Katherine Drell Grissel

Senior Attorney

Restructuring & Reorganization

Overview

Katie’s practice focuses on restructuring and reorganization, both in and out of court, including the representation of debtors-in-possession in cases under chapters 11 and 9 of the Bankruptcy Code, the representation of creditors in cases under chapters 7 and 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, and the representation of various parties to adversary proceedings and contested matters in bankruptcy and appellate courts. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating many kinds of documents, including court pleadings, contracts, settlements, plans of reorganization, and disclosure statements, among others. Katie has represented clients in diverse fields and industries, including the retail and energy industries.

Experience

Rockall Energy and its subsidiaries in a chapter 11 sales process in which substantially all of the company’s operating assets were sold to Formentera Partners Fund I, LP pursuant to a prepackaged chapter 11 plan with a dual-track sale and back-stop equitization process that was confirmed within 83 days of commencing the chapter 11 cases
(11th Cir.) – Assisted litigation team in obtaining favorable ruling for client reversing prior lower court rulings in favor of United Mine Workers of America that all Coal Act liabilities had been discharged in prior bankruptcy
Navistar, Inc., a manufacturer of international-branded trucks and diesel engines, in the defense of fraudulent transfer litigation brought by the Plan Trustee of the Liquidating Trust of Tango Transport LLC
JPMorgan Chase Bank in the chapter 11 case of Chaparral Energy, an oil and natural gas exploration and production company, filed in Delaware
A 200-store retail grocery chain as debtor in chapter 11; confirmed plan of reorganization; disputed claims litigation and appeals
Lack’s Stores, Incorporated and affiliates as debtors in a chapter 11 case filed in Houston, Texas; at time of case filing, Lack’s operated 36 retail stores in 26 Texas cities; worked with Lack’s to conduct an orderly wind down of its business operations; all creditor claims paid in full with a return to equity holders under a confirmed plan
A municipal hospital district as debtor in a chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy; confirmed plan of adjustment (540 B.R. 229)
A DIP lender, operator, and new equity owner of a restaurant chain; confirmed plan of reorganization
A bar association entity as amicus curiae on briefing in support of a petition for certiorari and on the merits on a bankruptcy issue before the United States Supreme Court
An educational technology company in defense of fraudulent transfer litigation

Briefing and advice on jurisdictional issues in bankruptcy litigation
A major media company in defense of fraudulent transfer litigation
Noteholders in contested chapter 11 proceedings of high-profile debtor entity
A privately held family of energy companies against claims of liquidating a trust for bankruptcy
Publicly traded marine services company and its affiliates in preparation for their restructuring in chapter 11 proceedings
Planning advice to LNG plant operator
Advice as to bankruptcy issues relating to potential environmental liabilities
Advice as to issues relating to asset purchase relating to bankruptcy case of major airline
Advice on restructuring issues with respect to energy contracts

Capabilities

Credentials

Education

Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D. and B.C.L., 2007 (Order of the Coif; Articles Editor, Louisiana Law Review)
Louisiana State University, M.Ed., 2003
The University of Texas, B.F.A., Studio Art with high honors, 1998

Admissions

Texas
The Supreme Court of the United States
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Fifth Circuits
The United States District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas

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Fellow: American Bar Foundation
State Bar of Texas, Bankruptcy Law Section, Chair (2026–present); Chair-Elect (2025–2026); Treasurer (2023–2025); Vice President-Business Division (2021–2023); Council Member (2020–present)
Member: Advisory Board, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (2013–2022); Executive Board Member (2014–2016), Chair of Student Enrichment Committee HUT Fund Subcommittee (2014–2016), Chair of Student Enrichment Committee (2015–2016), Member of Student Enrichment Committee (2013–present)
Steering Committee Chair: Chair Art in the Park, a Project of the Leadership Arts Institute Class of 2012–2013; Member: Business Council for the Arts, Leadership Arts Institute Class of 2012–2013
Member: DFW Network of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (2008–present), Membership Chair 2013–2014, Network Co-Chair 2011–2013, Social Committee 2010–2011
Master: The Honorable John C. Ford American Inn of Court (2011–present)
Fellow: The College of the State Bar of Texas (2011–present)
Member: Bar Association of the Federal Fifth Circuit; American Bar Association; American Bankruptcy Institute; Turnaround Management Association; Dallas Bar Association

