Paul J. Keenan Jr.
Biography
Paul Keenan is a partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Group and based in the Firm's Miami office. Paul advises domestic and multinational companies and creditors facing distressed situations on capital solutions and restructuring options, both in and out of court. He also advises buyers and sellers of distressed assets. Paul regularly represents insurance companies serving as private credit lenders in workouts and bankruptcy proceedings.
Paul has a broad practice that includes numerous matters before the bankruptcy courts of New York and Delaware, with deep experience in cross-border restructurings, particularly in Latin America. He speaks Spanish and has significant experience living and working in the region.
Paul has been recognized by Chambers & Partners for corporate restructurings and bankruptcy every year since 2014. In the 2025 guide, clients described Paul as "a team leader with balanced opinions, strong legal guidance and an excellent rapport with bankruptcy judges" and “a stellar lawyer on international issues."
Paul is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and is a member of the International Insolvency Institute. He is a past president of the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida and a Fellow of INSOL International, having completed its intensive course in cross-border restructurings.
Before law school, Paul served seven years on active duty as an officer in the United States Navy.
Practice Focus
Paul represents debtors and creditors in out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy cases, receiverships, assignments for the benefit of creditors, distressed asset sales, corporate wind-downs, and UCC foreclosures.
Paul frequently advises lenders on structuring domestic and cross-border debt financings to maximize recovery if a borrower becomes distressed. He has delivered numerous legal opinions addressing true sale, debt recharacterization, substantive consolidation, and bankruptcy safe harbor issues.
Paul has significant experience with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code). He obtained recognition in Colombia of a U.S. Chapter 11 reorganization case and recognition in the United States of a Colombian restructuring proceeding. In each case, it was the first time that the courts of Colombia and the United States had recognized each other’s corporate restructuring proceedings. In 2024, Paul secured recognition and enforcement of a Chapter 11 case in Brazil, marking the first time Brazilian courts had granted such recognition.
Representative Legal Matters
Cross-Border
- Represented the leading airline in Colombia in its out-of-court restructuring of $2.5 billion in debt, including an exchange of $550 million in bonds governed by New York law.
- Represented holders of $600 million in agricultural notes issued by Brazil’s largest ethanol producer in connection with its Brazilian extrajudicial restructuring.
- Represented a Colombian non-bank financial institution in its prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the Southern District of New York. The plan restructured $210 million in notes and was confirmed over the objection of the ad hoc committee of noteholders.
- Represented a leading Central American coffee exporter with more than $400 million in debt in its Chapter 11 case in the Southern District of New York, including securing recognition of the Chapter 11 proceeding in Brazil and pursuing a Dutch WHOA proceeding before the District Court of Amsterdam.
- Represented a Mexican satellite company in its restructuring of more than $400 million in debt through a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in Delaware. The prepackaged plan was financed through a $325 million high-yield offering and a $96 million rights offering, each of which was backstopped by the two largest bondholders, enabling the company to pay all its creditors in full.
- Represented the operator of the fare collection system for the public bus transportation system in Bogotá, Colombia in obtaining recognition in the United States under Chapter 15 of a Colombian restructuring proceeding involving $100 million in debt.
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a seismic-data provider for the oil and gas industry in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the Southern District of Texas and led the team that obtained official recognition in Colombia of the Chapter 11 case under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.
- Represented a large Caribbean telecommunications company in its corporate reorganization and restructuring of $500 million in debt.
- Represented the largest creditor in the bankruptcy case of an engineering and design company filed in Germany.
Domestic
- Represented the court-appointed fiduciary for a Florida-based commercial lending business in its Chapter 11 case. The merchant cash advance provider had raised $287 million from 3,600 individual investors nationwide in what the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged was an unregistered securities offering. Collections on the financial portfolio and related bankruptcy litigation enabled the estate to return 40% to investors.
- Represented a steel manufacturing company with 900 employees and manufacturing facilities in five different states in the restructuring of $320 million in debt through a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization filed in Delaware.
- Represented one of the world’s largest hotel companies in the Delaware bankruptcy case of a licensee with over 9,000 rooms in 10 different countries.
- Represented the board of directors of a corporate borrower in a consensual Article 9 foreclosure with the company’s secured lenders, resulting in a recapitalization that achieved over $150 million in debt reduction and a $45 million new capital injection.
- Represented former directors and officers of insolvent companies in breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits brought by bankruptcy trustees.
- Represented a nationwide provider of medical supplies and equipment with 1,700 employees and 300,000 customers nationwide in its Chapter 11 reorganization case filed in Delaware. Negotiated a $160 million claim by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) down to a structured $32 million settlement, enabling the company to sell substantially all its assets as a going concern and pay its creditors in full.
- Represented a national retail furniture chain with 43 “big box” stores and more than $400 million in annual revenue in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in Delaware.
- Represented a distributor, seller and marketer of pharmaceutical products for urological disorders in the sale of its assets through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in Delaware.
- Represented the official committee of equity holders in a Delaware Chapter 11 case involving a biopharmaceutical company, including successfully opposing a motion to disband the committee.
- Represented an ad hoc committee of aircraft purchasers in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in Delaware for a jet aircraft manufacturer.
- Represented an ad hoc committee of off-track betting facilities in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in Delaware for a national owner and operator of horse racetracks.
Professional Honors
- Band 2, Corporate Restructurings, Chambers USA Guide, 2024
- Listed, Lawdragon 500 Leading US Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024
- Listed, Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers, 2020
- Listed, Corporate Restructurings, Chambers USA Guide, 2014-present
- Listed, South Florida Legal Guide, "Top Lawyer," 2020
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2017-2020
- Winner, Daily Business Review, "Most Effective Lawyers," 2018
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States, 2011, 2016, and 2018
- Finalist, Daily Business Review, "Top Dealmaker of the Year - Corporate (International) Category," 2012
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Florida Super Lawyers, "Rising Star," 2009 - 2010
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Board Member, Broward Navy Days, Inc., Board of Directors, 2014 - Present
- Member, American Bankruptcy Institute (2003 - Present)
- Membership Relationship Manager, International Committee, 2014-2015
- Member, American Bar Association (2003 - Present)
- Member, INSOL International (2003 - Present)
- Founding Chair, Latin America Committee
- Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida
- President, 2009 - 2010
Admissions
- Florida~United States (2002)
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida~United States (2003)
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida~United States (2003)
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida~United States (2003)
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida~United States (2003)
Education
- University of Miami School of Law (JD, magna cum laude) (2000)
- University of Rhode Island (MMA) (1996)
- Tufts University (BA) (1990)
Languages
- English
- Spanish