Kathryn Sutherland-Smith has joined the Firm as of counsel in the Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. Ms. Sutherland-Smith is based in the Sydney Office and will also spend time in the Melbourne Office.
Ms. Sutherland-Smith is an experienced lawyer who has worked on a number of significant U.S. and Australian restructuring and insolvency matters over the past decade. She has a wide range of experience working with complex company and creditor-side restructurings, distressed debt acquisitions, and refinancings, with particular experience in digital assets. An article that she co-authored regarding crypto assets and estate property in bankruptcy was recently honored with a Burton Award in the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing category.
Ms. Sutherland-Smith joins a team of more than 100 restructuring lawyers at Jones Day who practice in financial centers worldwide, serving debtors, creditors, and other parties involved in business restructurings and reorganizations. She will work alongside her colleagues to resolve complex restructuring issues around the globe, including out-of-court workouts, Chapter 11 and 15 cases and other transactions with financially distressed entities.
"Kathryn has represented clients in both contentious and noncontentious matters involving bankruptcies and business restructurings, and has a strong understanding of the corporate turnaround landscape in Australia," said Heather Lennox, leader of the Business Restructuring & Reorganization Practice. "Her depth of experience with distressed debt acquisitions is a particularly important addition to our practice and we are pleased to welcome her to Jones Day."
"Kathryn has cultivated an excellent reputation in the U.S. as a skilled bankruptcy lawyer, and we are delighted that she has decided to return to Australia in this next season of her career," said Chris Ahern, Partner-in-Charge of the Sydney Office. "Her experience in business restructuring will be a great asset to our clients here and we look forward to her contributions at Jones Day."
Ms. Sutherland-Smith began her legal career in Australia, working as a lawyer in Melbourne. She subsequently relocated to the United States and has spent the last five years working as a bankruptcy attorney at a large law firm in New York.
"I am excited to be joining Jones Day and growing my practice alongside the Firm's talented restructuring and insolvency attorneys in the Sydney Office," said Ms. Sutherland-Smith. "I am also looking forward to working alongside my new colleagues throughout Asia Pacific to extend the Firm's U.S. debt restructuring capacity in the region. Jones Day serves clients as one united law firm worldwide, which encourages collaboration among lawyers and ensures that clients receive the best counsel possible, regardless of where the attorneys are based. This culture provides an ideal home for the cross-border skill set I have cultivated during my time in the U.S."
Ms. Sutherland-Smith is a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, also earned a masters of law degree from Columbia University in New York.