To mark International Women’s Day, the ION Analytics team, including reporters and analysts at Creditflux, Debtwire, Mergermarket, Dealreporter, Cybersecurity Law Report, Hedge Fund Law Report, Private Equity Law Report, and Anti-Corruption Report have interviewed outstanding women in their respective jurisdictions and fields. 

It is our honour to highlight these women and their accomplishments and contributions to their industries and share some of their insights and perspectives. These lawyers, advisors, and consultants from around the world specialise in private equity, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, hedge funds, anti-corruption, data privacy, and more. We hope these remarkable women inspire you as much as they do us. 

In the second of a two-part article, Dawn Grocock, Senior Legal Analyst at Debtwire Europe, profiles notable women in the restructuring field, including (i) Lisa Rickelton, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting; (ii) Charlotte Cooke, Barrister, South Square; and (iii) Liz Osborne, Head of European Restructuring, Paul, Weiss. 

Part one profiled (i) Hannah Crawford, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis; (ii) Holly Holgate, Partner, FRP; and (iii) Hayley Çapani, Legal Director, Shoosmiths.  

Lisa Rickelton

Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting 

Lisa has over 25 years’ experience in insolvency and restructuring. She is a licensed insolvency practitioner experienced in taking both domestic and cross-border appointments. Her appointments have spanned the full range of administrations, liquidations, receiver over shares and other assets, and as CVA supervisor. She has led fairness opinions for security agents and submitted expert evidence in multiple schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans. She was cross examined on Adler (instructed by solicitors acting for the challenging creditors) and on Aggregate, Sino-Ocean and Waldorf (instructed by solicitors acting for the company). 

Is there a particular woman who has been an influence/inspiration to you in your career, and what have your learned from her?

I typically didn’t have much experience working for female partners. I think it was six or seven years into my career before I worked for a female partner, and that was relatively brief. However, I have regularly worked in teams throughout my career with great women and have learned a great deal from them. I have tended to pick up different influences, ideas and styles (as well technical knowledge) from a wide range of people I’ve worked with rather than from one individual mentor.  

I have also been fortunate to work with many great female restructuring lawyers. Earlier in my career, positive experiences working with female law firm partners included working with Sue Moore of Dentons on the Cenargo case in 2003 and learning a lot about cross-border matters and working with Katrina Buckley of Allen & Overy on Metronet in 2007 which was another fascinating case. I also regularly worked with Debbie Gregory of Hogan Lovells in the late 2000s and developed my knowledge on the nuances of credit bid transaction structuring. 

It’s great to be one of three female restructuring partners in FTI Consulting’s London team and to see that there is considerably better representation in restructuring firms now than there was earlier in my career. Although there is definitely still more to go on increasing representation. 

What leadership qualities do you think female professionals bring to the restructuring profession that are sometimes overlooked?

There are a wide range of leadership qualities that all professionals bring to the profession, and in my view the most important factor for a team is to have a mix of qualities and personalities, regardless of gender. In restructuring and insolvency there are often stressful situations where there is a lot at stake and so being able to be calm under pressure (at least a good amount of the time) is an important quality. Projects in our profession are also often intense and fast-moving situations with a lot of competing demands and so being able to multi-task, prioritise and step back to see the bigger picture is another important quality.  

Relationship building and strong communication skills are also incredibly important in our profession. It is important to be able to flex these skills and styles according to the situation and to have a good understanding of the perspective of others given the range of interactions we have, including with a wide variety of clients including investors, lenders, government and management teams, working with a range of advisors on multiple sides of a situation, interacting with employees, unions and creditors on insolvency situations. As well as this extensive range of external stakeholders we have to bring together our own teams including cross-segment and cross-jurisdiction to deliver for the client.    

In recent years I have regularly led expert witness roles and have been cross-examined multiple times. A lot of the key skills and leadership qualities cross over into this area, particularly the need to remain calm under pressure!    

A new style of more aggressive LME has been gaining traction in Europe, and we are now seeing some high-profile litigation in this area. As in-court restructurings also continue to face significant challenges, how do you see the trajectory for UK restructurings? 

