Overview
Hugh Ray is a principal in McKool Smith's Houston and New York offices. During more than 40 years as a practicing lawyer, he has played a lead role in many of the country’s most recognizable bankruptcy proceedings. In addition to making several appearances before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to testify on proposed amendments to the Federal Bankruptcy Code, Hugh has served in leadership positions with several notable bankruptcy and business groups and co-authored three books on bankruptcy, including Last Rights (Oxford University Press) and Creditor’s Rights-Texas Practice Guide, (Thomson Reuters).
Hugh is the former chair of both the American Bar Association (ABA) Bankruptcy Committee and the Bankruptcy Committee of the State Bar of Texas; a former member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Judicial Selection, Tenure, and Compensation; a member of the American College of Bankruptcy; and a life member of the American Law Institute. He is also former chair of the ABA Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Bankruptcy Court Structure. Prior to his work in private practice, Hugh served as an assistant United States attorney in Houston. He is consistently recognized as a top lawyer in his field by leading legal publications and directories, including Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and The Best Lawyers in America, among others.
LLB, Vanderbilt University Law School, 1967
B.A, English, Vanderbilt University, 1965
- State of Texas
- State of New York
- District of Columbia (Inactive Status)
- The U.S. Supreme Court
- The New York State Supreme Court
- The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits
- The U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Western, and Northern Districts of Texas
- The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- State Bar of Texas, past chair, Bankruptcy Committee, 1986-1989, and past program director, Advanced Business Bankruptcy Institute
- American Bar Association
- Houston Bar Association