

John C. Longmire
Partner, Business Reorganization & Restructuring
John C. Longmire is a partner in the Business Reorganization & Restructuring Department, focusing on bankruptcy, restructuring, workouts, acquisitions of distressed companies, and distressed debt matters.
John has been actively involved in numerous complex restructuring and acquisition matters on behalf of the firm’s clients, including transactions in the retail, entertainment, telecommunications, airline, medical services and other industries.
John has been recognized by Chambers USA among the leading bankruptcy and restructuring law practitioners in New York. He is also ranked by Best Lawyers in America (2015 – 2023) in the area of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and is included in Expert Guides’ listing of the leading insolvency and restructuring lawyers in the world.
In 2016, the Global M&A Network honored John at the Turnaround Atlas Awards for his significant role in the chapter 11 cases of Colt Defense (named Upper Mid-Market Turnaround of the Year) and Global Geophysical Services (named Middle Markets Chapter 11 Restructuring of the Year). His work on the Colt Defense case was also recognized in the “Distressed M&A Deal of the Year ($250M to $500M)” category at the 2017 M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards. Additionally, he was named among Global M&A Network’s Top 100 Restructuring and Turnaround Professionals in 2016. In 2015, John was one of only 12 lawyers nationwide to be named to Turnarounds & Workouts’ list of “Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers.” In 2013, the Global M&A Network honored him for his significant role in the out-of-court restructurings of Barneys New York and Kerzner International, which were named Upper Mid Market Turnaround of the Year and Large Market Turnaround of the Year, respectively. Additionally, M&A Advisor honored John’s restructuring of Virginia-based waste management company EnviroSolutions, Inc. with a 2011 Turnaround Award for excellence.
Experience
John served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, from 1996 to 1997. His articles have appeared in the St. John’s Law Review, the New York State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Newsletter and the New York Law Journal. John has lectured at Columbia Business School and St. John’s University School of Law, among other institutions. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the St. John’s University School of Law Alumni Association, and is a past President of the Association’s Manhattan Chapter. He is a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Second, Tenth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Judicial Districts, and sits on the Advisory Board of the LL.M in Bankruptcy Program, and the Executive Board of the Center for Labor and Employment Law at St. John’s University School of Law.
John has represented numerous parties in bankruptcy, workout, M&A, real estate and other situations, including:
- Paper Source, Inc. in the successful chapter 11 sale of its assets and business operations to Elliott Investment Management, a transaction named “Consumer Staples Deal of the Year” at the 2021 M&A Advisor Awards
- The Steering Committee of the High Yield Bond Holders on the debt restructuring of French oil services company CGG, one of the major financial restructuring in France with $3 billion of indebtedness and the first restructuring conducted under French and U.S. legal proceedings with a Sauvegarde in France and chapter 11 and chapter 15 cases in the U.S.
- Wilmington Savings Fund Society as indenture trustee in the prepackaged chapter 11 of Seventy Seven Energy
- Morgan Stanley Senior Funding in a $90 million senior secured term loan facility to Colt Defense LLC
- Bronx Parking Development Corp., operator of the Yankee Stadium Parking System, in ongoing debt restructuring negotiations
- Carey Limousines in the successful chapter 11 restructuring of its Los Angeles operations
- The liquidating of Trustee of BearingPoint Inc. on the successful defense of a $1.8 billion lawsuit
- An ad hoc group of first lien lenders in the chapter 11 cases of Rotech Healthcare and its affiliates
- Atlas Holdings in its acquisition of the debt holdings of a large Midwestern manufacturer and infrastructure contractor
- The liquidating Trustee of Qimonda North America, a semiconductor manufacturer
- Centerbridge Partners, Fidelity and a large private equity fund in the restructuring of high-end resort operator Kerzner International
- Istithmar World in the restructuring of retailer Barneys New York Inc.
- Hilco Industrial in its bid for the assets of U.S. Eagle
- Epiq Systems in the administration of the Lehman Brothers chapter 11 cases
- Waypoint Residential in its bid for the assets of PJ Finance
- EnviroSolutions Inc. in its chapter 11 restructuring
- Value City Department Stores in its chapter 11 restructuring
- Air Canada in its U.S. restructuring
- Alliance Entertainment Corp. in its chapter 11 case
- APS Holding Corp. in its chapter 11 case
- Big V Supermarkets, Inc. in its chapter 11 case
- InaCom Corp. in its chapter 11 case
- Livent Inc. in its chapter 11 case
- MCSi, Inc. in its chapter 11 case
- Medical Resources, Inc. in its chapter 11 case
- Petrie Retail, Inc. in its chapter 11 case
- Safelite Glass Corp. in its chapter 11 case
- Telogy LLC in its chapter 11 case
- Werner Holding Co. in its chapter 11 case
John has also represented acquirers in connection with various distressed company transactions, including:
- L.M. Sandler & Sons in the restructuring of its debt obligations
- Major League Baseball in the sale of the Chicago Cubs
- Greenwich Aerogroup in the acquisition of Banner Aerospace
- GHCL on the bankruptcy of Dan River and the sale of Best Textiles Inc.
- ComVest Partners on the purchase and sale of Allied Systems debt
- A subsidiary of ComVest Investment Partners III, L.P. in its court-approved acquisition of the operating assets of Velocity Express Corporation
- Level 3 Communications, LLC in its acquisition of the business of Genuity Inc.
- Teléfonos de México, S.A. de C.V. in the acquisition of Embratel
- Teléfonos de México, S.A. de C.V. in the acquisition of AT&T Latin America Corp.
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in its acquisition of assets from Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in its acquisition of assets from Bradlees Stores, Inc.
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in its acquisitions of assets from Kmart Corporation
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in its acquisition of assets from Ames Department Stores, Inc.
John has also represented a variety of other parties on significant matters, including:
- Angelo Gordon in the restructuring of C&D Technologies
- Goldman Sachs in the chapter 11 case of Visteon Inc.
- Ernst & Young Inc. as Monitor in the restructuring of Hollinger Inc.
- Monsanto Company in the restructuring of Solutia Inc.
- Teksid Aluminum in various sale and restructuring transactions
- CompUSA Inc. in the sale of Good Guys Inc.
- Level 3 Communications, LLC in the bankruptcy case of Cable & Wireless USA, Inc.
- Teléfonos de México, S.A. de C.V. in the restructuring of MCI, Inc.
- KPMG LLP in various restructuring cases
Credentials
Education
St. John's University School of Law, J.D., 1995 New York University, B.S., 1987
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1996 United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 1996
Clerkships
Dearie, Raymond J., United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1996-1997