With a distinguished legal career spanning over four decades, Hugh Ray has developed a reputation as one of the legends of the Texas Bankruptcy bar. He has played a central role in many of the country’s most prominent bankruptcy cases and held various significant leadership roles, including serving as chair of both the American Bar Association (ABA) Bankruptcy Committee and the Bankruptcy Committee of the State Bar of Texas.

Check out the Q&A below to learn more about Hugh’s practice and why he is a Chambers-ranked Senior Statesman of the Texas Bankruptcy/Restructuring.

Why do clients hire you?

Clients hire me when they realize that reorganizations, unlike other business transactions, take place in a bankruptcy court rather than a conference room. Next, they look for a firm with deep experience in the relevant court who is comfortable and effective in a trial court setting. McKool Smith rises to the top of that list because there are not many bankruptcy practitioners or firms who meet those requirements.

What differentiates your practice?

Most firms handle reorganizations in their banking section with lawyers specializing in commercial transactions. I have decades of trial experience in the bankruptcy court and my colleagues in the firm share those qualifications. We are often hired to take over a dispute that cannot be resolved in a conference room by transactional counsel.