Ian Roberts is a partner in the Financial Restructuring & Insolvency practice.  

He advises clients on the many complex issues and opportunities that arise in deleveraging a capital structure. With particularly deep experience representing borrowers and strategic buyers, Ian counsels on highly leveraged special situations, distressed acquisitions, refinancing transactions, cross-border restructurings, and all manner of insolvency-related corporate finance and governance. He strives to maximize value for his clients, which have included debtors, purchasers, lenders, private equity and hedge funds, family offices, institutional investors, governmental agencies, and a labor union.  Ian has especially notable experience in matters relating to energy and technology.  

Following law school, Ian served as a law clerk to the Honorable Hayden Head of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  In 2014-2015, he served as in-house counsel for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, focusing on global turn-around initiatives.

Restructuring Matters

• Southland Royalty Company—debtor’s counsel for a private-equity sponsored E&P company with interests in over 8,000 wells throughout Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado in chapter 11 case and related litigation and asset sales
• Brazos Electric Power Cooperative—counsel to ad hoc group of intervenor market participants in litigation of ERCOT’s $1.8 billion claim against Brazos, and related appellate matters before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Arsenal Resources—counsel to mid-stream company in contested chapter 11 case of counterparty and related transactions
• PG&E—representation of an ad hoc group of counterparties holding approximately 2,000 MWh in long-term power purchase agreements
• Bristow Group—debtor’s counsel in chapter 11 cases of industrial aviation services provider and related pre-petition financing transaction
• GenOn Energy—counsel to NRG in the pre-arranged chapter 11 cases of subsidiaries with $2+ billion funded debt and the separation of GenOn from NRG to a stand-alone enterprise
• Counsel to West Virginia oil & gas producer in its out-of-court restructuring and sale
• New Gulf Resources—debtor's counsel in pre-arranged chapter 11 cases of private upstream energy company
• Global Geophysical Services, Inc.—debtor's counsel in chapter 11 cases and related Colombian cross-border insolvency proceeding
• Texas Rangers—counsel to the Major League Baseball Players Association in the Rangers' chapter 11 case and related transactions

Distressed Acquisitions and Dispositions

• Dean Foods—counsel to buyer of dairy processing facilities and related assets in a section 363 sale
• SunEdison, Inc.—counsel to NRG in its acquisition of renewable energy projects both within and outside of Sun Edison's chapter 11 cases
• Edison Mission Energy—counsel to NRG in its $2.6 billion acquisition of EME and post-closing claims resolution process
• Liberty Power—counsel to NRG in its acquisition of retail power contracts in a section 363 sale
• Crusader Energy—counsel to buyer of an upstream oil and gas company through a plan of reorganization and stock purchase agreement
• Eastman Kodak—counsel to bidder and intellectual property licensees in Kodak’s chapter 11 cases
• Counsel to private equity sponsors in structuring of acquisitions and dispositions
• Counsel to family office in strategic dispositions and related planning

Finance and Project Structuring

• Weatherford International plc—counsel to Citibank N.A. as agent on a $1.75 billion DIP facility
• Counsel to investors in joint-ventures relating to mining of cryptocurrency
• Counsel to family office in disposition of mineral interests and surface rights
• Counsel to multinational energy firms and investment funds in structuring LNG and other energy project investments
• Counsel to the Federal Highway Administration in refinancing transactions under federal infrastructure loan programs
• Representation of judgment creditor in the negotiation of a letter of credit facility to secure a stayed judgment of $1 billion pending appeal

Awards & Accolades

• Recognized by Chambers USA as “Up and Coming” in Bankruptcy/Restructuring – Texas, 2022-2023
• Recognized by D Magazine as among, “The Best Lawyers in Dallas” in Bankruptcy & Workouts, 2023
• Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, 2018-2019
• Recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Thompson Reuters, 2014
• Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Board of Directors, 2012-2014