On the heels of last week’s expansion of its financial institutions practice with the addition of four lawyers, King & Spalding has recruited Jesse H. Austin, III, as a partner in that practice. Austin, a lending-side bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer, comes to King & Spalding from Paul Hastings. He joins partners Chris D. Molen and J. Craig Lee, who arrived at King & Spalding from Austin’s former firm last week, along with senior associate Chadwick M. Werner and associate Maria Danielle Merritt.
“Jess is a widely respected and well-seasoned bankruptcy lawyer with extensive experience representing lending clients in significant restructurings. His arrival, plus the addition earlier this month of partners Chris Molen and Craig Lee, and two associates, significantly increases our bench strength for serving our leveraged-lending clients,” said Richard T. Marooney, co-leader of King & Spalding’s financial institutions practice. “We have practiced with and against Jess for years and have long admired his skill, intellect and creativity in solving difficult problems. We are delighted he is part of our team.”
Austin focuses primarily on the representation of institutional senior secured lenders in syndicated credit facilities and has specific experience in debtor-in-possession lending and in the health care, media, retail, energy and gaming industries. He is ranked as a leading bankruptcy lawyer by Chambers USA and Legal 500. He is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. Austin received J.D. and M.B.A degrees from Emory University and a B.S.B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
