Jamie Sprayregen: The 'Mick Jagger' of US Bankruptcy law

The “Mick Jagger of US bankruptcy”. That's Jamie Sprayregen's nickname, and after more than 35 years at the centre of some of the world’s biggest corporate crises, it’s not hard to see why.

Jamie built the restructuring practice at Kirkland & Ellis into a global powerhouse, advised on landmark restructurings including United Airlines and the City of Detroit, spent two extraordinary years at Goldman Sachs as the Global Financial Crisis unfolded, and was named by the National Law Journal as one of the decade’s most influential lawyers.

After leaving Kirkland in 2024 and joining Hilco Global as Vice Chairman, Jamie has now returned to law as Co-Head of Restructuring & Debt Capital Solutions at Paul, Weiss.

Jamie discusses the inside story of some of America’s largest bankruptcies, what he witnessed during the Global Financial Crisis, why Chapter 11 remains such a powerful restructuring tool, and how private credit, cross-border insolvency and AI are changing the profession.

After decades advising CEOs, boards, creditors and investors when billions of dollars — and sometimes thousands of jobs — are on the line, Jamie also shares what he has learned about decision-making, negotiation and the human side of corporate failure.

Connect with James H. Stewart LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-h-stewart-gaicd-83b46a9/ Website: https://jameshstewart.com Follow What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and your favourite podcast platform.

Disclaimer This podcast is provided for general information and entertainment purposes only. Nothing discussed in this episode constitutes, or should be relied upon as, legal, financial, investment, insolvency, restructuring or other professional advice.The views and opinions expressed by the host and guest are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of any current or former employer, client, firm, organisation or other person with whom they are or have been associated.

The discussion of companies, restructurings, insolvencies, litigation, transactions and other matters is based on publicly available information and the participants’ personal perspectives and recollections. References to allegations, disputes or claims should not be taken as findings of fact or wrongdoing unless expressly stated as such. Some matters discussed may have involved contested facts, confidential information or subsequent developments that are not addressed in this episode.

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