To an extent there has been an increasing trend in litigation across our market over the last 10-15 years, and this is probably inevitable as more tools and concepts are developed, tested and evolved. Initially we saw this with challenges to pre-packaged administrations and then challenges to landlord CVAs. More recently it has been contested Part 26A Restructuring Plans and then with challenges to LME transactions.  

With all these tools and concepts, the parameters have developed over time. Sometimes this has been with assistance from judgments, practice statements or statements of insolvency practice. As the market experience coalesces around the parameters the confidence levels in usage of tools typically returns. 

Reset parameters are then factored into the case by case assessment of the pros and cons of options available in any given situation. For a time restructuring plans often seemed to be the winner in that options assessment but in reality given the relatively low absolute numbers of plans each year we have continued to see other solutions including fully consensual scenarios, share pledge enforcements and pre-pack administrations. 

There has certainly been an increasing trend of enforcement strategies in cases where the structure and documentation facilitates this and where it can address the underlying problem that the company is facing. I expect that this upward trend will continue in such circumstances. 

I have seen an increasing trend (even before the new practice statement) of work towards a restructuring plan (or scheme) in parallel with consensual negotiations and seeing more successful consensual outcomes being acheived. I expect that, with the further encouragement of both the new practice statement and recent judgments, this trend will also continue. 

Charlotte Cooke

Barrister, South Square  

Charlotte Cooke was called to the English Bar in 2008 and practises at South Square. Charlotte is experienced in complex and high value restructuring cases, often with international elements across multiple jurisdictions. In recent years, these have included DeepOcean, Smile Telecoms, Nasmyth, Aggregate, McDermott, Thames Water and Waldorf. She is ranked in the legal directories for restructuring and insolvency, where she is “singled out as a junior who is well equipped to handle sophisticated cases.” 

Is there a particular woman who has been an influence/inspiration to you in your career, and what have you learned from her?

One of the most influential figures in my career has been Felicity Toube KC.  Felicity has been involved in so many of the most complex insolvency and restructuring cases in recent years. 

Felicity was my first pupil supervisor, and I have continued to learn from her ever since. She combines formidable legal knowledge with clarity of thought and calmness under pressure, qualities that are invaluable in our profession. She has a rare ability to cut through complexity and deliver clear, decisive advice. 

She approaches every case with intellectual rigour, while remaining aware of the commercial realities her clients face. That blend of technical mastery, strategic perspective and human insight has shaped the way I approach my own practice. 

Perhaps most importantly, Felicity has shown me that professional success does not require imitation. Watching her example has given me the confidence to develop my own voice and style. 

What leadership qualities do you think female professionals bring to the restructuring profession that are sometimes overlooked?

I do not think leadership qualities are inherently gendered. The most effective restructuring professionals, regardless of gender, combine technical excellence, sound judgment and the ability to manage complex stakeholder dynamics under pressure. 

That said, certain qualities that many female professionals bring can sometimes be underestimated. Restructuring is rarely only about legal or financial analysis.  It involves navigating uncertainty, balancing competing interests and building consensus in high-stakes situations. The ability to listen closely, read the room and guide stakeholders through difficult decisions is essential. 

Many women in the profession are particularly skilled at combining analytical rigour with emotional intelligence. In practice, that can result in more constructive negotiations. It can also shape the tone of formal proceedings.  When those skills are present, exchanges tend to be more measured and focused on substance, which ultimately assists the court and the parties alike. 

These qualities are not uniquely female, nor are they universally held by women, but when they are present, they make a difference and they deserve to be recognised. 

A new style of more aggressive LME has been gaining traction in Europe, and we are now seeing some high-profile litigation in this area. As in-court restructurings also continue to face significant challenges, how do you see the trajectory for UK restructurings?

I anticipate two key trends. 

First, I expect to see continued innovation. The UK restructuring toolkit remains one of the most flexible in Europe. Restructuring plans, in particular, have matured rapidly. I expect these tools to continue to be deployed in increasingly strategic ways.  

Second, I expect there will be a more contested environment. As LMEs test the boundaries, disputes are likely to become more frequent. Litigation risk will be a central consideration from the transaction-planning stage, not simply a downstream possibility. 

