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Emily Flynn Meraia is an associate whose practice focuses on bankruptcy, restructuring, and insolvency matters. She represents both debtors and creditors in complex Chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court restructurings, and corporate insolvency matters.

Emily has experience guiding clients through all stages of the restructuring process and has represented companies across a wide range of industries facing financial distress. Her practice also includes international and cross-border insolvency matters, with court experience in Texas, Virginia, New York, and Delaware.

Prior to joining the firm, Emily practiced at both an international law firm and a regional firm, providing her with a broad perspective across practice environments. She began her career in Chicago, where she represented debtors in some of the country's largest and most complex Chapter 11 cases before expanding her experience to include both debtor- and creditor-side representations.

Bar Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas
  • State Bar of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

Education

  • Notre Dame Law School, J.D., cum laude
    • Executive Articles Editor, Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy 
    • Faculty Award for Excellence in Labor & Employment Law
    • Dean’s List        
  • Fordham University, B.A.
    • Dean’s List
    • Pi Sigma Alpha

Debtor Representations

  • Candy Club LLC – Representation of Candy Club, LLC and its affiliates in their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Candy Club is a high-growth designer, marketer, and omnichannel seller of premium branded confectionary products in the United States.
  • AppHarvest Products, LLC – Representation of AppHarvest Products, LLC and certain of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  AppHarvest is an innovative, high-tech sustainable food company responsible for the production of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Appalachian region. 
  • MLCJR LLC – Representation of MLCJR LLC and its affiliates in their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  The Debtors are one of the most significant oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Avaya, Inc. – Representation of Avaya Inc. and its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Avaya is a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration. With overwhelming consensus from Avaya’s secured lenders and the support of its other key stakeholders, Avaya confirmed its prepackaged plan of reorganization just over a month after it commenced its Chapter 11 cases. The confirmed prepackaged plan reduced Avaya’s total debt by more than 75%, from approximately $3.4 billion to approximately $810 million, substantially increased Avaya’s liquidity position to approximately $650 million, decreased its net leverage to less than 1x, and provided substantial financial flexibility to accelerate Avaya’s investment in its innovative cloud-based communications portfolio. Avaya emerged from Chapter 11 protection as a privately held company approximately five weeks after the bankruptcy court confirmed Avaya’s prepackaged plan.
  • QualTek Services Inc. – Representation of QualTek Services Inc. and its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. QualTek is a provider of infrastructure services and renewable energy project solutions to the North American telecommunications and power industries. QualTek’s fully consensual comprehensive restructuring will reduce the company’s total debt by nearly half, from approximately $625 million to approximately $318 million, substantially increase QualTek’s cash on hand, and strengthen its liquidity position.
  • Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. – Representation of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiary in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Sorrento is a cutting-edge clinical stage and commercial biopharmaceutical public company.
  • IEH Auto Parts Holding, LLC – Representation of IEH Auto Parts Holding, LLC and 12 of its affiliates in their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Auto Plus is a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts and products in the United States.  Auto Plus commenced its chapter 11 cases with the goal of facilitating a marketing and sale process for its assets to maximize value and creditor recoveries. Through the chapter 11 sale process, Auto Plus was able to bring in a total of approximately $171,000,000 in cash and non-cash consideration for the estate. 
  • SmileDirectClub, Inc. – Representation of SmileDirectClub, Inc. and eight of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. SmileDirect is an industry leader in telehealth-driven clear aligner therapy with approximately $900 million in funded debt. Through its Chapter 11 cases, the Company obtained access to up to $80 million of debtor-in-possession financing and will seek to implement a going concern transaction following a comprehensive marketing process.
  • Pipeline Health System LLC – Representation of Pipeline Health System, LLC and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Pipeline Health operates seven “safety net” hospitals, three health clinics and three medical group centers across California, Texas and Illinois, including Weiss Memorial Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center in Chicago. Pipeline’s hospitals operate in historically underserved communities, and a significant percentage of its patients rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other governmental programs for health coverage. Pipeline Health came into the Chapter 11 proceedings with a plan of reorganization seeking to restructure over $600 million of financing obligations.
  • Cineworld Group plc – Representation of Cineworld Group plc and 104 of its debtor affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Entertainment Group, is the second-largest cinema chain in the world, operating over 9,100 screens at nearly 750 cinemas in 10 countries worldwide. Cineworld commenced its Chapter 11 cases with approximately $5.1 billion in funded debt and commitments from an ad hoc group of prepetition lenders to provide nearly $2 billion in debtor-in-possession financing.
