Overview
Charles (Chuck) R. Gibbs focuses his practice on the insolvency and restructuring space. He represents debtors, secured creditors, official and ad hoc creditors’ committees, equity committees, and asset buyers in multijurisdictional and cross-border matters. His cross-border experience includes representing joint liquidators in Caribbean insolvency proceedings, including the largest individual fraud case in history. He often partners with non-money center secured lenders, particularly in the real estate space, leveraging his deep experience in handling real estate loan workouts on behalf of lenders both in and out of court. He has also led public and private companies through complex financial restructurings.
Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Chuck has been recognized as one of the United States’ leading restructuring lawyers. He has been ranked by Chambers and Partners for more than 20 years, including as a Band 1 ranking for more than a decade. He has also been named one of the Best Lawyers in America since 2006 and won “Lawyer of the Year” in 2019. He has been recognized as a “Leading Individual” by both The International Who’s Who of Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers (since 2008) and Legal 500.
Throughout his career, Chuck has been on the cutting edge of novel restructuring issues ranging from Caribbean resorts to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges.
Results
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a vertically integrated renewable energy company with $2.1 billion of funded debt
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of an AgTech company focused on indoor vertical farming in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of one of the largest horticulture producers in the US, with a network of 15 farms covering 6,700 acres in four states, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of an industrial Bitcoin mining company with 227.5 megawatts of deployed capacity and more than 53,000 deployed miners. This case marked the first ever major bankruptcy case of a cryptocurrency mining company
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a global leader in business process automation with $1.3 billion of funded debt in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a data provider with more than 34,000 miles of fiber in 13 states and $1 billion of funded debt
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a steel pipes manufacturer for the oil & gas industry in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a manufacturing company that produces control components and systems for appliances with more than $1 billion in assets and liabilities
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of a supply chain management services provider and the largest independent distribution and supply chain services provider with more than $3 billion of funded debt
- Represents the chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy case of Tricolor Auto Group, one of the largest used car retailers in Texas and California with more than $950 million of funded debt and $1.1 billion of securitized debt, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas
- Represents the world’s largest fast casual restaurant franchisor in various bankruptcy cases
- Represents one of the world’s largest commercial mortgage special servicers by active balance in various matters throughout the southwest US
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of an oil and natural gas exploration and production company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of an independent natural gas and crude oil exploration and production company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of an Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 qualified exchange subsidiary of one of the US’s largest title insurance companies*
- Represented joint official Cayman Island liquidators of an integrated security company in its chapter 15 and chapter 11 cases of high-profile Texas business entrepreneurs*
- Represented an ad hoc group of secured noteholders in the chapter 11 filing of a Houston-based energy company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 case of an independent energy company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 filing of a coal provider*
- Represented the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders in the chapter 11 case of a Houston-based shallow water drilling company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 plan of a commercial real estate investment company*
- Represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the chapter 11 filing of a Mexican restaurant chain*
- Represented an official committee of unsecured creditors in the reorganization of one of the world’s biggest textile makers*
- Served as debtor’s counsel in the bankruptcy case of a Texas-based oil & gas exploration and production company*
- Served as debtor-in-possession lender counsel in the chapter 11 plan of an integrated geoscience solutions provider*
- Served as debtor’s counsel in the bankruptcy case of a privately held oil & gas exploration and production company*
- Served as debtor’s counsel in the chapter 11 filing of a Caribbean resort developer*
- Served as debtor’s counsel in the chapter 11 plan of a mall-based specialty retailer*
- Served as debtor’s counsel in the chapter 11 reorganization of a Houston-based independent energy company*
* Matter handled prior to joining McDermott Will & Schulte
Recognitions
- Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, 2006-2026
- Chambers USA, Band 1 in Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2023-2025
- Legal 500 US, Recommended, 2021-2024
- Chambers USA, Leading Individual, 2004-2022
- Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, 2019
- Legal 500 US, Leading Individual, 2016
- The International Who’s Who of Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers, 2008-2020
- Super Lawyers Texas, 2005-2020
Community
- Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
- Knox College, Board of Trustees, 2008-2015
Credentials
Education
SMU Dedman School of Law, JD, 1978
Southern Methodist University, MBA, 1978
Duke University, BA, 1974
Admissions
Texas
Courts/Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
US District Court for the Northern District of Texas
US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas
US Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern District of Texas
US Bankruptcy Courts for Eastern District of Texas
US Bankruptcy Courts for the Western District of Texas