Liz Osborne

Head of European Restructuring, Paul, Weiss  

Liz Osborne is the head of the European Restructuring Department at Paul, Weiss. She is a leading practitioner who has advised on some of the most highvalue and complex crossborder restructurings in the market, including advising an ad hoc group of lenders to Seqens, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical solutions and specialty ingredients companies, and OQ Chemicals, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of oxochemicals. 

Liz represents a broad range of clients including par and secondary investors, distressed corporates and sponsor portfolio companies. Liz also advises on special situations investments, providing structuring solutions to help creditors maximize access to value within the borrower group and minimize their down-side risk.

Is there a particular woman who has been an influence/inspiration to you in your career, and what have your learned from her?

In some ways, it was the lack of senior women in the restructuring market and in particular, the lack of women in leadership positions that acted as a key motivator for me in the earlier days of my career. As an associate, there were almost no female partners who I interacted with regularly who had children, and those that did have children gave the impression it was better to act as if they did not. That dynamic was a driver for me as I made partner and became more senior: I wanted to be able to prove that it is possible to have a great career, be a (hopefully decent) mother and take on more leadership responsibilities.  

I should also mention Kim Koopersmith, who was the chair of my prior firm for many years and who I got to know well as I became more involved in leadership and firm management. She was a fantastic sponsor for women and recognised the importance of diversity (in its broadest sense) in leadership. She was one of very few female Big Law leaders and I found her leadership style very motivating and inspirational.  

What leadership qualities do you think female professionals bring to the restructuring profession that are sometimes overlooked?

It is always difficult to talk about these issues in general terms, as female professionals are naturally a highly diverse group, and there is no single set of qualities that can be said to apply to women. Having said that, there are a few qualities that have stood me in good stead throughout my career that are perhaps perceived to be more ‘female’ qualities.  

First, I think women are often good listeners. This is great when negotiating a restructuring since by definition, different stakeholders are fighting over an insufficient pool of recoveries. Taking the time to understand the objectives of different stakeholders means you can figure out whether there is a path through to achieve a more consensual outcome rather than defaulting to litigation or coercive tactics. Of course, that is not always possible but even if not, it can help make the path smoother, more efficient and quicker.  

Second, working women (especially those with parenting or other caregiving responsibilities) are typically highly efficient, which can only be a good thing in the increasingly busy world we all operate in. Finally, in a leadership context, women often have higher emotional intelligence and strive to build teams that focus on collaboration and collective, rather than individual, success.  In my experience, this creates a better working environment within a law firm, better service for clients and an overall better outcome. 

A new style of more aggressive LME has been gaining traction in Europe, and we are now seeing some high-profile litigation in this area. As in-court restructurings also continue to face significant challenges, how do you see the trajectory for UK restructurings? 

The Paul, Weiss restructuring team spent a huge amount of time in 2025 looking at non-pro-rata LMEs in a European context – whether that was for sponsors considering their options, existing creditors worrying about contractual permissions or prospective new money providers thinking about structuring options. I have no doubt that this trend will continue into 2026, particularly as sponsors increasingly recognise that if an “aggressive” LM transaction is to be pursued in certain European jurisdictions, early action well ahead of a liquidity issue or maturity is key.  

As a market, we are very keen to see the outcome of current cases that are winding their way through the English court process, which will give us greater clarity on how to think about the “majority abuse principle” in the context of non-pro-rata liability management transactions. In terms of implementing restructurings in Europe, the restructuring plan is currently out of favour, principally due to appeal risk, and we expect a shift toward more consensus-driven schemes of arrangement where cramming down within in a class is all that is needed, or distressed disposals if subordinated creditor consent is not forthcoming.  

Dawn is a former practising restructuring and insolvency lawyer. Prior to joining Debtwire as a Legal Analyst, Dawn practised with DLA Piper UK LLP and Stevens & Bolton LLP, as well as working in legal know-how for LexisNexis. Dawn’s experience includes advising lenders, insolvency practitioners, directors and creditors in relation to insolvency and restructuring issues. Dawn worked on several large-scale restructurings. 

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