Kyle E. Hafkey focuses his practice on a wide range of transactional and regulatory matters affecting the healthcare industry, with a particular emphasis on fraud and abuse, data privacy, and clinical research.
While in law school, Kyle served as note development editor for the Boston University Law Review and also worked as a legal intern for the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.
Inri Panajoti focuses his practice on private client and wealth management matters. He has experience with a broad range of income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxation matters, including drafting various estate planning documents for high-net-worth clients including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies. Inri handles a range of issues including trust structures and estate planning, with a particular focus on taxation, regularly researching various aspects of the federal and state tax law in order to help advise clients on wealth transfer methods that accomplish their goals.
Prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Inri worked at a national law firm where he advised clients on both income and estate tax issues and planning, with a particular focus on real estate, partnerships and closely-held businesses. While in law school, Inri was an editor for the Review of Banking and Financial Law. He was also a finalist in the 20th Annual American Bar Association Law Student Tax Challenge for the LLM Division.
While in law school, Cece served as a legal intern at the King County Prosecutor’s Office in Seattle in the Special Assault Unit. She was also an extern in the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Cece served on the executive board of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, the Domestic Violence Project, and was on the University of Virginia Law Review.
Jennifer Chan focuses her practice on the federal income tax aspects of complex transactions and investments in the energy industry. She advises clients on tax equity structures, refinancings, acquisitions and dispositions, restructurings and workouts.
Jennifer served as a Teaching Assistant for Torts and International Law. While in law school, she interned at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to attending law school, she was a financial analyst at an investment advisory firm.
Landon William Foody is an associate in McDermott’s Chicago office and a member of the Firm’s Business Restructuring Practice Group. Landon focuses his practice on financial restructuring and other insolvency related matters. His experience includes representing companies, official committees of unsecured creditors, and other stakeholders in distressed situations across various industries.
Before joining McDermott, Landon served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ernest M. Robles of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and was an invited participant at the James T. King Bankruptcy Inn of Courts.
While earning his law degree, Landon served as a student attorney at the Business Law Clinic, where he focused on business and trademark issues and also participated in the Kauffman Fellows Program, Venture Capital Deals.
Represented Wellpath Holdings, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their chapter 11 cases in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Wellpath is the leading provider of healthcare to vulnerable patients in challenging clinical environments and had debt obligations of approximately $650 million as of the chapter 11 filing. The representation included a court-approved sale of Wellpath’s Recovery Solutions division for a purchase price of $395 million and the reorganization of Wellpath’s Corrections business. Wellpath filed its chapter 11 cases with a restructuring support agreement signed by 85% of its first-lien lenders and more than 80% of its second-lien lenders, through which Wellpath secured an approximately $326 million debtor-in-possession financing facility. McDermott negotiated and Wellpath issued, upon exit, a $135 million first lien takeback credit facility and $50 million equity investment from a group of first- and second-lien lenders
Represented LaVie Care Centers, LLC and 281 affiliates in connection with their pending Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Hardinge Inc.
Represented Cano Health Inc., one of the largest independent primary care medical service provider groups in the United States, as special counsel in its Chapter 11 cases with approximately $1.5 billion in funded debt
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Acorda Therapeutics Inc.
Represented Output Services Group Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Output Services Group is a leading provider of print and digital payments solutions, employing approximately 1,400 employees and with funded debt obligations of approximately $754 million as of the Chapter 11 filing. Output Services Group filed its Chapter 11 cases with a restructuring support agreement signed by approximately 87% of its prepetition first lien lenders that included a $50 million debtor-in-possession financing facility and eliminated approximately $550 million of its funded debt obligations
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of iMedia Brands Inc.
Represented the senior secured lender in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of 225 Bowery LLC
Represented MTPC LLC in its successful Chapter 11 reorganization plan
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Starry Group Holdings Inc.
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc.
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Benefytt Technologies Inc.
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Voyager Digital Holdings Inc., a publicly traded cryptocurrency company and one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world
Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Compute North Holdings Inc.
Mélissa Hui focuses her practice on EU competition and antitrust matters.
Before joining McDermott, Mélissa completed several internships in French law firms. She also gained experience working at the French Competition Authority.
