Fried Frank announced today the addition of three new partners to its global Restructuring Department, based in New York. Rachel C. Strickland joins the firm as the new global chair of the Restructuring Department, along with partners Daniel Forman and Andrew Mordkoff. All three partners join from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where Strickland served as chair of the firm’s business reorganization & restructuring department, while Forman and Mordkoff served as partners within that practice.
In addition, the firm has added Benjamin Schrag, who will serve as Chief Operating Officer for the Restructuring Department, based in New York. Previously, Schrag served as the chief growth officer at Kroll and was a co-founder of Prime Clerk, a restructuring claims administration firm. He brings more than 20 years of experience spanning corporate restructuring, legal services, marketing and business growth.
This strategic investment highlights Fried Frank’s commitment to expand the firm’s restructuring capabilities in line with its overall growth strategy.
"Adding remarkably talented and experienced partners like Rachel, Dan and Andrew to our restructuring team allows us to best serve clients’ most complex restructuring needs," said Kenneth I. Rosh, Fried Frank chairman and head of the firm’s Private Equity Funds Group. "We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the firm."
“We are committed to strategically growing our service offerings to provide clients with world-class representation for their most important matters,” added Steven Epstein, managing partner and co-head of Fried Frank’s M&A and Private Equity Practice, who focuses on the firm’s lateral growth strategy. “The addition of this market-leading restructuring team demonstrates our focus on executing against this strategy.”
“I am thrilled to be joining Fried Frank, a firm admired for its high-quality practices and extraordinary lawyers,” said Strickland. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues to build a top-tier restructuring practice.”
“Rachel is one of the country’s most prominent restructuring lawyers and we are excited about the direction she will bring to our global restructuring department,” said Scott B. Luftglass, vice chairman and co-head of Fried Frank’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation Practice. “This team is an excellent addition and we look forward to continued growth in this part of our business.”
Strickland, Mordkoff and Forman focus on advising both debtors and creditors in large, complex chapter 11 cases, mass torts and out-of-court restructurings. The team also advises financial sponsors and strategic investors looking to maximize recoveries or acquire distressed targets.
The team’s arrival at Fried Frank follows the addition of partners Amy Johnson and Audra A. Cohen, who joined the Asset Management Practice in New York in July and April, respectively. In addition, the firm recently added finance partners Monica K. Thurmond in New York and Cameron Mitcham in London, as well as M&A and private equity partners Christian Iwasko, Michelle Tong and Priya Rupal in London.