Hugh M. McDonald

Hugh McDonald’s practice focuses on all aspects of bankruptcy, restructuring, workouts and litigation, including navigating through some of the largest and most complex bankruptcy cases.

Hugh has represented secured and unsecured creditors, banks, trustees, bondholders, debtors, creditor committees, energy providers and acquirers of assets out of a proceeding. With over 30 years of experience, Hugh is able to position clients for success by focusing on understanding each client’s business and working with them to achieve their goals. He has also represented parties in connection with complex commercial litigation and related appeals in both state and federal courts around the country.

Representative Experience

Representing the Ad Hoc Group of Non-Consenting States, which consists of 24 states and the District of Columbia, in the chapter 11 bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma and affiliates, a large, complex and first-of-its-kind case (In re: Purdue Pharma L.P.).
Represent large utility in connection with renewable energy projects in the PG&E bankruptcy case. Litigated issues involving bankruptcy court and FERC jurisdiction over the rejection of power purchase agreements.
Represented bank group in litigation over the financing of power generation equipment in the Mirant bankruptcy case. Achieved a total victory on the eve of trial, which was sustained on appeal.

Creditor Representations
- Represent Voith Hydro Ltda. and Voith Hydro S.A. in the Alto Maipo SpA bankruptcy case. Alto Maipo is a Chilean company that is developing and constructing a large hydroelectric energy project in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile, approximately 30 miles southeast of the city of Santiago. Voith Hydro is the EPC contractor that is constructing the hydroelectric facility.
- Represented Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. in the Pacific Gas and Electric Company bankruptcy case. The case involved numerous renewable energy projects and litigation over bankruptcy court and federal regulatory jurisdiction over the rejection of power purchase agreements.
- Represented Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. in the SunEdison, Inc. bankruptcy case. Wells had financed over 200 renewable energy projects. The complex case involved protecting the projects from creditor claims, resolving issues to preserve tax benefits and working with the debtors to move the projects to a new sponsor entity.
- Represented EvapTech, Inc., which was the contractor responsible for the construction of cooling towers at the Summer nuclear power plant, in the Westinghouse bankruptcy case. Achieved successful resolution of claims.
- Represented Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. in the Kodak bankruptcy case. Representation included service on the Creditors’ Committee, resolution of claims and access to film supply.
- Represented the bank group in the Blue Bird Bus case. The pre-packaged case was at the time, and remains one of, the fastest cases in U.S. history achieving confirmation in 36 hours from the commencement of the case.
- Represented Barclays Bank PLC in the Enron Corp. bankruptcy case and related litigation. The “mega case” litigation involved claims in excess of $40 billion and was resolved without a trial.
- Represented The CIT Group in the Everfresh Beverages case. This cross-border case was one of the first cases utilizing a protocol adopting the standards put out by the IBA and one of the first cases to have joint simultaneous hearings involving U.S. and Canadian courts.
- Represented Hudson City Savings Bank in litigation over the status of repurchase agreements under the Securities Investor Protection Act in the Lehman Brothers, Inc. proceeding.
- Represented The CIT Group in the Regency Cruise Lines bankruptcy case. The case involved the arrest and disposition of vessels outside the United States.
- Represented trust certificate holders in the United Airlines and Continental Airlines bankruptcy cases.
- Represented Suffolk Federal Credit Union in the US Mortgage Corp. bankruptcy case and related criminal proceedings. The case involved mortgage fraud and theft of mortgages and required coordination with criminal and forfeiture proceedings. Several litigations were pursued and the client obtained nearly a full recovery on its losses.
- Represented Wilmington Savings Fund Society, as indenture trustee, in the Texas Competitive Electric Holdings bankruptcy case.
- Represented Goldman Sachs in connection with the GS Technologies (former Georgetown Steel) bankruptcy case.

Creditors’ Committee Representations
- Represented Official Committees of Unsecured Creditors in the following cases: Holsted Marketing, Inc. (direct mail jewelry and accessory company); Ames Department Stores (regional discount retailer); Breed Technologies (automotive parts manufacturer); Daewoo International (America) Corp. (part of the Daewoo conglomerate).
- Represented creditors serving on committees in the following cases: Kodak and Texas Competitive Electric Holdings.

Debtor Representations
- Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (RMS Titanic) – exhibition company and owner of Titanic artifacts and salvage rights.
- Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (special counsel) – served as special counsel to deal with dispositions of real estate assets and securities.
- Bradlees Stores, Inc. – regional discount retailer.
- Fairmont Communications – owner and operator of radio stations.
- Premier Operations Ltd. – cruise line that operated the original Disney Cruise Line.
- SAIR Finance (USA) Inc. (Swiss Air) – the North American finance arm of Swiss Air and owner of Gate Gourmet.
- Numerous single asset real estate cases.

