Emily MacKay is a corporate associate and a member of the firm’s Restructuring Group and Liability Management & Special Situations team. She regularly advises investors, companies, sponsors and other parties-in-interest in out-of-court restructurings and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. MacKay’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as CD&R, Spirit Airlines and Brigade Capital Management.

Ms. MacKay is an active contributor to thought leadership in the restructuring community. Her recent publications include “1) Read the Statute, 2) Read the Statute, 3) Read the…Local Rules! (Special Feature: Should Bankruptcy Judges Mediate Cases Pending Before Them?)”, Creditor Rights Coalition (July, 2026); “Powered by Private Credit: Guidance for Lenders Navigating AI Data Center Capex Investments,” ABI Journal (June, 2026); and “Strange Bedfellows: Structuring Governance and Exit Rights for a Restructured Company,” Debevoise Private Equity Report (Fall 2024, Vol 24, No 3). She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, has guest lectured at Columbia Business School, and is a participant in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ 2026 Next Generation Program.

Ms. MacKay maintains an active pro bono practice, which includes serving as counsel to several nonprofit foundations on various issues, including intellectual property, corporate governance and employment matters. She also serves on the Junior Advisory Board of Her Justice. 

Ms. MacKay joined Debevoise in 2019 and completed a one-year rotation in the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Group. She received a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2019, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. She received a B.A. with honors from Davidson College in 2013.