Ryan Bennett

Partner
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
(Moderator)

Ryan Blaine Bennett is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis’ Restructuring Group. Ryan focuses his practice on protecting and advancing the financial interests of corporate debtors and secured and unsecured creditors in the various transactional and litigation-related aspects of the debtor-creditor relationship.

Ryan has played a principal role representing sophisticated corporate debtors, investors and other key parties in some of the most complex restructuring cases and transactions during the past two decades.

In addition to his company-side representations, Ryan regularly counsels a number of private equity and investment fund clients, both in and out of court, with respect to acquisitions of distressed assets and investments and corporate governance matters related to such clients' portfolio companies. Ryan's fund clients include, among others, Audax Group, Blue Point Capital Partners, Chicago Growth Partners, GTCR, GSO Capital Partners, Monomoy Capital Partners, Parthenon Capital, Summit Partners, and Sun Capital Partners.

Ryan often represents large, multinational corporations with respect to distressed supply chain, acquisitions and other commercial matters involving distressed counter-parties. His clients in this regard include Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, The Boeing Company, Global Hyatt Corporation, McDonald’s Corporation, Motorola, Inc., The Tribune Company and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, among others.

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and The Chicago Lawyer recently named Ryan to the “40 Under Forty” for 2015, selecting Ryan among over 1,000 nominees across all practice areas in the State of Illinois, Law360 also named Ryan as one of eight Bankruptcy “Rising Stars for 2014.” The Legal 500 U.S. recognized him for his "key role" in the Detroit Chapter 9 proceedings. Ryan was also named to the 2012 list of "Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers" by Turnarounds & Workouts, one of 12 individuals selected nationwide for their individual accomplishments in corporate restructuring.