.

“His (Feldman’s) experience representing debtors, creditors and other parties on some of the most high-profile matters in the market will make him an invaluable resource to our clients, particularly as we expect to see increasing activity in the restructuring landscape given growing macroeconomic challenges,” Feldman added.

Baskerville, lauded by Chambers and Partners for his strength in representing funds and alternative asset managers, will co-chair Willkie Farr & Gallagher's European restructuring group. He will share leadership with Graham Lane in London and Lionel Spizzichino in Paris.

Baskerville's Latham experience included advising the senior lenders to Vue Cinemas on their €1 billion debt and equity restructuring, as well as the committee of lenders to Steinhoff Europe AG during its €8 billion financial restructuring, a landmark transaction in the recent global restructuring history.

Baskerville will join Willkie's 13-partner European business reorganisation and restructuring department, known for tackling complex, multi-lateral cross-border deals across the US, UK, France, Germany, and other European jurisdictions.

Baskerville cited Willkie's strong global and cross-border restructuring expertise and expanding global reach as key reasons for joining the firm.

“I am delighted to join Graham, Lionel and the team at Willkie and am looking forward to building on the firm’s reputation in this space,” he stated.