About Stephen Phillips
Stephen qualified as a solicitor in 1997 with Linklaters in London and spent five years in Singapore advising on project finance and corporate distressed mandates during the Asian Currency Crisis. Having moved back to London in the early 2000s Stephen worked on a number of high-profile, high-yield, and fallen-angel restructurings.
Stephen, a member of INSOL Europe, and the Turnaround Management Association, regularly writes articles and is quoted in the UK and international national media where he speaks on restructuring and insolvency matters. Stephen was a partner at White & Case for 8 years and more recently headed the European Restructuring team at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
He established Freilibertas Law in 2022 after a stint with a boutique barrister-style solicitors' practice. Stephen has been described by the Legal 500 as being "commercial" and as having "a deep understanding of cross-border matters." He has won a number of industry awards for deals executed during his career, and he writes for leading restructuring journals and newspapers.
His latest venture — the Turnaround Podcast — is enjoying a cult following in the industry. During the Global Financial Crisis, he assisted funds, banks, and corporations, mainly in respect of their exposure to stressed leveraged finance/private equity structures.
Career highlights
Selected experience *
Bondholders, noteholders & schemes of arrangement
- Advised the ad hoc bondholders of British Energy plc in its restructuring through a scheme of arrangement
- Advised Magyar Telecom BV (holding company of Invitel ZRT) on its USD $425m of Notes through a scheme of arrangement
- Advised the junior committee of bondholders holding lower-tier two bonds in government-owned Bank of Ireland
- Advised noteholders of Waste Italia in a proposed restructuring of its High Yield Notes
- Advised Ocean Rig in its $4bn restructuring via a Cayman scheme of arrangement
Lenders & steering committees
- Advised the Senior Steering Committee on the restructuring of CTL Logistics, the Polish freight logistics company
- Advised Macquarie Bank on the refinancing of its senior debt to Max Petroleum PLC
- Advised Jefferies and its affiliates on the restructuring and refinancing of Klöckner Pentaplast
- Advised the Steering Committee of lenders on a holding company of one of the leading Kazakh banks
- Advised the Steering Committee of Lenders on a US$3 billion loan to a holding company of Bawag PSK
- Advised the committee of mezzanine lenders to Treofan in a debt-equity swap taking control of the group
- Advised a leading UK investment bank on its EUR 800 million exposure to a German property company
Corporate & cross-border restructurings
- Advised the Industrial Union of Donbass on the restructuring of its US $3.5 billion of debt (pre-2014)
- Advised Oy Sanitec on the restructuring of its EUR 880 million senior and EUR 135 million second lien facilities
- Advised UPM on its intended purchase of the Myllykoski and Rhein Papier Group
- Advised the Trustee of Afren plc in the attempted restructuring and subsequent administration of the company
- Advised Reach Local in its sale through a prepacked administration to a US Nasdaq-listed corporate
- Advised a UK oil group on taking over an oil company through a prepacked sale
Funds, special situations & investments
- Advised Nordic Capital on the restructuring of Thule, the car box company
- Advised Emerisque Group, a UK-based fashion brand, in respect of its investments
- Advised Sandton Capital on its takeover of a UK manufacturing business
- Advised a hedge fund on a proposed investment in litigation funding relating to a truck manufacturing cartel
- Advised a hedge fund and a family office on their debt investment into a UK oil plc
- Advised a hedge fund on a proposed investment in a UK distressed oil company
Directors, boards & guarantees
- Advised the board of Seadrill Partners to insulate it from liability during the restructuring of its shareholder affiliate
- Advised the boards of one of the UK's leading renewable companies on key decisions involving minority partners
- Advised a director of a construction company defending claims from stakeholders following the collapse of his company
* Some of these matters were handled at previous firms.
The Turnaround Podcast was ranked the No. 3 Restructuring Podcast globally in Feedspot's May 2026 rankings.
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