Cullen Speckhart

Practice Areas

Cullen is chair of Cooley’s business restructuring practice and partner in charge of its Washington, DC, office. Cullen is a top advocate in corporate restructuring and financial litigation, with a diverse practice spanning a range of industries, including private equity, healthcare, life sciences, technology, energy and retail. She regularly represents debtors, creditors’ committees, trustees and foreign representatives in significant bankruptcy matters throughout the US. Cullen also is recognized for her proactive, forward-focused approach to solvency strategy and for providing tactical guidance to Cooley business clients – including public, private and high-growth companies – in all aspects of contingency planning, risk mitigation and business portfolio improvement.

Having led some of the largest and most significant restructuring engagements in a multitude of jurisdictions, Cullen has deep experience in complex insolvency litigation. Her recent practice experience includes serving as lead restructuring counsel to official creditor constituencies in Avon (AIO US), Mallinckrodt, LTL Management (Johnson & Johnson), Endo International, Le Tote, 24 Hour Fitness and White Stallion Energy.

Cullen also acts as lead restructuring counsel to companies seeking to reorganize in and out of court and provides business risk management and strategic advice to entities across such industries as technology, life sciences, cyber services and cryptocurrency. Cullen’s company-side practice involves representation of public and private debtors in Chapter 11 cases, and she often confronts complex emerging legal issues and matters of public importance. Her current work on behalf of companies in bankruptcy includes representing Ascena Retail Group (Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant), as well as serving as lead restructuring counsel to Enjoy Technology, NS8, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Quanergy Systems and Lucira Health in Chapter 11 proceedings.

Cullen has led numerous engagements in the energy sector, representing clients in various roles – including In re Foresight Energy LP; In re Alpha Natural Resources Inc.; In re Arch Coal Inc.; In re Patriot Coal Corporation; In re James River Coal Company; In re Armstrong Energy Inc.; In re Cloud Peak Energy Inc.; In re Westmoreland Coal Company; In re Cambrian Holding Company; In re Blackjewel LLC; and In re Peabody Energy Corporation. Cullen’s other noteworthy engagements include In re Toys R Us Inc., in which she served as co-counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors; In re Circuit City Stores Inc., in which she served as co-counsel to the debtors; In re White Birch Paper Company and Bear Island Paper Company, in which she served as counsel to the Canadian monitor; In re Workflow Management Inc.; In re USA Discounters Ltd.; In re Eastman Kodak Company; In re Noranda Aluminum Inc.; In re Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.; In re The Gymboree Corporation; and In re Windstream Holdings Inc.