William Paige focuses his practice on antitrust and competition law. He advises clients on mergers and acquisitions and defends deals before state and federal antitrust regulators, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as pre-merger notification filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. William has experience in a variety of industries, including representing clients in healthcare, industrials, consumer product and energy sectors. In addition to his antitrust work, William maintains an active pro bono practice.
During law school, William was a member of the Georgetown Law Federal Legislation Clinic and served as the Corporate Relations Chair for the Black Law Students Association.
Results
Recognitions
District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
Cris Ray is a litigator with broad experience handling complex, high-stakes disputes across a wide range of industries and subject matters. His practice spans bankruptcy and restructuring litigation, antitrust and securities matters, complex contract and commercial disputes, professional liability matters and private client litigation. He represents clients at all stages of litigation, including in federal and state courts, bankruptcy courts, arbitrations and regulatory investigations.
Cris represents public and private companies, professional services firms, entrepreneurs, creditors, litigation trusts and high-net-worth individuals. His clients operate across a diverse range of industries, including FinTech, cryptocurrency and blockchain, technology, accounting and professional services, healthcare and healthcare technology. He has particular experience with disputes arising from complex financial transactions, business breakups, acquisitions and earnouts, corporate distress and insolvency, and allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and professional misconduct.
Cris has substantial experience litigating matters arising in and around bankruptcy proceedings. He represents creditors, litigation trusts, companies and individuals in contested matters and adversary proceedings involving avoidance claims, director and officer liability, plan confirmation and other complex commercial and financial disputes. His bankruptcy-related representations include matters involving some of the most significant restructurings in the digital asset industry.
Cris also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on civil rights and access to justice. His pro bono experience includes representing incarcerated individuals in prisoners’ rights matters, advocating for LGBTQ+ individuals in constitutional and civil rights litigation, and assisting individuals and families with housing-related legal issues.
Represented an accounting firm in substantial litigation alleging fraud, breach of contract and professional malpractice, resulting in the voluntary dismissal with prejudice of the claims against the client
Represented an accounting firm in investigations and inquiries by multiple state regulators concerning the structure of the firm’s business, resulting in most states closing or discontinuing their inquiries
Represented an accounting firm in an investigation by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
Represents a cryptocurrency entrepreneur as a defendant in a bankruptcy avoidance action involving novel issues concerning digital assets and commercial law
Represents a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and cryptocurrency company as both plaintiffs and defendants in disputes with former business partners pending in multiple state courts and involving claims for fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty
Represents a cryptocurrency entrepreneur in litigation and other matters arising from the bankruptcy of a major cryptocurrency company
Represented an ad hoc group of creditors in connection with challenges to the restructuring of a major cryptocurrency company, including at plan confirmation
Represents the post-confirmation litigation trust in multiple adversary proceedings against individuals and defendants located around the globe seeking to recover creditor assets
Represented the litigation trust of a liquidated media organization in post-confirmation claims against former officers and directors, resulting in a highly favorable settlement for the client
Represented a FinTech company in an American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration involving claims for fraud, breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation, obtaining a complete dismissal of the claimant’s claims
Represented a healthcare data company in a post-acquisition dispute with former members of an acquired business concerning earnout obligations
Represents a Catholic high school in connection with the bankruptcy of an archdiocese
Represented a corporation, subsidiaries and officers and directors in the successful dismissal of a billion-dollar shareholder derivative lawsuit alleging breach of fiduciary duties under foreign law*
Represented a Canadian manufacturing company against a hedge fund alleging breach of indenture covenants related to large corporate transactions*
Represented a British company in complex securities litigation in both state and federal court arising out of a billion-dollar merger with a US corporation*
Represented a US corporation in successfully defending the dismissal of an antitrust class action in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit*
Represented a lesbian couple in a lawsuit against state government officials for violations of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment relating to the state’s foster care system*
Represented a purported class action against state government officials alleging that conditions in one of the state’s men’s prisons violated the Eighth Amendment*
Gabrielle Lipsitz focuses her practice on litigation matters.
While in law school, Gabrielle served as senior submissions editor for the Southern California Law Review. She was also a certified law student in the Post-Conviction Justice Project, where she represented California life-term inmates seeking parole.
University of Southern California Gould School of Law, JD, Gold Honors Scholar
Washington University in St. Louis, BA, college honors
Admissions
Illinois
New York
Courts/Agencies
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
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