Paul Basta

Paul Basta is co-chair of the Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Restructuring Department and a member of firm Management. He represents debtors, creditors and investors in a broad range of restructuring matters, including chapter 11 cases, cross-border insolvency matters, out-of-court restructurings and bankruptcy-related acquisitions. Paul has represented a diverse range of clients spanning numerous industries in some of the most complex and contentious restructuring matters of the last 25 years. Some of Paul’s significant debtor representations include advising Revlon, Charter Communications, Global Crossing, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, National CineMedia, Party City, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Sears, Cumulus Media, Hawaiian Telecom, LINN Energy, Samson Resources, Marvel Entertainment, Reader’s Digest, Kerzner International, TOUSA, and Tecumseh Products, among others. 

Paul also has extensive experience representing creditors in major restructuring matters, including funds such as Bain Capital, Centerbridge, GoldenTree, Blackstone, HPS Investments and TPG Partners. He has also represented numerous private equity funds with their distressed portfolio companies. Paul also represented the Houston Astros in connection with the Houston Regional Sports Network chapter 11 case. Paul consistently earns recognition for his work, including in leading industry publications and rankings such as Chambers Global, The Best Lawyers in America and IFLR1000, which has selected Paul as a leading lawyer in restructuring every year since 2008. He has been elected to The Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” and recognized as a Band 1 practitioner in Chambers USA for more than a decade. 

He has been selected twice as one of Law360’s “Bankruptcy MVPs” and is listed as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading US Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers.” Earlier, The American Lawyer recognized Paul as a “Dealmaker of the Year” for his work advising the independent restructuring subcommittee of the board of Sears on the retailer’s massive chapter 11 case, a deal which was also recognized by IFLR as the restructuring “Deal of the Year: Restructuring and Insolvency.” 

Paul regularly lectures and publishes articles in notable restructuring industry publications, including New York Law Journal and Daily Bankruptcy Review, among others, and has led numerous seminars at conferences held by the American Bankruptcy Institute, Practising Law Institute, Federal Bar Council Bankruptcy Litigation Committee, Turnaround Management Association and Renaissance American Management. Paul is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and The American Bar Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors for Her Justice.