Kelly DiBlasi

Kelly’s practice focuses on debtors, creditors, and equity interest holders in all areas of domestic and international restructurings and crisis management, both in and out of court. Most recently, in 2024, Kelly was recognized as a “Notable Practitioner” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 (2023-2024), and named among Restructuring’s highest-ranking lawyers in the 2024 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Restructuring & Insolvency, named to the Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list, named among the 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers by Lawdragon (2020,2022-2024), and “recommended” for Restructuring by Legal 500 (2023 - 2024). In 2022, Kelly was named an “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts and a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 (2020 and 2022). In 2018, she was selected by the American Bankruptcy Institute as one of its “40 Under 40” honorees and was recognized by New York Law Journal as one if its “Rising Stars.” Also, Kelly was recognized by Turnarounds & Workouts magazine as one of its “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers” for 2016.

Kelly also represents, on a pro bono basis, the N.Y. Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund, and has helped several U.S. military veterans seeking assistance with applying for disability benefits. Her pro bono work has also included assisting a non-profit entity in connection with its out-of-court restructuring.

Kelly is a member of the International Insolvency Institute. She frequently presents at bankruptcy seminars and participates in a variety of firm activities and initiatives focused on training, mentoring, recruiting, and diversity. Kelly has also served as a teacher’s assistant at Cardozo School of Law and Harvard Law School.

Representative Experience

• Scandinavian Airlines, a publicly traded airline based in Sweden in connection with its global restructuring and chapter 11 reorganization.
• Air Methods Corporation, the nation’s leading air medical service provider, in connection with its prepackaged chapter 11 cases, resulting in a $1.7 billion deleveraging.
• Unigel Participações S.A. and three of its affiliates, a Brazilian based Petrochemical Company, in connection with their U.S. chapter 15 cases to obtain recognition of two Brazilian extrajudicial reorganization plans restructuring approximately $810 million in debt.
• Casino, Guichard-Perrachon S.A. and six of its affiliated subsidiaries, a global food retailer with operations in France and Latin America, in connection with their U.S. chapter 15 cases to obtain recognition of the restructuring of €6.1 billion in liabilities through French safeguard proceedings.
• Arcade Beauty, a leading global beauty company providing both retail and sampling solutions, in connection with its out-of-court recapitalization that received support from 100% of its lenders and shareholders, extinguished a substantial amount of debt, and provided the company with a new capital infusion.
• Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and its affiliate, Arctic Aviation Assets DAC, in their U.S. chapter 15 cases to obtain recognition of the restructuring of $5.9 billion of liabilities through Irish examinership and Norwegian reconstruction proceedings.
• Chisholm Oil and Gas Operating, LLC, and its affiliates, an exploration and production company focused on acquiring, developing, and producing oil and natural gas assets in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, in their chapter 11 cases.
• Speedcast International Limited, and its affiliates, a provider of remote communications and IT services, in connection with $180 million debtor-in-possession financing facility and a $285 million refinancing facility.
• Kingfisher Midstream, LLC and its subsidiaries, a midstream oil and gas services business with substantial gas processing, crude oil gathering and storage, and produced water gathering and disposal assets in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, in their chapter 11 cases, which are jointly administered with the chapter 11 cases of Alta Mesa Resources, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
• Waypoint Holdings Ltd., a global helicopter leasing company, in its chapter 11 cases
• CHC Group, a global helicopter service provider operating on six continents with more than 220 aircraft, in its chapter 11 cases.
• Essar Steel Algoma, Inc. and certain of its affiliates, in connection with the restructuring and refinancing of their $1.2 billion capital structure through a CCAA proceeding and U.S. chapter 15 cases.
• SIGA Technologies, Inc., an American pharmaceutical company which markets pharmaceutical solutions for anti-viral treatments, in its chapter 11 cases, as a result of the imminent entry of a judgment against it in longstanding litigation with PharmAthene, Inc. in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
• Washington Mutual, Inc., the parent holding company of Washington Mutual Bank, in its chapter 11 cases.

Creditor and Distressed Situation Experience:

• An ad hoc group of secured lenders to Nordic Aviation Capital, the world’s largest regional aircraft lessor, on bespoke restructuring transactions for multiple aviation financing structures implemented under pre-arranged U.S. chapter 11 proceedings, including a consensual remarketing and mortgage enforcement financing arrangements.
• Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), as a creditor in the chapter 9 cases of the City of Detroit and Jefferson County.
• Superintendent of Financial Services of the State of New York, as the Court-appointed rehabilitator of FGIC in its New York State court rehabilitation proceeding.
• Private equity sponsor of a company that manufactures and distributes residential building products and operates in the United States and Canada, in its out-of-court restructuring transaction.
• GECAS, as an aircraft lessor/finance party in multiple airline restructurings.
• ICBC Standard Bank, prepetition intermediation facility provider to Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Holdings, LLC, in the PES chapter 11 cases.
• National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation, in connection with the Title III cases of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and certain of its instrumentalities.
• Krayn Wind LLC, in connection with the FirstEnergy Solutions Corp chapter 11 cases.
• LEGO, as a significant creditor in the Toys R Us chapter 11 cases.
• HPS Investment Partners, in its provision of an exit revolving credit facility to the reorganized J.G. Wentworth entities.
• Ambac Assurance Corporation, in the state court rehabilitation of its Segregated Account.
• A group of secured lenders in a pre-arranged chapter 11 proceeding for Magnum Hunter Resources.
• The Export Import Bank of China, in seeking dismissal of the Baha Mar chapter 11 cases.
• J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, as investor in certain funds and trusts that underwent a global restructuring.
• Credit Suisse, as creditor in multiple cases, including a CCAA proceeding in Montreal.