Senior Restructuring Partners Chris Howard and Presley Warner Join Gibson Dunn in London
Firm News | March 17, 2025
Gibson Dunn is pleased to announce that two of London’s preeminent restructuring partners, Chris Howard and Presley Warner, have today joined the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group. Counsel Simone Benton and senior associate Matthew Squire will also be joining the firm.
Commenting on their arrival, Scott Greenberg, Global Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group, said: “Chris and Presley are phenomenal additions to our amazing global team. Their arrival rounds out our restructuring practice in Europe, where they will work closely with our top-ranked teams in Paris and the U.S. and builds on our significant momentum and success in the European markets which continue to be very busy.”
“Gibson Dunn has an impressive and fast-growing global platform that provides top-level, integrated restructuring advice to clients across the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. The firm is ambitious — and with recent mandates including the largest restructuring in the world this year — it has every right to be,” said Chris.
“Gibson Dunn is an elite firm, and we are excited by the strength of its bench, ambitious plans for growth, and collegial culture,” Presley added.
Chris and Presley have worked on some of the highest-profile restructurings in Europe, including acting for the senior lenders on Cineworld’s Chapter 11 and U.K. restructuring plan, for the sponsors on Annington’s liability management transaction, for the sponsors on Ambatovy’s U.K. restructuring plan, for the senior lenders on the Markbygden restructuring, and for Fidera on Fuerst’s U.K. restructuring plan.
They also advised on financings for JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, and on event-driven financings such as Amgen’s $28 billion financing for its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. Chris and Presley are the co-authors of the definitive restructuring text, Restructuring Law & Practice.
The Gibson Dunn Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group advises on the largest and most complex restructurings globally, dominating the market in the U.S. and Europe. It was named Lead Counsel in the league table for full-year 2024 in Debtwire’s Restructuring Advisory Mandates for North America. The group has significantly bolstered its offering globally over the past two years, with the arrival of partners Lisa Stevens (London), AnnElyse Gains (Washington, D.C.), Caith Kushner (New York), Ryan Kim (New York), and Melissa L. Barshop (Century City), and with the promotion of Stephen D. Silverman (New York) to partner.
About Chris Howard
Chris is a restructuring and finance lawyer, advising international corporations, investment and commercial banks, and financial sponsors on corporate restructurings and financings throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. He joins Gibson Dunn from another leading U.S. firm where he was Head of European Restructuring.
Widely acknowledged as one of the leading restructuring lawyers in London, Chris is ranked Band 1 for Restructuring/Insolvency in the U.K. by Chambers UK 2025, where he has been ranked for 21 years. He is described as “market leading,” “phenomenal,” and “the guy you want on your side of the table.” Chris is also ranked Band 1 for Restructuring/Insolvency in Chambers Europe and Chambers Global, as well as in the Hall of Fame for Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency in London by Legal 500 United Kingdom.
Chris earned his LLB from the University of Leeds, and an LLM in International Financial Law from the University of Manchester. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales, and in New York.
About Presley Warner
Presley is a restructuring and finance lawyer, advising international corporations, investment and commercial banks, and financial sponsors on corporate restructurings and financings throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. He joins Gibson Dunn from another leading U.S. firm where he was Head of European Credit and Leveraged Finance.
He is ranked as a leading lawyer for Banking & Finance: Big-Ticket work in the U.K. in Chambers UK, where he has been ranked for 21 years, as well as in Chambers Europe and Chambers Global. Presley is described as “extremely smart”, a “deal maker”, and a “great tactician.”
Presley earned his J.D. at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales, and in New York.