Annmarie Chiarello

ANNMARIE is a Restructuring & Insolvency shareholder at Winstead PC in Dallas, where she represents and counsels secured lenders, debtors, lessors, landlords, trade creditors and financial institutions in a wide variety of liquidation and reorganization proceedings. She briefed, argued and won an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and has been involved in some of Texas’s most contentious bankruptcy cases, including the cases of Highland Capital Management, Acis Capital Management and Tuesday Morning. She also has drafted, negotiated and confirmed plans in multiple industries, and has represented secured lenders in numerous bankruptcy cases, including successfully moving for the appointment of chapter 11 trustees and contested confirmations. In addition, she has successfully defended lender-liability claims.

Annmarie is a member of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation’s National Membership Committee, serves as Communication Director of ABI’s Mediation Committee, is a former board member of the Turnaround Management Association, and is a member of the Junior League of Dallas, the Dallas Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section and the Dallas Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers. She has been listed as a Super Lawyers Texas “Rising Star,” as one of D Magazine’s 2024 “Best Lawyers Under 40,” and as one of The Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch.” In 2023, she received The M&A Advisor’s “Out of Court Restructuring of the Year” award.

Annmarie became an insolvency professional when she took an interest in the subject as a summer associate. She was immediately drawn to the people that worked at the law firm and in the bar; today, she is passionate about the diversity and the next generation of insolvency professionals. In 2024, she became president of the Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section and recently helped raise more than $150,000 to endow a fellowship in honor of Retired Judge Harlin Hale. The fellowship allows one law student to receive a stipend and an internship with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. She also volunteers her time with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, where she helps members of her community with financial issues. In addition, she is an educational director with the Junior League of Dallas, where she works to highlight issues affecting the Dallas community, and she has participated in the League’s leadership institute, an intensive 10-month leadership training program focused on both professional and community development. She also spearheads its alumni program to promote networking and further professional development. Additionally, she mentors law students at Texas Law and helps them with their law school journeys.