Lauren Leyden
Partner
lleyden@akingump.com
Areas of Focus
- Labor & Employment
- Executive Disputes & Agreements
- Labor Relations Strategic Advice & Counseling
- Trade Secret Litigation
- Financial Restructuring
- Corporate & Finance
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Special Situations
- Crisis Management
- Special Situations & Private Credit
- Private Credit
- Labor & Employment Issues Affecting Government Contractors
- Pension & Benefits Strategy
- Private Equity Transactions
- Workplace Safety/OSHA Litigation & Counseling
- Government Contracts
- Bioenergy
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Media, Entertainment & Sports
- Health Care & Life Sciences
- Oil & Gas
- Investment Management & Private Equity
- Infrastructure & Transportation
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Transition
- Workplace Investigations, Civil Rights Audits
- Technology
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Cost Accounting & Pricing
- Security Clearance
- Government Contracts Intellectual Property & Data Rights
- Contract & Grant Compliance and Administration
- Freedom of Information Act
- General Services Administration Contracting
- Government Contracts & Supply Chain
- Government Contracts & Grants Policy
- State & Local Procurement
- Government Contracts Mergers & Acquisitions
- Small Business Issues
- Suspension & Debarment
- Labor & Employment Issues in Restructuring and Corporate Transactions
- Film, Television & Digital Media
- Cloud Computing & Data Storage
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Hydroelectric
Biography
- Focuses on labor and pension matters in corporate and special situations transactions and in- and out-of-court restructurings.
- Advises companies, creditor groups and funds on complex workforce management issues.
- Firmwide hiring partner.
Lauren Leyden practices at the nexus of traditional labor and pension law and cutting-edge restructuring and corporate transactions. Particularly in the context of high profile special situations and restructuring transactions and “off the run” corporate matters, she has significant experience with:
- Managing workforce liabilities
- Collective bargaining agreements
- Defined benefit pension plans
- Transfer, hiring or separation of executives and employees
- Layoffs
- Executive and employee agreements
- Anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training and counseling
- Employee communications and crisis management
- Complex HR counseling and investigations
Representative Work
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Dean Foods
- Ad hoc group of unsecured noteholders of Frontier Communications Corporation
- Energy Harbor Corp. (formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.) in connection with its complex bankruptcy proceeding
- Ad hoc group of senior unsecured noteholders of Pacific Gas and Electric Company
- Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Sears Holdings Corporation
EducationJ.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2005
B.A., University of Chicago, 2002
J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2005
B.A., University of Chicago, 2002
Bar AdmissionsNew York
New York
Recognitions
- Crain’s New York Business, Notable Women in Law, 2022.
- The Legal 500 US, Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense, 2019 and Workplace and employment counseling, 2022.
- Akin Gump’s labor and employment practice named as Law360 Employment Practice Group of the Year four times in seven years: 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
- New York Law Journal – Rising Star, 2017.
- Thompson Reuters 2017 Rising Stars Cohort Program.
Speeches and Publications
- Panelist, New Challenges for Private Fund Managers, Akin AI Summit, February 2024.
- Presenter, Directors & Boards Forum, September 2018.
- Panelist, Delaware Bench and Bar Conference, May 2018.
- Panelist, “New York City’s Salary History Inquiry Law,” Akin Gump CLE program, New York, July 2017.
- Panelist, “Managing Employment Risk: Crisis Management and Prevention,” Akin Gump Alumni CLE and Cocktail Reception, New York, January 31, 2017.
- “Hard Labor: Managing Employment Issues in Turbulent Times,” Akin Gump Annual New York Investment Funds Conference, New York, September 21, 2016.