  • HONX, Inc. – Representation of HONX, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hess Corporation, in its successful Chapter 11 case filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. HONX and its corporate predecessors had for decades been subject to thousands of asbestos-related personal injury claims in connection with HONX’s former ownership and operation of an oil refinery on St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. HONX filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in April 2022 with the goal of fully and finally resolving all asbestos-related personal injury claims that were or could be asserted against HONX and Hess in one forum, using section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code. HONX confirmed its plan utilizing a section 524(g) channeling injunction in less than two years at a confirmation hearing jointly presided over by Judge Alfred H. Bennett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and Judge Marvin P. Isgur of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Pursuant to the plan, HONX established a settlement trust, funded with up to $190 million from Hess, to satisfy all valid current and future asbestos claims, which resulted in prompt and fair compensation for claimants and finality from current and potential future asbestos tort litigation for HONX and Hess.
  • Katerra Inc. – Representation of Katerra Inc., an innovative and eco-conscious construction company, and its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Katerra commenced its chapter 11 cases with the goal of facilitating a marketing and sale process for its assets to maximize value and creditor recoveries.
  • Intelsat S.A. – Representation of Intelsat S.A. and its debtor-affiliates, operator of the world’s largest satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure—in connection with their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. With approximately $15 billion in liabilities at the time of filing, and posing complex intercompany issues and novel issues of regulatory and foreign law, Intelsat was one of the largest and most complex restructurings of 2020 and 2021. Intelsat filed with $1 billion in committed DIP financing, which it subsequently refinanced and expanded up to $1.5 billion during its Chapter 11 cases. During their Chapter 11 cases, Intelsat purchased Gogo Inc.’s commercial aviation business, including its software platform and network management infrastructure, for approximately $400 million in a relatively unprecedented transaction for a Chapter 11 debtor. After extensive multiparty and cross-silo negotiations and successful mediation efforts, Intelsat obtained confirmation of its plan of reorganization on a fully-consensual basis and emerged from Chapter 11 with nearly $7 billion in new exit financing and a deleveraged capital structure.
  • Gulfport Energy Corporation – Representation of Gulfport Energy Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Gulfport is an independent returns-oriented, gas-weighted exploration and development company and one of the largest producers of natural gas in the contiguous United States, with significant acreage positions in Ohio and Oklahoma. The restructuring eliminated more than $1.2 billion of funded debt obligations, secured $50 million of new capital through a backstopped rights offering and $580 million in new exit financing, and right-sized Gulfport’s go-forward midstream contract obligations, positioning Gulfport as a viable and strengthened enterprise post-emergence.
  • Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC – Representation of Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC and affiliates in their pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases. The Company successfully completed its restructuring of over $5.5 billion of funded indebtedness in under five months. The restructuring plan was confirmed in September 2020, eliminated more than $4 billion of debt and more than $200 million of annual cash interest expense, and preserved more than 13,000 jobs. Neiman Marcus is the first retailer with over $5 billion of debt to reorganize under Chapter 11.
  • Technicolor S.A. – Representation of Technicolor S.A. a Paris-based global leader in content creation to distribution for Hollywood studios, independent filmmakers, music producers, and video game and software developers in its Chapter 15 proceeding pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Chapter 15 proceeding is part of a comprehensive restructuring strategy to raise €420 million in new financing and refinance Technicolor’s existing $477.8 million and €977 million of funded debt through an accelerated financial safeguard proceeding under French law.
  • Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. – Representation of Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. and its affiliates, in its Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Hornbeck Chapter 11 cases were filed with a prepackaged plan of reorganization that contemplates a $75 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and a fully backstopped $100 million rights offering.
  • Acosta, Inc. – Representation of Acosta, Inc., a multinational full-service sales, marketing, and retail merchandising agency, in its prepackaged restructuring of $3 billion of indebtedness. Acosta’s Chapter 11 plan was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware just 15 days after the bankruptcy filing.
  • Windstream Holdings, Inc. – Representation of Windstream Holdings, Inc. and its debtor subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In bankruptcy, Windstream commenced litigation to re-characterize a $3.5 billion spin-off and master lease of certain telecommunications network assets. That litigation resulted in an innovative settlement that provided over approximately $1.2 billion in net present value and billions of dollars of improvement to Windstream’s telecommunications infrastructure. Windstream also confirmed a Chapter 11 plan or reorganization that addresses more than $5.6 billion in funded debt obligations and provides for a $750 million equity rights offering.
  • Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. – Representation of Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas. Vanguard is an independent exploration and production company focused on the production and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States with operations in the Gulf Coast, Permian and Anadarko Basins. Vanguard had approximately $850 million in debt at the time of filing and obtained a commitment for a $130 million debtor-in-possession financing facility, which included $65 million in new money.
  • iHeartMedia, Inc. – Representation of iHeartMedia, Inc., the largest radio broadcaster in the United States, and certain subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 restructuring. The Company had consolidated debts of over $20 billion and the Chapter 11 cases. In connection with its restructuring, iHeart reached an agreement with holders of more than $11 billion of its debt and its financial sponsors, reflecting widespread support across the capital structure, regarding a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring that reduced iHeartMedia’s debt by more than $10 billion.

