Venue Wars: Strategy, Fairness, and the Future of Bankruptcy Filing
Thursday, October 8th, 2026 – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Moderator:
Hon. Shireen Barday
Speakers:
Bruce Bennett
Jessica Lauria
Evan Fleck
Description:
This panel will explore the key considerations influencing venue selection in complex restructurings, including differences in legal standards, judicial philosophy, and case administration across jurisdictions. Panelists will examine how these factors affect outcomes for debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders in both domestic and cross-border contexts. The discussion will also address recent policy debates and judicial commentary on forum shopping, highlighting areas of consensus, emerging trends, and unresolved tensions.
Bios:
Judge Barday received her J.D. from Stanford Law School, M.A. in Political Science from the City University of New York, and B.A. in Political Science from Barnard College. Prior to law school, Judge Barday served in various roles for the City of New York, including as a demographer for the New York City Districting Commission. She previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Colleen McMahon, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York (2009-2010), and as a law clerk for the Honorable Rosemary S. Pooler, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2010-2011). Until she was appointed to the bench, Judge Barday was a litigation partner in private practice, first at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and later at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and finally at Pallas Partners (US) LLP, where she was resident until her appointment.
Jessica Carey Lauria is a senior board advisor and former global law firm partner with more than two decades of experience advising public and private company boards, investors, and management teams on complex and transformative transactions, mergers and acquisitions, capital structure strategy, and cross-border matters. Jessica is the founder of JL Special Situations LLC, a newly formed strategic advisory firm focused on supporting boards and stakeholders facing high-impact, multi-dimensional challenges. Previously, Jessica served as Global Co-Chair of the Restructuring Practice at Sidley Austin LLP and later as a Senior Partner at White & Case LLP. She has worked extensively with boards of directors on fiduciary duties, stakeholder engagement and strategic decisions. Jessica has led multi-billion transactions, advised companies on litigation risks and mass tort exposures, and negotiated groundbreaking corporate resolutions. She is widely recognized for her ability to integrate legal, financial, and strategic considerations in board-level decision-making.
Evan R. Fleck is co-practice group leader and co-head of Milbank’s global Financial Restructuring Group, in our New York office. Mr. Fleck has built a successful and peer-recognized practice advising on a wide range of corporate restructurings and bankruptcies. He advises both debtors and a wide range of creditors, including lenders and strategic stakeholders, on complex in-court and out-of-court restructurings.
Bruce Bennett has represented debtors, creditors, shareholders, acquirers, and other entities interested in many of the largest corporate reorganizations in the United States.
He has acted for major creditors in chapter 11 cases for Intelsat, iHeart Communications, Caesars Entertainment, Energy Future Holdings, Sanchez Energy, General Motors, Adelphia Communications, Enron, Fountainebleau LV, Hawaii Medical Centers, Verity Health, Lehman Brothers, MF Global, Olympia & York, and Tribune Company. He has also represented creditors in numerous out-of-court negotiations and workouts. More recent cases have included counseling and litigation in connection with liability management transactions.