Partner
Stephen D. Lerner is global chair of the Squire Patton Boggs Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group and currently serves as President-Elect of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He has an extensive national and cross-border restructuring practice in which he represents debtors, distressed businesses, committees of unsecured creditors, secured and unsecured creditors, equity interest holders, boards of directors, indenture trustees and acquirers of troubled businesses in Chapter 11 reorganization cases, Chapter 15 cross-border cases, Chapter 9 municipal restructurings and out-of-court restructurings throughout the US, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, South America and India. Among other recent notable engagements, Stephen served as the Court Appointed Examiner in the precedent-setting Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 case in the Southern District of New York. He is also recognized by Chambers as a Star Individual and clients have said that “[he] is very knowledgeable and professional in his demeanor. He presents issues and solutions in an easy to understand way.”
Stephen has led the representation of debtors or other leading parties in the Chapter 11 cases and/or out-of-court restructurings of AmFin Financial, Blackjewel LLC, Chrysler, EaglePicher, Energy & Exploration Partners, Enron, Ferrellgas, Hartshorne Mining Group, Lehman Brothers, Midway Gold, Optima Specialty Steel, Patriot Coal, Station Casinos, Veris Gold and WorldCom, among many others, and he represented the Court Appointed Expert in the City of Detroit’s historic Chapter 9 case. Stephen served as lead restructuring advisor to Dana Gas PJSC, the largest independent gas company in the Middle East, in its US$700 million Islamic financing restructuring. Stephen also led Squire Patton Boggs’ representation of the American College of Bankruptcy in filing an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the significant Stern related case of Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Peter H. Arkison, Trustee of the Estate of Bellingham Insurance Agency, Inc.
Under Stephen’s leadership the US Restructuring & Insolvency team was named 2020 USA Restructuring Firm of the Year – Middle Markets by Global M&A Network. In July 2022, the Ferrellgas restructuring team led by Stephen was honored with the Turnaround of the Year (Large) Award by Global M&A Network. He served as lead restructuring advisor to Dana Gas PJSC, the largest independent gas company in the Middle East, in its US$700 million Islamic financing restructuring, which was awarded the Middle East Restructuring of the Year in 2019 by the International Financial Law Review. The Firm is recognized as one of the world’s leading law firms for cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters by Global Restructuring Review (GRR) in its prestigious GRR 100.
Panelist, “Recent Updates on Avoidance Actions: Foreign Sovereign Immunity Defense and Exterritoriality of Safe Harbors,” International Insolvency Institute UCC Regional Conference, January 20, 2026.
Panelist, “Economics Plenary Session,” ABI 2025 Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, August 12, 2025.
Moderator, “Uncharted Journeys: Risk Strategies in a Time of Turbulence,” Thompson Reuters 2025 Corporate Executive Briefing, May 20, 2025.
Co-chair, ABI International’s European Insolvency Symposium, London, October 2024.
Co-chair, ABI International’s Latin America Insolvency Conference, Mexico City, September 2024.
Moderator, “Exporting Corporate Bankruptcies,” ABI Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2024.
Speaker, “Third-Party Releases After Purdue Pharma,” ABI Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar, Cincinnati, August 2024.
Co-chair, ABI International’s European Insolvency Symposium, Lisbon, November 2023.
Speaker, “Governance Issues in Business Restructurings Panel,” Southern District of Ohio Bench Bar Conference, Dayton, October 2023.
Advisory Board, INSOL International and ABI’s Dubai Seminar, January 2023.
Moderator, ABI Webinar on The Conflict in Ukraine: Impact on Capitals, Markets and Boardrooms, March 2022.
Co-author, “Blackjewel and Hartshorne: Overcoming § 1129 (a) (9) Obstacles,” ABI Journal, August 2021.
Frequently teaches and lectures throughout the US, Canada and Europe on bankruptcy and restructuring issues.
Guest lecturer, Private Equity Finance Course, Harvard Business School.
Guest lecturer, The University of Michigan Law School.
Speaker, National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (including 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017) and ABI Conferences, including Annual Spring Meeting (2015, 2016, 2017,2018 and 2024), Central States Bankruptcy Workshop (2015), Northeast Bankruptcy Conference (2015), Winter Leadership Conference (2020) and Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Conference (10+ years).
Moderated a series of discussions in 2020, co-hosted with the American Bankruptcy Institute, featuring a distinguished panel of professionals, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner and current senior US Senator of West Virginia Joe Manchin. Topics included tools to navigate the financial crisis related to COVID-19, COVID-19 relief funding and reopening the US, and what the presidential and senate races could mean for the economy.
Panelist, “Using Chapter 11 to Sell Rather Than Reorganize”, 75th Judicial Conference of the Sixth Circuit, 2018.
Panelist, “The Broad, Developing International Paradigm for Restructuring: The Latest on the American Perspective, ABI 15th International Insolvency & Restructuring Symposium, Paris, 2018.
Speaker, “The Most Important Bankruptcy Case Ever Debate”, ABI Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2018.
Speaker, “Keynote Address”, TMA Europe Annual Conference, Rome, Italy 2016.
Speaker, "How to Manage Financial Distress in the Mining Industry," Colorado Mining Association’s 118th National Western Mining Conference, Denver, 2016.
Co-author, “Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Topics and Trends in 2014”, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Strategies, 2015.
Contributing author, “Bloomberg Law: Bankruptcy Treatise”, December 2014.
Served on the Bankruptcy Working Group (and Chair of the Large Chapter 11 committee) of the Bankruptcy Court Structure and Insolvency Process Committee of the ABA Business Law Section which issued a “Best Practices Report on Electronic Discovery (ESI) Issues in Bankruptcy Cases” published in the August 2013 edition of The Business Lawyer (American Bar Association).
Co-author, “Not Every Promise is a Capital Commitment – Litigating Section 365(o) Claims by the FDIC” published in Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, January 2013.
Author, "Recent Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Law: Looking to 2013", Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Law 2013.
Co-author, “Practicing Chapter 11 Restructuring and Bankruptcy in a Struggling Economy,” Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and Restructuring Strategies, 2012.
Co-author, “Pre-Bankruptcy Planning for the Commercial Reorganization – A Brief Guide for the CEO, CFO/COO, General Counsel and Tax Advisor.”