ATLANTA (June 30, 2023) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Chicago Partner Shelly A. DeRousse has been selected to The 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, an annual elite list distinction in the legal profession representing the best lawyers who are helping companies navigate ailing economies and uncertain times. This is the third time Lawdragon has issued the list of top lawyers for Bankruptcy & Restructuring, and Ms. DeRousse was previously selected to both lists in 2020 and 2022.
Ms. DeRousse is the section head of the Bankruptcy Practice of SGR, which combined with Freeborn & Peters in April 2023. She has extensive experience in the areas of bankruptcy, reorganization, litigation, and asset sales. As lead counsel, Ms. DeRousse regularly represents official committees of unsecured creditors throughout the country in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. Additionally, she represents companies and high earning individuals in their restructurings or workout negotiations with their lenders and other creditors. Ms. DeRousse is also known among banks and other financial institutions as a leading attorney for lenders in bankruptcy cases, out-of-court workouts of borrowers’ loans, and assignments for the benefit of creditors, using creative solutions to maximize the lenders’ recovery from collateral and other assets. She regularly speaks on topics related to restructuring on panels at national and international conferences.
Among her many honors, Ms. DeRousse has been recognized by Chambers-USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Bankruptcy/Restructuring in Illinois for multiple years, which also previously named her as a national finalist in its Women in Law Awards: USA in 2018. Additionally, she has been recognized on legal recognition lists including, Crain’s Chicago Business GenX Leaders in Law, Crain’s Chicago Business Women Leaders in Law, Illinois Leading Lawyers, the Daily Herald Business Ledger’s Influential Women in Business, and Illinois Super Lawyers.
Ms. DeRousse is the ex officio president of the Women’s Bar Foundation of Illinois and currently serves on the Board of Directors. She has also been the chair of various committees of the Turnaround Management Association’s Midwest Region, served on the Committee for the Central States Conference of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and co-chaired The Annual National Conference of the Turnaround Management Association. In 2018, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Lawyers recognized in the Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers range from transactional lawyers, whose financial acumen can transform a distressed company, to financial litigators, both of the traditional bankruptcy court variety and those who challenge and defend financial restructurings that have become inherent to distressed deals. Lawyers are selected through Lawdragon’s time-honed process combining journalistic research of those lawyers at the forefront of recent distressed situations, along with robust submissions from peers, competitors and firms. Candidates are also vetted with their colleagues, clients and other legal counsel.
To see the complete list of The 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, click here.
About Lawdragon
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About Smith Gambrell Russell
SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The Firm’s nearly 400 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 50 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, insurance/reinsurance, construction, employment law, international, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, SGR has 14 domestic and international offices, including Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Chicago; Jacksonville, FL; London; Los Angeles; Miami; Munich; New York; Southampton; Springfield, IL; Tampa, FL; and Washington, D.C.