Morgan Lewis today announced that Jim Garrity—a restructuring practitioner who previously served for nine years as a Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of New York—has joined the firm as a partner in its Business and Finance practice, resident in New York. Mr. Garrity, who was most recently an equity partner at an international firm for 10 years, will lead the firm’s restructuring practice.

“Jim, who is among the most experienced bankruptcy lawyers in New York, will help us continue to offer our clients robust restructuring capabilities,” noted Charlie Engros, leader of the firm’s Business and Finance practice. “Not only has he been a federal judge and a practitioner in both the public and private sectors, but he has done extensive work on debtor cases and understands the unique challenges faced by troubled companies in today’s uncertain economic environment.”

Mr. Garrity represents debtors, creditors, and court-appointed fiduciaries in Chapter 11 and cross-border cases. His experience includes restructuring of billions of dollars in unsecured debt and his recent bankruptcy experience spans a number of Chapter 11 cases involving multinational businesses, including retail, financial services, communications, and automotive companies.

Prior to his service on the bench, Mr. Garrity was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he rose to become Chief of the Tax Unit focusing on bankruptcy cases. He has worked closely with the SDNY bench and the Office of the United States Trustee for more than 25 years. Mr. Garrity is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and a member of INSOL and the International Insolvency Institute.