Demetra Liggins Partner

Demetra has nearly two decades of experience in business finance and restructuring for a variety of large and small public and private companies. As a trusted business advisor, Demetra partners with her clients to identify and achieve their goals in the bankruptcy process, navigating through complex corporate reorganizations and distressed acquisitions.

Demetra has led many representations of bankruptcy clients, working on both in-court and out-of-court restructurings. A thoughtful and creative problem solver, she is highly regarded for her ability to quickly and efficiently help clients assess the effects of a bankruptcy on their corporate and financial transactions. Demetra works with her clients to purchase and sell assets in distressed situations, secure financing, and negotiate structure and implement cash collateral orders and debtor-in-possession financing agreements. Her clients include health care systems, retail corporations, financial institutions, oil and gas companies, partnerships, and private-equity funds, among others.

Demetra is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy and finance-related topics, in addition to speaking on career goals, branding, and mentorship to minority and female audiences ranging from established professionals to students.

Experience

Representation of the debtor, a senior living facility, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Representation of the debtor, an upstream oil and gas exploration company and affiliates, in In re: Approach Resources Inc. et al, as lead counsel in connection with relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code due to, among other things, the prolonged and continuing period of commodity price decline and subsequent volatility.

Representation of the official unsecured creditors’ committee in In re: Nuvectra Corporation, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Representation of the debtor, a senior living facility, in In re Senior Living Center at Corpus Christi, Inc. d/b/a Mirador, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, as lead counsel and responsible for formulating a pre-negotiated plan resulting in sale approval and confirmation within 65 days of case filing.

Representation of the agent for the primary secured creditors in In re III Exploration II, LLP, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah; debtor was an oil and gas exploration company.

Representation of the agent for primary secured creditors in In re: Trinity River Resources, LP, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas; debtor was an oil and gas exploration company.

Representation of the P&A claimants in In re Energy XXI Ltd, et al., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division; debtor was an oil and gas exploration company.

Representation of the creditor in In re: EMAS CHIYODA Subsea Limited, et al., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Representation of the creditor in In re: Cobalt International Energy, Inc., et al., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Representation of the creditor in In re: Castex Energy Partners, L.P., et al., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Representation of the creditor in In re: Bearcat Energy, LLC, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado.

Representation of the creditor in In re: Maxus Energy Corp. et al., in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Representation of the Official Unsecured Creditors Committee in In re Endeavour Operating Corp. et. al., in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, a Chapter 11 case involving Endeavour Operating Corporation, an upstream producer with greater than $1 billion of liabilities.

Representation of the Chapter 11 debtors in In re Baseline Oil & Gas Corp. and In re Cross Canyon Energy Corp., which both involved pre-negotiated and packaged plans of reorganization (a “pre-pack”), and both companies exited from bankruptcy in less than 60 days.

  • Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, JD, cum laude, 2000
  • Christian Brothers University, BS, cum laude, 1997

Fellow, American Bar Foundation

Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy

Fellow, Houston Young Lawyers Foundation

Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation

Member, Women’s Business Alliance, Greater Houston Partnership

Southern Regional Director, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity; Fellow, 2012

Immediate Past Houston Network Chair, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)

Member, Cumberland Law School Advisory Board

Member, Women’s Energy Network

Member, Bankruptcy Section, Houston Bar Association; Chair, 2009-2010

Director, Texas Young Lawyers Association, State Bar of Texas, 2007-2010

  • Speaker, "Look Before You Leap: Lessons Learned from CCRC (Life Plan Community) Bankruptcies," American Bankruptcy Institute Winter Leadership Conference, December 2022
  • Speaker, "Recent Developments in Bankruptcy," Jay L. Westbrook Bankruptcy Conference, November 2022
  • Co-Moderator, "Healthcare and Bankruptcy: Don’t Fear the Reaper," 15th Annual Healthcare Finance and Growth Conference, September 15, 2022
  • Speaker, "Game of Life," ABA Business Law, April 2021
  • Speaker, "Speak Up! Workshop on Presenting to International Audiences," IWIRC, April 2021
  • Speaker, "Books & Beverages Chat," Corporate Home, March 2021
  • Speaker, "Energy in 2021: Where Are We Going?", March 2021
  • Speaker, 28th Annual ABI Bankruptcy Battle Ground West Online Conference, March 2021
  • Speaker, "My Counter-Party is (or might be) Bankrupt, Now What?," ExxonMobil Law Department, March 2021
  • Speaker, "Master of Science in Finance," Finance in Society Trip, March 2021
  • Speaker, "Bankruptcy 101," Communities First, Inc., February 2021
  • Speaker, "Speak Up! Workshop on Presenting to International Audiences," IWIRC, February 2021
  • Speaker, State Bar of Texas Oil and Gas, April 2019
  • Speaker, "Advancing Women & Minorities, with Corporate Homie’s Demetra Liggins," Next Gen Leadership: Advancing Lawyers of Color, Thomson Reuters, 2018
  • Texas
  • New York

Named to "Texas Rising Stars," 2005, 2007-2011, 2013-2015; "Texas Super Lawyers," 2016-2022, Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, Business; Thomson Reuters 

Selected as an honoree for "Collaborative Leadership – Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards," Corporate Counsel, 2022

Named to The Best Lawyers in America, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 2018-2023; Litigation - Bankruptcy, Woodward/White Inc.

Named a "Diversity and Inclusion Champion," Texas Legal Awards, Texas Lawyer, 2022

Selected for inclusion, Bankruptcy/Restructuring- Texas, Band 5, 2022, Chambers USA

Recipient, "Premier Women in the Law" award, Houston Association of Women Attorneys, 2022

Selected for inclusion in The Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, 2022

Winner, The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) annual Rick Palmore LCLD Alumni Award, 2021 

Recognized Attorney, "The Legal 500 United States," Legalease (Finance: Restructuring (including Bankruptcy), 2021

Honoree, Houston Association for Women Attorneys Premier Women in Law, 2020

Honoree, State Bar of Texas Minority Counsel Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019

Named to "Law Firm Rainmakers," Diversity & the Bar, 2011

Named to "Houston’s Top Lawyers," H Texas Magazine, 2010-2013, 2015-2016

Recipient, President’s Award, Houston Bar Association, 2005-2006

Named as "Lawyer on the Fast Track," H Texas Magazine, 2004

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