Milbank LLP is pleased to announce that Financial Restructuring and Litigation & Arbitration partner Alexander Lees was named in American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2021 “40 Under 40” initiative, which identifies 40 top industry professionals under age 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony to be held on Dec. 10 at ABI’s 2021 Winter Leadership Conference at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
ABI’s 40 Under 40 program recognizes emerging leaders in the insolvency profession who have demonstrated and strive for the highest standards of achievement in their profession and in their communities. The award cycle was highly competitive, with over 250 nominations reviewed from applicants representing a broad spectrum of professionals across the insolvency community.
“The 2021 honorees are a testament to the future of the insolvency profession, with exemplary accomplishments in both their careers and communities,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “We look forward to this diverse collection of young leaders propelling ABI's full range of activities forward to advance the profession.”
Honorees were chosen from both large and small firms from every region of the country, and represent diverse practice areas such as law, finance, consulting, academia, government and more. The age range of this year’s class is between 33 and 40 years old, with 24 of the honorees having applied previously to ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative.
Mr. Lees is a commercial litigator in Milbank’s New York office and focuses his practice on bankruptcy, insolvency, and restructuring-related litigation. He has represented creditors, debtors, private equity sponsors, official committees, ad hoc groups, collateral agents, and bidders in bankruptcy proceedings and other litigation matters arising out of insolvency scenarios and financial restructuring transactions. Mr. Lees regularly advises on fraudulent transfer law issues.
Among Mr. Lees’ significant representations, he secured a precedent-setting victory in Marblegate v. Education Management, which limited the application of the Trust Indenture Act to out-of-court restructuring transactions. Other significant representations include the Raymond Sackler family in the Purdue Pharma chapter 11 case, Centre Partners Management in a fraudulent transfer and breach of fiduciary duty action, and Mercuria Energy Trading as debtor-in-possession lender and successful bidder for the debtor’s assets in Aegean Marine Petroleum’s chapter 11 case.
Earlier this year, Mr. Lees was among the recipients of the New York County Lawyers Association’s Conspicuous Service Award for authoring the “Fraudulent Transfer” chapter of Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts, Fifth Edition, which was published in October 2020 by Thomson Reuters.
