King & Spalding Continues Expansion of Its Financial Institutions Practice With the Addition of Lending-Side Bankruptcy Partner Jesse H. Austin, III

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - Feb 14, 2013) - On the heels of last week's expansion of its financial institutions practice with the addition of four lawyers, King & Spalding has recruited Jesse H. Austin, III as a partner in that practice. Austin, a lending-side bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer, comes to King & Spalding from Paul Hastings. He joins partners Chris D. Molen and J. Craig Lee, who arrived at King & Spalding from Austin's former firm last week, along with senior associate Chadwick M. Werner and associate Maria Danielle Merritt. 

"Jess is a widely respected and well-seasoned bankruptcy lawyer with extensive experience representing lending clients in significant restructurings. His arrival, plus the addition earlier this month of partners Chris Molen and Craig Lee, and two associates, significantly increases our bench strength for serving our leveraged-lending clients," said Richard T. Marooney, co-leader of King & Spalding's financial institutions practice. "We have practiced with and against Jess for years and have long admired his skill, intellect and creativity in solving difficult problems. We are delighted he is part of our team."

Austin focuses primarily on the representation of institutional senior secured lenders in syndicated credit facilities and has specific experience in debtor-in-possession lending and in the health care, media, retail, energy and gaming industries. He is ranked as a leading bankruptcy lawyer by Chambers USA and Legal 500. He is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. Austin received J.D. and M.B.A degrees from Emory University and a B.S.B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

King & Spalding's financial institutions practice is comprised of more than 100 lawyers worldwide with expertise in complex financings, private equity, fund formation, litigation, investigations, Islamic finance, real estate capital markets, tax and regulatory matters. King & Spalding was ranked 6th in the United States for lender representations in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters. The firm's class action and real estate capital markets practices were each named by Law360 as one of 2012's top five practices in the United States in their respective practice areas. King & Spalding's project finance practice received a tier-one ranking in U.S. News & World Report's 2013 "Best Law Firm" survey.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.