Allyson B. Smith is a partner in Willkie’s Restructuring Department. She is based in the Firm’s New York office.
Allyson represents debtors, sponsors, official committees and other sophisticated parties in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, out-of-court restructurings and international & cross-border insolvency matters. She advises global companies and brands across a wide range of industries, including retail, energy, oil and gas, finance, logistics, cryptocurrency and healthcare.
Experience
- Member, New York State Bar Association
- Speaker, “Understanding Problems that Might Arise Involving Crypto,” New York City Bar Association Crypto Institute, March 11, 2025
- Speaker, “Crypto Goes Bankrupt,” 2023 Honorable William H. Gindin Bankruptcy Bench Bar Conference, May 12, 2023
- Co-Author, “Frontline Focus: Kirkland’s Global Restructuring Insights – GENIUS Act and Potential Impacts on the U.S. Bankruptcy Process,” Global Restructuring Review, September 3, 2025
- Representation of Claire’s Holdings LLC and 13 of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Summit Partners and certain affiliated funds in the restructuring of borrower Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited and its affiliates under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Calgary, Alberta, and Chapter 15 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of several commercial funding trusts affiliated with BasePoint Capital as DIP lender and stalking horse purchaser in the Chapter 15 cases of NextPoint Financial Inc. to obtain recognition of proceedings commenced in Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
- Representation of Yellow Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Center for Autism and Related Disorders, LLC and four of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Representation of Kinderhook Industries, LLC (the private equity sponsor, DIP lender, and stalking horse purchaser) in the Chapter 11 cases of Performance Powersports Group Investor, LLC and its affiliated debtors in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
- Representation of Carlson Travel, Inc. and 37 of its affiliates in the fastest cross-border prepackaged restructuring transaction to date
- Representation of Alex and Ani, LLC and eight of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Just Energy Group Inc. in its Chapter 15 proceedings in the United States to recognize proceedings commenced in Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
- Representation of Cirque du Soleil in its Chapter 15 proceedings in the United States to recognize proceedings commenced in Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
- Representation of Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. and its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Macy’s, Inc. in connection with its recent $4 billion financing in response to impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic
- Representation of J. C. Penney Company, Inc. and 17 of its affiliates in their pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases
- Representation of Destination Maternity Corporation and certain of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas
- Representation of Westmoreland Coal Company and certain of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 proceedings before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Representation of GenOn Energy, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in connection with their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Representation of NRG REMA LLC and its direct subsidiaries in Chapter 11 cases filed in the Southern District of Texas that are jointly administered with the GenOn Chapter 11 cases
- Representation of PES Holdings, LLC in its Chapter 11 cases initiated in July 2019, four weeks after a catastrophic explosion at PES’s Girard Point refining complex that resulted in a permanent shutdown of PES’s refining operations
- Representation of PaperWorks Industries, Inc. in its successful refinancing and out-of-court restructuring of approximately $387 million of funded indebtedness
- Representation of PES Holdings, LLC in its prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Ameriforge Group, Inc. and its affiliates in their pre-packaged Chapter 11 cases that were filed and confirmed in Houston, Texas
- Representation of GST Autoleather, Inc. in its Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
- Representation of Ultra Petroleum Corp. in its Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Representation of Armstrong Energy, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- Representation of The Gymboree Corporation and certain of its affiliates in connection with their prearranged Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
*Allyson advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie.
Credentials
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2016 University of Florida, B.A., 2013