Emily E. Geier

EMILY is a restructuring partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP’s New York office, where her practice focuses on all aspects of corporate restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. She has a broad range of restructuring experience across multiple industries, including retail, energy, technology and manufacturing, and she has been involved in many of the largest and most complex restructurings in recent years, including Nordic Aviation Capital, Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys “R” Us and Energy Future Holdings. She currently is representing Express, Inc. in its chapter 11 cases, which recently closed its going-concern sale transaction to preserve its more than 500 Express and Bonobos retail locations. She also pioneered the “24-hour prepack,” first with FullBeauty Brands, then with Sungard Availability Services. Some of her additional representative debtor representations include Jason Industries, Pier 1 Imports, FTS International, C&J Energy, Southcross Holdings, Nebraska Book Co., Maxcom Telecom, Barneys New York and Horizon Lines. In addition, she has extensive experience navigating cross-border restructuring situations and has advised numerous clients in liability-management transactions, including Alvaria, Inc.

Emily was recently named an “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts, and she is a part-time lecturer at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an Advisory Committee member of the Wharton Initiative on Financial Policy and Regulation. She also is a member of ABI and the Turnaround Management Association.

Emily’s parents grew up poor in the Midwest and instilled in her the value of hard work to achieve goals. Her goal was to be a lawyer, so she worked from the age of 14 and paid for her own education. When she met her restructuring partners, her career path came together. She enjoys mentoring incoming attorneys and is a member of her firm’s Associate Review Committee, Summer Program Committee and Paralegal Review Committee. In addition, she co-chairs the Paralegal Oversight Committee at the firm. She also supports a number of organizations, including ones devoted to women’s rights, where she does the majority of her pro bono work, and services, including the UJA, the Bronx Hopeline and education.