Litigation
- Represented large international bank in litigation and related claims in the Enron bankruptcy case. Achieved successful resolution of multibillion-dollar litigation and numerous claims.
- PG&E – represent Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (and its affiliates) in litigation and appeals concerning the jurisdiction of a bankruptcy court over the cessation of performance under FERC-jurisdictional power purchase agreements.
- Represented a bank group led by Commerzbank AG in fraudulent conveyance litigation in the Mirant Corp. bankruptcy case. The case involved the financing of power generation equipment for deployment in Europe. The case was litigated in the bankruptcy court, district court and required two 5th Circuit appeals before total victory was achieved.
- Represented Deloitte, as administrator, in the Lyondell Chemical fraudulent conveyance litigation.
- Represented a member of the board of directors of Ambac in litigation with the estate over alleged breaches of fiduciary duties. The matter was settled during trial.
- Represented ISDA, as amicus curiae, in the National Gas Distributors case and appeal. The resulting opinion held that forward contracts could also qualify as swaps under the Bankruptcy Code safe harbor provisions.
- Represented Premier Operations Ltd. in litigation and a circuit court appeal over the status of customer deposits in a bankruptcy case and the ability of credit card companies to assert such status.
- Represented TECO Energy in litigation against Enron Corp. over the construction of two power plants by an Enron subsidiary. The matter was settled prior to trial.
- Represented Suffolk Federal Credit Union in the US Mortgage Corp. bankruptcy case and related criminal proceedings. The case involved mortgage fraud and theft of mortgages and required coordination with criminal and forfeiture proceedings. Several litigations were pursued and the client obtained nearly a full recovery on its losses.
- Represented the trustees and estates in the Ames Department Stores, Montgomery Ward and PharMor cases. The cases involved numerous litigations and claims objections.

Professional Highlights

Recognized by Best Lawyers (published by BL Rankings LLC) for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights and Insolvency and Reorganization Law (2020–2026) and Energy Law (2025–2026).
Named as a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer (2025–2026).
Recognized by Chambers USA for Bankruptcy/Restructuring in New York (2018).

Super Lawyers (2012–2022).

External Publications
- “Midstream Gathering Agreements in Bankruptcy,” Pratt’s Energy Law Report, March 2021. Co-author.
- “FERC v. Bankruptcy Courts – The Battle Over Jurisdiction Continues,” Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, February/March 2021. Co-author.
- “A Primer on Municipal Bankruptcy,” Pratt’s Journal of Bankruptcy Law, September 18, 2020. Co-author.
- “Bankruptcy Asset Sales: Benefits and Challenges in the Age of COVID-19,” The Review of Banking & Financial Services, June 2020. Co-author.
- “The Upside of The Fastest Chapter 11 Confirmation Ever,” Law360, June 26, 2019. Co-author.
- “Mission Accomplished: Executory Contract Protections Extend beyond Trademark Licenses,” DailyDAC, May 31, 2019. Co-author.
- “Golden Shares or Simply Gold Plated?” The Orange County Business Journal, October 2016.
- “Florida Department of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc.: The Supreme Court Rules that Asset Sales Made before the Confirmation of a Bankruptcy Plan are not Exempt from Stamp Taxes,” Thacher Proffitt Bankruptcy Bulletin, July 24, 2008.
- “Lafferty’s Orphan: The Abandonment of Deepening Insolvency,” American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, December 2007. Co-author.
- “Lessons on the Impact of a U.S. Bankruptcy Filing on Lenders’ Rights,” Global Insolvency and Restructuring Yearbook, 2004/2005. Co-author.
- “Off-Balance Sheet Post-Enron—Game Over or Just New Rules,” Project Finance International, March 2002. Co-author.

Speaking Engagements
- Speaker on “COVID and Commercial Lease Bankruptcies,” Swimming Lesson Videocast Series: Surviving and Navigating the Choppy Waters of Distressed Real Estate, March 1, 2021.
- “Chapter 11: Was tun?” AG Bank - und Kapitalmarktrecht of the German Bar Association, Spring Symposium. Speaker.
- “Rx for RE: An Advanced User’s Guide to Distressed Commercial Real Estate,” Thacher Proffitt Legal Update Seminar, New York, NY, October 29, 2008. Speaker.
- “Legal Developments and Opportunities Arising from the Credit Crisis,” Distressed Debt Investing and Risk Management: Navigating the Post-Subprime World Summit, Las Vegas, NV, September 17-18, 2008. Moderator.
- “Bankruptcy and Closeout Issues,” Hedge Funds and Derivatives: Negotiating ISDA Agreements and Credit Default Swap Issues, Webinar hosted by West Legalworks, New York, NY, September 9, 2008. Panelist.
- “Issues in Bankruptcy: Curing Legacy Ills, Activist Investing, Debt/Equity Swaps and other Strategies to Breathe New Life into Troubled Companies,” Distressed and Turnaround Investment Forum, New York, NY, May 15, 2008. Panelist.
- “Opportunities in Distressed Assets,” Thacher Proffitt Legal Update Seminar, New York, NY, May 1, 2008. Panelist.

Blog Posts
- “Pandemic Does Not Satisfy Lease’s Casualty Clause Court Finds,” Pillsbury’s Gravel2Gavel, April 1, 2021.

Education

J.D., New York Law School, 1990
cum laude; National Moot Court Team; Note and comment editor, New York Law School Law Review

B.A., Boston College, 1987
cum laude

Admissions

New Jersey

New York

Courts

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Areas of Focus

Practices

Representative Experience

Professional Highlights

Hugh's Insights