March 9, 2026
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman (Ret.), senior counsel in Willkie’s Restructuring Department and Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, has been profiled by Debtwire in an article for International Women’s Day focusing on trailblazing women in restructuring law.
In a Q&A profile, Debtwire highlighted Judge Chapman’s leadership as an attorney and a jurist and discussed emerging issues in restructuring as well as her advice for up-and-coming women in the law. Judge Chapman re-joined Willkie in 2022 after serving as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York for more than a decade. She presided over several of the largest and most impactful cases of her era, including the Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy – the largest bankruptcy case in history – among many other landmark proceedings.
Additionally, she has acted as court-appointed mediator in numerous chapter 11 cases, including Windstream, Purdue Pharma, Frontier Communications, FTX Trading and more. She is currently serving as the lead mediator in the PROMESA/Title III case of The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)/The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and as a court-appointed mediator in the chapter 11 case of Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC.
In the interview, Judge Chapman highlighted key but overlooked leadership qualities that enable attorneys in general, and female lawyers in particular, to excel in their careers.
“The first is the ability to build consensus, an invaluable skill in all walks of life and one that takes an attorney to the next level in all areas of the law,” Judge Chapman said. “The second is the ability to multi-task, a super-power in the high stakes, 24/7 world lawyers must navigate today.”
Judge Chapman also discussed the rise of litigation challenging cooperation agreements in the context of liability management exercises, and shared advice for younger women starting out their careers in restructuring: “Be bold. Take risks. Speak up. And above all, re-examine your priorities on a regular basis.”
Read the full profile in Debtwire’s “Trailblazing Women” series here (subscription may be required).
