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 BusinessThe Best Lawyers in America©The M&A AdvisorGlobal Restructuring ReviewLawDragon 500, The M&A Advisor, The Deal and Turnarounds & Workouts.

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

  • Delaware
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Distinctions

  • In 2024, lead 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 The 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 lead 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

  • Past Chair, Delaware State Bar Association, Commercial Bankruptcy Law Section
  • Committee Member, Delaware State Bar Association Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee’s Judicial Diversity Clerkship Program (2021)
  • Board of Directors, Turnaround Management Association, Philadelphia-Wilmington Chapter
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
    • Member, ABI Ethics and Professional Compensation and Business Reorganization Committees
  • Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit
  • American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Litigation Section
  • INSOL International
  • Federal Bar Association

Clerkships

  • Honorable Stephen D. Gerling, (Ret.) Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York