Foley & Lardner’s vice chair of restructuring Katherine Catanese joined Squire Patton Boggs’ restructuring and insolvency practice as a partner in New York as the firm works to further build out its bankruptcy offerings. Catanese’s November move came after more than 16 years at Foley & Lardner. In a statement, she called it the “ideal time for my clients and practice as a whole” to make a change, noting an increase in cross-border restructurings that made Squire Patton Boggs’ international presence a desirable platform for her. Stephen Lerner, global chair of Squire Patton Boggs’ restructuring and insolvency practice group, said in an interview that bringing Catanese aboard is part of the firm’s efforts to expanding its restructuring offerings, a project that he said she will be a key contributor to going forward. “Her joining us fits in perfectly with our existing cross-border restructuring platform and as well as the ability to expand it,” Lerner said. “One area that Katie is extremely well known is the offshore jurisdictions, particularly in the Cayman Islands, which is an important jurisdiction for global restructuring. That adds really a new element to our offerings because while we certainly had some involvement in new offshore jurisdictions, Katie brings a whole new dimension of depth to our capabilities there.” Lerner is also president-elect of the American Bankruptcy Institute, where Catanese is currently a vice president focusing on international matters. Catanese succeeded Lerner in the vice president role when he was elected president of the institute in April, and the two have worked together there for a long time, Lerner said. Catanese’s practice covers a variety of financial distress subjects including fraud-related litigations, involuntary bankruptcies, cross-border restructuring proceedings, distressed asset sales and workouts and other related matters. She represents debtors, creditors, trustees and liquidators across a variety of industries in high-stakes restructurings on both the domestic and international scale. “The cross-border nature of today’s restructurings demands a firm with global scale, and Squire’s international platform is a great fit for the work I do,” Catanese said in a statement. “I’m excited to collaborate with the firm’s complementary strengths in financial services, corporate, and litigation. Together, these capabilities create a strong foundation for helping clients navigate complex, multijurisdictional challenges.” Catanese is working out of the firm’s New York office, which it recently expanded as part of a broader trend of large national firms growing their footprints in the city. The firm also recently added partners in San Francisco and Dubai, but has been steadily losing partners in Australia throughout the year with the ninth departing at the end of November. In New York, Squire Patton Boggs has recently added multiple finance-focused partners, including Trish O'Donnell, who joined the structured finance practice in September, and Gabriel Yomi Dabiri, who came from Polsinelli in April and is now global head of private credit and direct lending at the firm. In a recent statement to Law.com, a representative for Squire Patton Boggs said that the firm continues to see New York as “an important part of our firm’s global strategy” when asked whether it was considering a merger with any other firms in the city, but did not indicate any specific combination talks were underway. A representative for Foley did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Catanese's departure.