Biography
When a bankruptcy is especially difficult - when the level of distress is especially severe or the acrimony particularly toxic - Joe Barry brings a strategic sensibility and creative approach to the proceedings. Known for his innovative approaches to the most challenging restructuring problems, clients seek Joe's counsel when more traditional solutions are deemed inadequate.
As co-chairman of Young Conaway's Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group, Joe co-heads up an unparalleled team of approximately 50 attorneys in their active engagement by debtors, lenders, purchasers, committees and creditors in both in-court and out-of-court restructurings from Young Conaway's offices in Wilmington, Delaware and New York City.
FOCUS:
- All aspects of in-court and out-of-court corporate restructuring processes, including debtors, official committees, foreign representatives, lenders, secured and unsecured creditors, ad hoc groups and purchasers.
- Industries include energy, retail, health care, banking, telecommunications, real estate, staffing and recruiting, mortgage investment, agriculture, insurance, hospitality, aviation, textile, automotive, logistics and transportation and manufacturing industries.
RECOGNITIONS:
Joe and his work have been regularly and consistently praised by most ranking systems in the field of corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, including, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America©, The M&A Advisor, Global Restructuring Review, LawDragon 500, The M&A Advisor, The Deal, Turnarounds & Workouts and Delaware Today Magazine.
Clients interviewed by Chambers USA have praised Joe’s work, noting that:
- “He easily grasps issues and masterfully directs the case to a timely, successful outcome.”
- “He does an amazing job navigating complexities and securing tremendous results in an efficient manner.”
- “Joe is very sensitive to clients' needs and communicates well.”
Education
- Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., cum laude)
- St. John Fisher College (B.A.)
Bar Admissions
Court Admissions
Distinctions
- 2026 Delaware Super Lawyers
- 2026 Global M&A Network Top 100 Restructuring Professionals/Top 50 Restructuring Lawyers
- 2026 LawDragon 500 – Leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers
- Represented Ames Watson in its acquisition of nearly 900 stores from accessories retailer Claire’s Stores, which was awarded the 2026 Turnaround Award over $100 Million by The M&A Advisor and the Turnaround Atlas Awards 2026 Distressed Investment of the Year by the Global M&A Network
- Represented Accuride International and its affiliates – among the largest and most diversified manufacturers and suppliers of wheels and wheel end components in the world – in their chapter 11 restructuring which won the M&A Advisor’s 2026 Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year in the $500 million to $1 billion category and the Turnaround Atlas Awards 2026 Turnaround of the Year by the Global M&A Network
- 2025 Irish Legal 100 (an annual compilation of the most distinguished legal professionals in the United States of Irish heritage)
- 2025 LawDragon 500 – Leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers
- Named to Delaware Today Magazine’s 2025 “Top Lawyers” (peer reviewed by Delaware licensed attorneys)
- Led the complex restructuring of Peer Street, a platform for online investing in real estate debt, which, in 2025, was awarded the M&A Advisor 19th Annual Restructuring of the Year ($250-$500 million category)
- 2025 Best Lawyers In America, Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- 2024 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (since 2020) noted for “command[ing] praise for his restructuring practice…”
- 2024 & 2023 LawDragon 500 – Leading Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers
- Bankruptcy360 – 2023 Editorial Advisory Board
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America© for his “high caliber of work in the practice area[s] of Bankruptcy”
- Named a “Top Bankruptcy Lawyer” by The Deal
- “Name to Know in Delaware” by Global Restructuring Review
- Recipient of Global Restructuring Review’s 2017 Innovation in Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring Award for the firm’s role in the team that reorganized Metinvest
- Recognized — with the restructuring team for Altegrity, Inc. and its affiliates — as participant in 2016 Pre-Packaged Restructuring of the Year by the Turnaround Atlas Awards
- In 2015, represented North American Bancard as the purchaser of substantially all of the debtor’s assets in In re: Phoenix Payment Systems, Inc. which was named by The M&A Advisor as the Distressed M&A Deal of the Year and was named the Special Situation M&A Deal of the Year by the Turnaround Atlas Awards
- In 2014, led a restructuring team that was awarded The Turnaround Atlas Award by The Global M&A Network in the Real Estate & Services category for the successful restructuring of The PMI Group
- Key member of the Eastman Kodak restructuring team that was honored by The Turnaround Management Association as the 2014 Mega-Company Turnaround of the Year
- Named in 2011 as an “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnaround & Workouts – the first Delaware attorney to receive that distinction, and one of only twelve restructuring lawyers named nationwide
- Named “Forty Under Forty Recognition Award” finalist presented by The M&A Advisor to “recognize the emerging industry leaders” who were “chosen for their accomplishments and expertise”
- Lead partner in the In re Trade Secret, Inc. chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which was awarded The M&A Advisor’s Turnaround of the Year Award in the consumer and retail products sector
Memberships and Affiliations
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Host Committee, CitizensNYC All In For NYC Annual Fundraiser
- Board of Directors, Turnaround Management Association, Philadelphia-Wilmington Chapter
- Irish American Bar Association of New York
- Irish American Business Chamber & Network, Member
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- Member, ABI Ethics and Professional Compensation and Business Reorganization Committees
- Delaware State Bar Association, Commercial Bankruptcy Law Section (Past Chair and Vice-Chair)
- Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit
- American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Litigation Section
- INSOL International
- Federal Bar Association
- Committee Member, Delaware State Bar Association Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee’s Judicial Diversity Clerkship Program (2021)
Clerkships
- Honorable Stephen D. Gerling, (Ret.) Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York
Select Publications
- The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, Advice for New Attorneys, May 2025 (contributing author)
- The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, 10 Great Delaware Cases, November 2023 (contributing author)
- The Journal of the Delaware State Bar Association, Addressing the Pressing Need for Greater Diversity, Equity and Inclusion In Our Bar – A Step in the Right Direction, October 2021 (author)
- American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Who’s My Client? The Importance of Engagement Letters, June 2021 (author)
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee Newsletter, Sixth Circuit Affirms Sanctions for “Indisputable” Creditor Misconduct, February 2019 (author)
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Ethics and Professional Compensation Committee Newsletter, Washington State Bankruptcy Court Clarifies Standard for Substantial Contribution Claim, August 2018 (author)
- Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors Journal, Travelers Deconstructed: How the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Travelers Could Complicate the Claims Process in Large Bankruptcies, February 2008 (author)
- Delaware Employment Law Letter, Ex-Eastern Pilots Grounded: Third Circuit Sheds Light on Arbitration of Labor Disputes, June 2007
- American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, TWA Evens the Score on the Availability of the 502(d) Claim Preclusion Defense in Delaware, April 2004 (author)