Mr. James H.M. Sprayregen

James H.M. Sprayregen is a restructuring partner in the Chicago and New York offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and the founder of Kirkland & Ellis?s worldwide Restructuring Group, building the group from its inception in 1990. He served on Kirkland?s worldwide management committee from 2003-06 and 2009-19. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2006 and was co-head of its Restructuring Group, advising clients in restructuring and distressed situations. He rejoined Kirkland three years later. Mr. Sprayregen has led some of the most complex chapter 11 filings in recent history. He has extensive experience repre- senting major U.S. and international companies in restructurings both in and out of court and has handled matters for clients in industries as varied as manufacturing, technology, transportation, energy, media, retail and real estate. He also has experience advising boards of directors, and generally representing debtors and creditors in complex workout, insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy-planning matters worldwide. Mr. SPrayregen is listed in Chambers & Partners and in March 2010 was selected by The National Law Journal as one of ?The Decade?s Most Influential Lawyers.? Mr. Sprayregen was named ?Global Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyer of the Year? in 2013 by Who?s Who Legal Awards, and in October 2013, he was inducted into the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Turnaround, Re- structuring, and Distressed Investing Industry Hall of Fame. From 2013-15, he was appointed to serve a two-year term as the president of INSOL International. Mr. Sprayregen has led bankruptcy cases for numerous companies, including United Airlines, Conseco, General Growth Properties, Energy Future Holdings Corp., Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., Seadrill, iHeartMedia, Inc., Avaya, Japan Airlines Corp. as U.S. and international counsel, LINN Energy, SandRidge Energy, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Edison Mission Energy, Hawker Beechcraft Inc., Cengage Learning, Inc., Visteon Corp., Lear Corp., The Reader?s Digest Association, Corus Bankshares, Inc., Majestic Star Casino LLC and ION Media Networks, Inc. He is a member of the Advisory Panel for the Singapore Commercial Court In- solvency and Restructuring Rules Committee, the Southern District of Texas (Houston) Complex Case Procedures Committee, the board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the National Board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the American Jewish Committee Board of Governors, ABI, the Turnaround Management Association, the Chicago Bar Association?s Corporate and Bankruptcy Sections, and the Illinois Bar Association?s Insolvency Section, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Mr. Sprayregen is a frequent lecturer, speaker and writer on insolvency, cross- border and distressed M&A issues. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, New York University School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mr. Sprayregen received his J.D. in 1985 from the University of Illinois.