Chad J. Husnick
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Restructuring, bankruptcy

During his relatively short legal career, Chad Husnick has managed some of the largest bankruptcy cases in the United States. And while doing this he has more than held his own in negotiations and court arguments against attorneys many years his senior.

Because of this strong track record, Husnick has, all before hitting the age of 40, already crafted a reputation as one of the finest bankruptcy specialists in the Chicago area.

“Chad’s knowledge and command of bankruptcy matters is many years beyond his age,” said James Mazza Jr., a partner with Chicago’s Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

How talented of an attorney is Husnick? Some of the biggest names in business have tapped him to represent them in restructuring cases.

For example, Husnick represented Energy Future Holdings Corp. and 70 of its affiliates in a complex restructuring matter. Energy Future is the largest generator, distributor and certified retail provider of electricity in Texas, with more than $49 billion in liabilities and $36 billion in assets.

Husnick represented C&J Energy Services in its pre-negotiated restructuring, a restructuring that preserved nearly 5,000 jobs and trimmed the company’s debt by about $1.4 billion.

And Husnick is now representing Toys “R” Us, Inc. in its chapter 11 restructuring. With more than $5.2 billion of indebtedness, Toys is one of the largest and most complex retail restructurings in U.S. history.

Dan Kamensky, managing partner of New York-based Marble Ridge Capital, said that Husnick is hard-working, smart, diligent and committed to achieving the best results for his clients. This combination has earned him a long list of dedicated and loyal clients.

“I joke that Chad is really 6-foot-5-inches tall because he towers above his competition,” Kamensky said. “He does so through a strong combination of technical skills with an overarching view of strategy and how to accomplish his client’s goals.”

Husnick’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. As Kamensky points out, Husnick initially served as a member of a team of lawyers representing MSR Resorts as outside counsel during the company’s bankruptcy case that began in 2011.

Over time, though, Husnick took on progressively more senior roles before eventually leading the case.

“MSR was highly complex, representing structural and legal issues that would have presented difficulties for the most sophisticated legal counsel. Chad approached each issue with clear purpose of mind, presenting various alternatives to his clients for resolution,” Kamensky said.

Husnick eventually helped lead the parties in the case to a global settlement, uniting the various factions in a complete settlement.

Andrea Schwartz an attorney with the US Government pointed back to the Energy Futures case as an example of Husnick’s abilities. In that case, Husnick successfully negotiated a deal with more than 10 constituent groups, each holding more than $500 million in claims. The deal involved hundreds of depositions and thousands of documents produced in discovery.

The deal earned Husnick and another Kirkland partner the honor of “Dealmaker of the Year” by the American Lawyer magazine.

“One trait that is unique to Chad is his fierce and dogged commitments to his clients and his loyalty to his firm,” Schwartz said. “Not only does Chad handle matters with speed and efficiency, he is a class act. His temperament is superior, and he handles extremely stressful issues with grace.”