J.R. Smith

J.R. is a skillful restructuring and corporate finance attorney with over two decades of experience guiding clients through complex, high-stakes transactions and disputes across the globe. He has proven experience in managing the full life-cycle of deals, from structuring to crisis resolution, with a focus on innovative, cross-border strategies that align with business, political, and economic realities.

J.R. represents corporate debtors, creditors (secured and unsecured), bondholders, lessors, equity holders, and trustees in US and international restructurings, workouts, Chapter 11 (including pre-packaged plans, reorganizations, and liquidations), Chapter 15, and SIPA proceedings. He provides structuring and insolvency advice across complex financial products including asset-based lending, securitizations, derivatives, project finance (traditional and renewable energy), REITs, REMICs, and real estate finance. And he counsels on cross-border transactions and crisis response for financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity, project sponsors, developers, multilaterals, export credit agencies (ECAs), and foreign governments.

A trusted advisor with extensive experience living and working across Asia, J.R. brings nuanced insight to legal, regulatory, and cultural issues affecting regional and cross-border business outcomes. J.R. is the former managing partner of the firm’s Tokyo office, which he helped open in 2011. Currently, J.R. serves as the Chair of The Japan-Virginia Society, a business-focused non-profit.

• Represents clients across industries including, airline, automotive, biotechnology, financial services, leisure, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications.
• Served as debtors’ counsel in corporate Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
• Represents secured and unsecured creditors, bondholders, trustees, and other parties of interest in US national and international insolvencies, restructurings, workouts, and structured sales.
• Represented numerous purchasers and sellers of assets in Chapter 11 bankruptcies through “Section 363” sales.
• Represents lenders and borrowers in divestiture and acquisition of multibillion dollar performing and non-performing asset portfolios, including residential and commercial mortgages, servicing rights, tax liens, NPLs, trade receivables, and other fixed and floating income generating assets.
• Represents leading Japanese financial and manufacturing companies on a full range of corporate and insolvency-related issues in jurisdictions outside of Japan.
• Represented various project parties in the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects (traditional and renewable) throughout the globe, including in the United States, Mexico, Bolivia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Ukraine, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, and Japan, including the development and negotiation of novel asset transfer structures and multilateral credit enhancement.
• Counseled the governments of Nigeria, Uganda, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, and Pakistan on the privatization of utility assets.

• Recognized as a Leader in Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Virginia, Chambers USA, 2015-2024
• Named a Best Lawyer in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, The Best Lawyers in America, 2024
• Received Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation, 2022

• Chair, The Japan-Virginia Society
• Board Member, Richmond Performing Arts Alliance
• Past Chair, Virginia Asian Advisory Board
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, American Bankruptcy Institute
• Member, International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (INSOL)
• Appointed Member, World Bank Group’s Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes Task Force