Lydia T. Protopapas is a partner in the firm's Business Finance & Restructuring practice in Houston. Ms. Protopapas has practiced in the areas of business reorganizations, debtors' and creditors' rights, and insolvency since 1996.
Ms. Protopapas represents debtors, acquirors and potential acquirors of assets from bankruptcy estates and secured and unsecured creditors in a broad range of industries. During her career, Ms. Protopapas has represented major constituencies in a number of significant Chapter 11 cases, including Adobe Energy, Inc., American General Financial Center, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Cajun Electric Power Cooperative, Cal-Dive International, Coastal Plains, Inc., Crescent Resources LLC, Encompass Services Corporation, GE Franchise Finance, Global Crossing Limited, Integrated Electrical Services, Inc., Jazzland, Inc., Macquaire Capital Funds, Simmons Bedding Company, Six Flags, Sterling Chemicals, Inc., Toboyo Company, Ltd., Verizon Business, Viasystems, Inc. and WorldCom, Inc.
Ms. Protopapas has been the recipient of a number of awards, including one of the top ten bankruptcy "Rising Stars under 40" by Law360; one of the top twelve "Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers" by Turnarounds & Workouts; and a "Texas Rising Star" for Business Finance & Restructuring by Texas Super Lawyers in the years 2005-2009. Ms. Protopapas serves on the advisory council of the Tahirih Justice Center, an organization that works to protect immigrant women and girls seeking justice in the U.S. from gender-based violence through a combination of direct legal services, client-based public policy advocacy, and public education.
Ms. Protopapas lectures frequently on bankruptcy issues.
Ms. Protopapas received a B.B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1990. In 1992, she received her M.B.A. from the University of Illinois where she graduated with honors. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996.
Ms. Protopapas is a member of the State Bars of New York and Texas and she is admitted to practice before the US District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court.