Jonathan S. Henes

Partner
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Jon Henes is one of the country’s leading restructuring and corporate governance advisors. Jon has successfully guided numerous major corporations in a variety of industries, including media, chemicals, energy, manufacturing, real estate, retail and telecommunications, through both highly complex and transformative restructurings. Jon’s experience is deep and diverse as he has represented debtors (including portfolio, privately-held and public companies), creditors’ committees and distressed investors (including hedge funds, private equity funds and companies) in acquisitions, restructurings and bankruptcy cases; advised boards of directors and senior managers of financially troubled companies regarding fiduciary duties and restructuring strategies; provided advice in connection with legacy, environmental, mass tort, retiree and pension liabilities of financially troubled companies; and advised investors in connection with the purchase of distressed assets and securities.

Described as “exceptional,” Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business has listed Jon as a leading lawyer every year since 2009. Most recently, in the 2019 edition, sources described Jon as “great to deal with,” “top notch” and “invaluable as a lawyer, adviser and advocate.” Sources also praised Jon for possessing “a remarkable combination of excellent legal and negotiating skills, a great business mind and incredible judgment.” Sources also noted Jon is “a great negotiator with very good deal instincts” and is “extraordinarily good in front of judges.” Previous editions of Chambers USA described Jon as a “terrific solution-oriented and collaborative attorney” who “works very hard for his clients and has the right combination of knowing when to be aggressive and when to make a deal,” and he “fights hard for his client to achieve a fair outcome.” Sources noted that Jon “understands the big picture and works relentlessly to achieve results” and that he is “particularly good in complicated, messy matters for both debtors and creditors.” Clients praised Jon for his “fantastic stature in the market” noting he “has good judgment and is good on his feet in court,” is “a real hands-on and roll-up-your-sleeves attorney who has terrific negotiation skills” and is “astonishingly knowledgeable and determined.” Chambers Global, The World's Leading Lawyers for Business has also recognized Jon every year since 2014. Jon was also recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for his corporate restructuring work. Jon was distinguished as one of The Best Lawyers in America for 2013-2019 in the fields of bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law and litigation — bankruptcy. In 2012, Jon was selected as one of Cardozo's Alumni of the Year. Jon was also profiled in BISNOW and as one of eight deal lawyers in The Deal magazine in an article entitled "On Yelling, Screaming and Understanding." In addition, Jon was previously selected as a leading lawyer in the 2009 edition of IFLR1000: Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms, by Super Lawyers as a New York Super Lawyer, and in 2005, as one of the nation's outstanding young restructuring lawyers by Turnarounds & Workouts. Jon's work was also recognized by the Turnaround Management Association, which selected the Wellman restructuring as its 2009 Large Turnaround of the Year.

Jon is sought out for his views on a variety of restructuring topics. He writes extensively, publishing blogs and op eds in cnbc.com, The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Deal, The Wall Street Journal Bankruptcy Beat and Forbes.com, and has appeared on CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange," Bloomberg Television's InBusiness, TheDeal and on CNN. Jon has been profiled in, among other publications, The American Lawyer, on May 1, 2008, in an article entitled "In a Game of Chicken, Solutia Wins," and in Bankruptcy Court Decisions Weekly News & Comment, on April 1, 2008, in an article entitled "Diary of a Deal," both of which chronicled Jon's involvement in Solutia's exit from Chapter 11, and on April 10, 2007, in an article entitled "Panel Spars on Hedge Fund Participation," and The Deal, on April 23, 2004, in an article entitled "After They Stopped Laughing," which discussed Jon's involvement in the negotiated resolution of AT&T Latin America's complex Chapter 11 case. Jon is frequently quoted in national publications, including, among others, The Wall Street Journal ("Prudent Lessons From Judge Prudence Carter Beatty,""Snyder's Six Flags Roller-Coaster Ride,""CIT's Swoon Hits Taxpayers,""There is Life After Bankruptcy for Some Companies", "Smurfit Says Bankruptcy is Possible Amid Crunch", "'DIP' Loans are Scarce, Complicating Bankruptcies" and "Barbarians in Bankruptcy Court --- Merger Financiers Find Action Now in Chapter 11"), The Deal ("Bankruptcy Blues"), and Bankruptcy Court Decisions ("What Masonite's CEO Understood That Your Client May Not" and "Negotiating a Deal in a Falling Market").

Jon has lectured at Harvard Business School, New York University, Wharton Business School, Wake Forest Law School and Cardozo Law School regarding distressed investing, hedge funds involvement in Chapter 11 and the credit markets, and has published articles on, among other things, distressed debt trading and corporate decision making. Jon is also an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School where he teaches a course on distressed investing and corporate restructurings and was appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Heyman Center of Corporate Governance, the mission of which is to raise public and academic awareness of pressing corporate and securities law issues and to produce and disseminate research on a broad range of corporate and securities law topics.

In addition to his restructuring practice, Jon has represented and counseled clients with respect to transactions related to the purchase or sale of teams in the Pacific Coast League and the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.