Elie J. Worenklein is a corporate counsel and a member of the firm’s Restructuring Group and Special Situations team. Mr. Worenklein’s practice focuses on a wide range of restructuring matters, including representing debtors, lenders, creditors, equity holders and other stakeholders in transactional restructurings and litigation matters, including Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings. His experience covers a broad array of domestic and cross-border restructuring and liability management matters across a variety of industries, including retail, energy, insurance, mass tort and airlines. Among Mr. Worenklein's recent company side engagements are Philippines Airlines, La Paloma, CHC Group and Altegrity. He was also recently part of the Debevoise team awarded The M&A Advisor’s 2022 Restructuring Community Impact Award and Restructuring Deal of the Year Award (Over $5B). Mr. Worenklein is listed as a Rising Star for Restructuring & Insolvency by IFLR1000 (2024). 

Mr. Worenklein also maintains an active pro bono practice, including advising not-for-profit organizations and representing individuals in Chapter 7 proceedings. He was the recipient of the 2016 Jeremy G. Epstein Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service from the New York City Bar Justice Center and currently serves on The Legal Aid Society’s New Leadership Program Board of Directors. 

Mr. Worenklein joined Debevoise in 2015. Upon graduating from law school, he clerked for Hon. Cecelia G. Morris in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Worenklein received a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2011. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Touro College summa cum laude in 2008.

Mr. Worenklein is co-author of “Big Banks Face Potential Broader Recovery Plan Rules,” Law360 (June, 2024); “Property of the bankruptcy estate: broad but not limitless,” Westlaw Today (March, 2024); “Bankruptcy Litigation Demonstrates the Extent of the Crypto Contagion,” The M&A Lawyer (August, 2023); “How NYDFS Guidance Instructs Crypto-Related Bankruptcies,” Law360 (February, 2023); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses How Bankruptcy Courts Will Measure Customer Crypto Claims,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (October, 2022); “Debevoise Discusses Key Questions Recent Crypto Bankruptcy Filings May Answer,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (July, 2022); “Recent Disclosure Guidance Highlight Growing Concern Surrounding the Risks of User Assets Held by Various Crypto Custodians,” NYU Compliance & Enforcement (June, 2022) and “When Statutory Schemes Collide: The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Environmental Law,” (Turnaround Management Association, July 2021). He is also a contributor to the Collier Business Workout Guide.

Mr. Worenklein is a member of the Bars of the State of New York and State of New Jersey and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey. He is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Turnaround Management Association, having previously served as a member of the TMA Programming and NextGen committees.