“Boy Scouts Ch. 11 Case Highlights Third-Party Release Split,” Law360, September 2022 (co-author)
“Third-Party Releases: The Landscape, Where We Stand, and the Path Forward,” State Bar of Texas, Bankruptcy Law Section Webinar, August 30, 2022 (co-author and co-presenter)
“Ethics (a Family Affair)—Ethical Issues in Bankruptcy Cases and Proceedings, Including (What We Might Not Think of) Valuation Issues,” 24th Annual LSU Bankruptcy Law Seminar, November 8, 2018 (panelist)
“Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc.: Narrowing the § 546(e) Safe Harbor,” 13 Va. L. Bus. Rev. 19 (2019) (author)
“The Supreme Court Is Not Ready To Tell Us When a Trustee or a Debtor-In-Possession Possesses Seventh Amendment Jury Trial Rights in Bankruptcy… Here Is What We Know in the Meantime,” 26 AM. BANKR. INST. L. REV. 333 (2018) (author)
“Dealing in Distressed Energy Assets,” 4 LSU J. ENERGY L. & RES. 175 (2016) (co-author)
“What You Always Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask,” Starting Out Right CLE Seminar, Judges’ Roundtable, sponsored by the Young Lawyers Committee of the Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Texas, November 2015 (panelist and planning committee member)
“Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Baker Botts v. ASARCO Decision,” Bankruptcy Law Section, State Bar of Texas telephone CLE, June 24, 2015 (panelist)
“Supreme Court Update,” 33rd Annual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, November 2014 (author and panelist)
“Serving Up Chapter 9 Lone Star Style with a Dash of Detroit,” 32nd Annual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, November 2013 (co-author)
“Jurisdiction, Withdrawal of the Reference, Removal, Remand, and Lingering Issues after Stern v. Marshall,” Bankruptcy Workshop hosted by the Federal Bar Association, Dallas, Texas, November 19, 2013 (panelist)
“Stern v. Marshall – Digging for Gold and Shaking the Foundation of Bankruptcy Courts (or Not),” 72 LA. L. REV. 647 (2012) (originally presented to the Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Section, September 7, 2011) (author and panelist)
“How to Take an Appeal from a Bankruptcy Court’s Order,” 31st Annual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, November 8–9, 2012 (co-author and panelist)
“Bankruptcy Jurisdictional Issues and the Effects of Stern v. Marshall on Bankruptcy Courts and Beyond,” Federal Bar Association, November 22, 2011 (author and panelist)
“How to Lose (or Keep from Losing) Your Claims, Rights, Lawsuits – Estoppel, Espinosa Revisited, Retention of Causes of Action in Plans,” 17th Annual LSU Bankruptcy Law Seminar, October 21, 2011 (co-author and panelist)
“Sticky Chapter 11 Plan Confirmation Issues,” 27th Annual Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, November 13–14, 2008 (contributor)
“The Legal Fiction of ‘Clear Text’ in Willis-Knighton v. Caddo-Shreveport Sales and Use Tax Commission,” 67 LA. L. REV., 523 (2007) (awarded Henri Capitant Association Award for Best Civil Law Comment, 2007) (author)

Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America© (BL Rankings, LLC), “Ones to Watch,” (Dallas): Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2022–2027; Litigation–Bankruptcy, 2023–2027
Patron Magazine, “Young and Philanthropic of 2013”
Selected to the Texas Rising Stars list, Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), 2015–2017
Romina L. Mulloy-Bossio Achievement Award – Outstanding Young Bankruptcy Lawyer, awarded by the State Bar of Texas, Bankruptcy Law Section, Young Lawyers Committee, 2015

Insights

Client Alerts

SCOTUS in Purdue: Non-Debtor Third-Party Releases Are Not Permitted in Chapter 11 Plans Without Consent

On June 27, 2024, the United States Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court” or “Court”) rendered a 5-4 opinion in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, L.P. that “the [B]ankruptcy [C]ode does not authorize a release and injunction that, as part of a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11, effectively seeks to discharge claims against a nondebtor without the consent of affected claimants.”

June 28, 2024 • V&E Restructuring & Reorganization Update

June 28, 2024 • 7-minute read

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Should They Stay, and Will It Go? SCOTUS Weighs ETS’ Fate Background Image

Client Alerts

5th Circuit: Section 363(m) Mootness is Alive and Well

On February 20, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an Opinion, which held that challenges to “integral” aspects of a bankruptcy sale are statutorily moot under Bankruptcy Code § 363(m).1

March 11, 2024 • A version of this insight was published by Law360

March 11, 2024 • 5-minute read

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Client Alerts

In re Purdue Pharma L.P.: Second Circuit Reverses S.D.N.Y and Holds Bankruptcy Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction and Statutory Authority to Approve Sackler Family Releases

On May 30, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit” or the “Court”) rendered a much anticipated opinion (the “Opinion”),1 reversing the order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) that the Bankruptcy Code does not permit non-consensual third-party releases of direct claims and affirming the order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Bankruptcy Court”) confirming the chapter 11 plan (the “Purdue Plan”) of Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”), which approved non-consensual third-party releases of the owners of Purdue — members of the Sackler family.

June 6, 2023 • V&E Restructuring & Reorganization Update

June 6, 2023 • 7-minute read

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Client Alerts

In re Boy Scouts of America and Delaware BSA, LLC: Delaware District Court Affirms Bankruptcy Court’s Approval of Third-Party Releases, in Conflict with Southern District of New York District Court in Purdue

On March 28, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the “District Court”) rendered an opinion (the “Opinion”)1 affirming the confirmation order of Laurie S. Silverstein, of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) that confirmed the chapter 11 plan (the “Plan”) of the Boy Scouts of America (“BSA”) (collectively, the “Confirmation Order”).2

May 2, 2023 • V&E Restructuring & Reorganization Update

May 2, 2023 • 8-minute read

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Client Alerts

Sanofi v. Mallinckrodt: Delaware Decision Highlights Importance of Asset Sale Structures in Later Bankruptcy Proceedings

In Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC v. Mallinckrodt PLC, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ruled that a debtor that purchased intellectual property under a prepetition asset purchase agreement could continue to retain and use the property post-confirmation while discharging its obligations to pay any future royalties otherwise owed.

January 23, 2023 • V&E Restructuring & Reorganization Update

January 23, 2023 • 5-minute read

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