Candace Arthur
Partner, Restructuring – Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

 

Description of field of expertise

Candace Arthur is a partner in Weil’s Restructuring Department, where she advises debtors, creditors, equity holders, investors, and other interested parties in the context of out-of-court and in-court domestic and international corporate restructurings, liquidations and distressed financings and acquisitions. Candace has advised household names including AMC Theaters, J.Crew Group, Inc., Sears Holdings Corporation, Southeastern Grocers, Inc., Breitburn Energy Partners, L.P., The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Southern Air Holdings Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. She also regularly advises the creditors, acquirers, secured and unsecured lenders and sponsors in restructurings, including in the chapter 11 cases of The Hertz Corporation, Avianca Airlines, Garrett Motion Inc., Emerge Energy Services LP and Windstream Holdings.

Candace is also involved in pro bono matters, representing individuals in chapter 7 proceedings, advising not-for-profit organizations, and having conducted annual lectures on small businesses in distress on behalf of The Legal Aid Society.

Prior to joining Weil, Candace clerked for the Honorable Robert E. Gerber at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in 2009. As an undergraduate at Yale, she was a record-holding member of the Women’s Track Team. At Georgetown Law, she served on the Barrister’s Council (Appellate Advocacy Division), was honored as Best Oral Advocate in the 2008 Frederick Douglass Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition, and was awarded a second-place finish in the Frederick Douglass National Moot Court Competition.

 

What advice would you offer to new attorneys interested in your field?

The restructuring practice, rooted in developing creative solutions and providing companies with a fresh start, is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally gratifying. It is truly a hybrid practice that provides the opportunity to engage in both transactional and litigation-related work. There are experiences that are helpful in practicing restructuring, but there are no prerequisites, and the industry landscape is ever evolving as innovative approaches are constantly being taken to provide more clarity to certain sections of the Bankruptcy Code, and case law is developing around interesting issues. Importantly, the practice promotes consensual deal-making and new attorneys should be encouraged to work with the company, stakeholders and key constituents to achieve an outcome that is in the best interests of the parties involved.

 

Final thoughts…

Candace was named a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 2022. She was also named a Rising Star by Law360, an “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnaround & Workouts and an “Emerging Leader” by The M&A Advisor. She was also recognized by Bloomberg Law as one of the top young bankruptcy lawyers and in 2020 was profiled in Bloomberg Law’s series “They’ve Got Next.”