Key Takeaways
- • Akin Gump recruits three senior partners—Neil Devaney, Lois Deasey, and Matt Benson—from Weil, Gotshal & Manges to strengthen its London restructuring practice, with Devaney named head of the office's financial restructuring group.
- • The addition establishes Akin as the only global law firm with Band 1-ranked restructuring practices on both the creditor side in New York and London, creating an integrated U.S.–Europe platform for cross-border distressed work.
- • The three partners bring over a decade of collaborative experience advising credit funds, ad hoc creditor groups, and institutional investors on complex pan-European restructurings, distressed financings, and capital structure solutions.
- • The hire reinforces Akin's creditor-side franchise across restructuring, special situations, capital solutions, and hybrid capital products at a time when private credit has reached institutional scale in Europe and cross-border capital structures demand integrated legal counsel.
- • Akin has maintained a Band 1 London restructuring practice for the past twenty years; the returning partners built their own Band 1 platform elsewhere and return to lead the practice into its next phase of development.
Summary
Akin Gump announced the return of three senior restructuring partners to its London office on May 26, 2026, signaling a strategic expansion of its creditor-side restructuring capabilities in Europe. Neil Devaney, who will lead the London financial restructuring practice, joins alongside partners Lois Deasey and Matt Benson. All three previously worked at Akin before spending recent years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where they built a recognized Band 1 restructuring practice. Devaney previously co-headed Weil's London restructuring group.
The hire establishes Akin as the sole global law firm offering Band 1-ranked creditor-side restructuring practices in both New York and London—a distinction the firm emphasizes as critical to serving multinational credit investors on complex cross-border transactions. According to Abid Qureshi, Akin's co-chair and financial restructuring partner, the three partners "are advisors that leading global credit investors consistently turn to" and bring "cross-border sophistication that enhances the integrated U.S.–Europe restructuring platform." The team's expertise spans distressed and special situations, private credit workouts, multijurisdictional restructurings, creditor-driven enforcement, and capital solutions advisory.
The timing of the addition reflects structural shifts in the European restructuring market. Barry Russell, Senior Partner of Akin's London office, cited three catalysts: the scaling of private credit to institutional proportions in Europe, regulatory changes including Part 26A insolvency reforms that have expanded the restructuring toolkit, and increasingly complex cross-border capital structures requiring integrated counsel. Devaney emphasized in his statement that "Akin's fully integrated platform brings together restructuring and capital solutions across performing credit, stressed investments, and restructurings" as a competitive differentiator unavailable elsewhere.
Akin's financial restructuring practice is positioned as one of the world's leading creditor-focused platforms, advising sophisticated credit investors, ad hoc creditor committees, official committees, and institutional lenders across U.S., European, and Asian markets. The firm maintains offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with more than 1,000 lawyers globally.
The hire establishes Akin as the sole global law firm offering Band 1-ranked creditor-side restructuring practices in both New York and London—a distinction the firm emphasizes as critical to serving multinational credit investors on complex cross-border transactions. According to Abid Qureshi, Akin's co-chair and financial restructuring partner, the three partners "are advisors that leading global credit investors consistently turn to" and bring "cross-border sophistication that enhances the integrated U.S.–Europe restructuring platform." The team's expertise spans distressed and special situations, private credit workouts, multijurisdictional restructurings, creditor-driven enforcement, and capital solutions advisory.
The timing of the addition reflects structural shifts in the European restructuring market. Barry Russell, Senior Partner of Akin's London office, cited three catalysts: the scaling of private credit to institutional proportions in Europe, regulatory changes including Part 26A insolvency reforms that have expanded the restructuring toolkit, and increasingly complex cross-border capital structures requiring integrated counsel. Devaney emphasized in his statement that "Akin's fully integrated platform brings together restructuring and capital solutions across performing credit, stressed investments, and restructurings" as a competitive differentiator unavailable elsewhere.
Akin's financial restructuring practice is positioned as one of the world's leading creditor-focused platforms, advising sophisticated credit investors, ad hoc creditor committees, official committees, and institutional lenders across U.S., European, and Asian markets. The firm maintains offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with more than 1,000 lawyers globally.
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