Sacha Lürken is senior of counsel in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization practice group.
He advises noteholders, lenders, debtors and investors on complex cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters, including financial institution resolutions, with particular expertise in bond restructurings. Sacha has acted as lead or co-lead counsel in many of the most significant German and European restructuring cases of recent decades.
Sacha is recognized as "highly regarded" for restructuring and insolvency by IFLR1000 2023, as a "leading partner" by The Legal 500 Germany 2024, and is ranked for restructuring/insolvency in Germany by Chambers Europe 2023.
His experience includes representing*:
- the senior noteholders of Wirecard in its bankruptcy proceedings
- European noteholders in the Chapter 11 filing of the U.S. parent of a global car rental group (Hertz)
- senior lenders in taking control over and refinancing a German industrial equipment group through a Luxembourg share pledge enforcement
- the cross-border restructuring of German- and Austrian-law governed debt through English company voluntary arrangements (Steinhoff Europe)
- the cross-border restructuring of a German holding company with an Austrian-law governed bond (Scholz Holding)
- a consortium of private equity and industrial bidders in a competitive insolvency plan process (PROKON)
- creditors in the first application of the European Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (HETA)
- the SynLoan II lenders in the first large post-ESUG insolvency plan process (IVG Immobilien)
- the first major successful debt-to-equity swap under the 2009 Bondholders’ Rights Act (SolarWorld)
- convertible noteholders in one of the first cases under the 2009 Bondholders’ Rights Act (Q-Cells)
- the creditors of a German bank in its insolvency proceedings (Lehman Brothers Bankhaus AG)
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Sacha spent nearly two decades as a partner in the German restructuring practice of a leading international law firm after beginning his legal career in litigation and dispute resolution. He is admitted to practice as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).
Sacha contributes to leading legal commentaries and handbooks on bond restructurings, including Hopt/Seibt, Schuldverschreibungsrecht and the Praxishandbuch Restrukturierungsrecht, and publishes regularly in legal journals and financial news services.
In addition to his native German, Sacha is fluent in English and has a basic command of Spanish.
*Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich - 1999 First State Exam
Admissions:
- Germany Bar