McKool Smith, one of the nation’s leading trial firms, has announced that veteran bankruptcy lawyer John Sparacino has joined the firm as a principal in its Houston office. Mr. Sparacino focuses on bankruptcy and related matters, including litigation, receiverships, and out-of-court restructurings.
“We’re very excited about John’s arrival to the firm. He has an outstanding reputation and is well connected in the Houston and broader Texas bankruptcy bar,” said David Sochia, Managing Principal of McKool Smith. “Our clients will benefit from John’s significant experience in bankruptcy and distressed business matters, including restructurings, complex workouts, and creditors’ rights litigation. He also has considerable experience in the energy, oil and gas, and financial services sectors, which complements our firm’s practice offerings.”
“I’ve always admired McKool Smith’s reputation as an elite, hard-hitting trial firm,” said Mr. Sparacino. “I was attracted to the firm’s national reach, particularly its prominence in Texas and New York, lean conflict profile, and its ability to take on high-value contingency matters in bankruptcy-related litigation. These are very strong value propositions for my clients, and I look forward to growing my practice at the firm.”
Mr. Sparacino has more than 30 years of experience handling bankruptcy matters throughout Texas and across the United States. His clients include secured and unsecured creditors, ad hoc creditors’ committees, statutory creditors’ committees, equity security holders, companies reorganizing under Chapter 11, DIP lenders, and purchasers of distressed assets and companies. He also has represented purchasers and sellers of assets, claims, and equity interests in distressed situations. In addition, he has represented indenture trustees in connection with bond debt transactions, including new issuances, tender offers, exchange offers, redemptions, amendments, workouts, and bankruptcies. Mr. Sparacino’s experience spans multiple industries, including energy, oil and gas, financial services, technology, and healthcare.
Mr. Sparacino is a member of the Texas Bar Association and Houston Bar Association, where he has served on several committees. He is also an active member and on the Board of Directors of the Turnaround Management Association - Houston Chapter, and a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center (where he served on the Houston Law Review) and earned a B.B.A. from the University of Texas.
With 150 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. Since 2006, the firm has secured 11 nine-figure jury verdicts and 14 eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more VerdictSearch and The National Law Journal “Top 100 Verdicts” over the last 10 years than any other law firm in the country. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as “one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.” McKool Smith represents clients in complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense matters.