At (00:00), host Julie Miecamp opens the episode and introduces reporter Dia Gill, who explains at (01:21) why she wanted to interview Ameneh Bordi, Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin. From there, the conversation turns at (05:41) to Ameneh’s unconventional career path, spanning Kirkland & Ellis, Amazon, and now Sidley, and at (12:43) she unpacks what she calls “odd duck” cases, the unusual matters that sit outside the typical Chapter 11 mold.
The discussion deepens at (13:04) as Ameneh reflects on navigating a male-dominated field while staying true to her own personality, and at (17:24) she describes how becoming a mother reshaped the way she balances boundaries, mentorship, and the demands of big law. At (19:58), the focus shifts to the Plenty bankruptcy, a case that showed the power and promise of Chapter 11, which moved from filing to emergence in just two and a half months (25:47). By (26:57), she’s exploring what venture-backed companies should learn from that experience, before turning at (28:53) to international restructurings and the evolving role of Chapter 15.
Later in the episode, at (33:25), Ameneh discusses whether US companies could realistically take their cases abroad, and at (35:14) she weighs in on the state of pre-packs, LMEs, and the tools companies actually use when time and panic are factors. The conversation closes at (37:03) with her big-picture reflections on 2025 restructuring activity, her predictions for the second half of the year (38:12), and a rapid-fire segment (39:03) on the phrases, skills, and rules she’d most like to change.
----more----
Show Host: Julie MiecampGuest Interviewer: Dia GillGuest: Ameneh BordiProduced and Edited by: Tanya Hubbard
Show Notes
At (
00:00), host Julie Miecamp opens the episode and introduces reporter Dia Gill, who explains at (
01:21) why she wanted to interview Ameneh Bordi, Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin. From there, the conversation turns at (
05:41) to Ameneh’s unconventional career path, spanning Kirkland & Ellis, Amazon, and now Sidley, and at (
12:43) she unpacks what she calls “odd duck” cases, the unusual matters that sit outside the typical Chapter 11 mold.
The discussion deepens at (
13:04) as Ameneh reflects on navigating a male-dominated field while staying true to her own personality, and at (
17:24) she describes how becoming a mother reshaped the way she balances boundaries, mentorship, and the demands of big law. At (
19:58), the focus shifts to the Plenty bankruptcy, a case that showed the power and promise of Chapter 11, which moved from filing to emergence in just two and a half months (
25:47). By (
26:57), she’s exploring what venture-backed companies should learn from that experience, before turning at (
28:53) to international restructurings and the evolving role of Chapter 15.
Later in the episode, at (
33:25), Ameneh discusses whether US companies could realistically take their cases abroad, and at (
35:14) she weighs in on the state of pre-packs, LMEs, and the tools companies actually use when time and panic are factors. The conversation closes at (
37:03) with her big-picture reflections on 2025 restructuring activity, her predictions for the second half of the year (
38:12), and a rapid-fire segment (
39:03) on the phrases, skills, and rules she’d most like to change.
----more----
- (00:00) - Host Julie Miecamp introduces the episode and sets the stage
- (01:21) - Dia Gill explains why she wanted to interview Ameneh
- (05:41) - AAmeneh traces her path from Kirkland & Ellis to Amazon and back to Sidley
- (12:43) - What makes an “odd duck” restructuring case
- (13:04) - Owning personality in a male-dominated field
- (17:24) - Creating space for motherhood while sustaining a demanding practice
- (19:58) - The Plenty bankruptcy: lessons from a fast-track Chapter 11
- (25:47) - How the case wrapped in record time
- (26:57) - What venture-backed companies should learn from Plenty
- (28:53) - Cross-border restructurings and the evolving role of Chapter 15
- (33:25) - Can US companies realistically take their cases abroad?
- (35:14) - Pre-packs, LMEs, and what tools companies are really using
- (37:03) - Big-picture reflections on 2025 restructuring trends
- (38:12) - Predictions for the second half of the year
- (39:03) - Rapid-fire: the phrases, skills, and rules Ameneh would change
What is Industry Insights: Exclusive Interviews?
Industry Insights sits down with the people who run the firms that move the credit market. Private credit, CLOs, restructuring, munis and everything in between. Every episode brings a new guest and a new interviewer from across Octus, talking through what they're seeing, what's changing and where they think it all goes next.