Milbank LLP has strengthened its leading Global Financial Restructuring practice with the addition of renowned lawyer Dr. Marlene Ruf, continuing the firm’s growth in Germany. Dr. Ruf joins the firm as a partner and will be based in Munich.
Dr. Ruf specializes in cross-border financial restructurings, advising debtors, creditors and shareholders in both consensual transactions and restructurings implemented by means of court proceedings. Her clients include distressed debt investors, banks, CLOs and debt funds, whom she represents on the restructuring of capital market instruments and loans, both in and out of insolvency proceedings.
Dr. Ruf has recently advised on several of the most important restructuring mandates in the German and European markets. Among others, she advised a consortium of lenders of LEONI AG on the financial restructuring of LEONI AG through proceedings under the German Corporate Stabilization and Restructuring Act – StaRUG; and an ad hoc group of bondholders on the financial restructuring of Safari Holding Verwaltungs GmbH (Löwenplay); as well as Orchard Global Asset Management and Deutsche Bank on the financial repositioning and acquisition of HIT Group.
“We are thrilled to welcome Marlene to Milbank,” said Dennis Dunne, Global Chair of Milbank’s Financial Restructuring Group. “Restructuring is a core practice at Milbank, and the addition of Marlene further enhances our Financial Restructuring practice in Germany and globally. She will be a tremendous asset to the team and our clients as we advise on their most significant transactions.”
At Milbank, Dr. Ruf joins the German Financial Restructuring team led by partner Dr. Mathias Eisen.
Since its launch, Milbank's German Financial Restructuring practice has quickly gained a reputation in the German and European markets for advising on complex cross-border restructurings, in particular on multi-layered capital structures consisting of corporate bonds, TLB loans, working capital lines and high-yield bonds. Most recently, the German Financial Restructuring team advised various ad hoc committees of bondholders on a number of financial restructurings, including the restructuring of Corestate Capital Holding S.A., Adler Group and Accentro AG. The team also represented the lenders on the restructuring of Schur Flexibles Group in the context of a debt-to-equity swap and KSBG Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG on the restructuring of the STEAG Group. The German Financial Restructuring team is part of a fully integrated global credit, capital markets and restructuring practice that combines state-of-the-art expertise in the documentation and handling of the respective financing instruments with in-depth knowledge of national, European and US insolvency law.
"Milbank has a leading position in developing and implementing innovative solutions for complex restructuring transactions and Marlene has extensive experience in this area,” said Yushan Ng, Co-Practice Group Leader of Milbank’s Global Financial Restructuring Group. “She will play an important role in the continued growth and success of our practice in Europe, the Americas and Asia."
"The addition of Marlene strengthens our German team and is the next logical step in growing our global practice,” added Dr. Mathias Eisen, Head of Milbank’s German Financial Restructuring practice.
“With Marlene, we will have the opportunity to broaden our client base, further develop our range of advisory services and further expand our position in the German restructuring market."
The addition of Dr. Ruf follows the recent additions of Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance), Markus Muhs (M&A) and Philipp Klöckner (Capital Markets), as well as the partner appointments of Dr. Leopold Riedl (M&A) and Dr. Pascal Härdtner, and represents a strategic focus to expand the firm’s restructuring, finance, M&A and capital markets capabilities in Germany.
Dr. Ruf began her career on the restructuring team at Kirkland & Ellis in Munich and was appointed a partner there. She studied law at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and completed her doctorate on insolvency law at the University of Hamburg. Dr. Ruf was recently named to the JUVE "40 under 40,” a small group of selected lawyers in Germany who are considered to be the faces of the future in their respective fields of law.