Post-Confirmation Engagements

  • Ebix, Inc. – Representation of the Litigation Trustee post-confirmation in the case of Ebix US, LLC filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. 
  • AppHarvest Products, LLC – Representation of the Plan Administrator post-confirmation in the AppHarvest bankruptcy cases.
  • Envision Healthcare Corporation – Representation of the Reorganized Debtors post‑confirmation in the Envision bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • IEH Auto Parts Holding, LLC – Representation of the Plan Agent and Wind-Down Debtors post‑confirmation in the Auto Plus bankruptcy cases.
  • Cineworld Group plc – Representation of the Reorganized Debtors post‑confirmation in the Cineworld bankruptcy cases.
  • 4E Brands Northamerica, LLC – Representation of the Plan Agent post-confirmation in the 4E bankruptcy case filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Strike, LLC – Representation of the Wind-Down Debtors post-confirmation in the Strike bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Gulfport Energy Corporation – Representation of the Reorganized Debtors post‑confirmation in the Gulfport bankruptcy cases.
  • Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. – Representation of the Plan Administrator in the post-confirmation case of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Chesapeake Energy Corporation – Representation of the Reorganized Debtors post‑confirmation in the Chesapeake bankruptcy cases.
  • Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC – Representation of the Reorganized Debtors post‑confirmation in the Neiman Marcus bankruptcy cases.
  • Linn Energy, LLC – Representation of the Reorganized Debtor post-confirmation in the adversary proceeding captioned Enable Mississippi River Transmission, LLC v. Linn Energy Holdings, LLC, et al., Adv. No. 16-6017 filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of Texas.

Committee Representations

  • Nitro Fluids, LLC – Representation of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the jointly administered chapter 11 case of Nitro Fluids, LLC and its debtor affiliates filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Nitro Fluids is an oilfield services provider in multiple segments of the oil and gas drilling and fracturing market. 

Other Representations

  • Representation of a landlord in the jointly administered chapter 11 cases of Francesca's Acquisition, LLC. and its affiliates filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
  • Representation of a contract counterparty in successfully opposing the reopening of the Dallas Stars, L.P. case filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
  • Representation of the DIP Lender in Merit Street Media, Inc. filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.
  • Representation of a vendor in the jointly administered chapter 11 cases of Big Lots, Inc. and its subsidiaries filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
  • Representation of a landlord in the jointly administered chapter 11 cases of Conn’s, Inc. and its affiliates filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Representation of a contract counterparty in the jointly administered chapter 11 cases of Steward Health Care System LLC and its affiliates filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
  • Representation of a tenant in the chapter 11 case of 1001 WL, LLC filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. 

"Landlord/Tenant Bankruptcy Issues,” Bernard O. Dow Leasing Institute (September 2023)

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