Paul Harner practiced corporate bankruptcy, insolvency, and restructuring law for nearly 35 years. He spent his entire career at major international law firms, primarily in Chicago and New York City, and, among other management roles, served as chair of the worldwide bankruptcy and restructuring practice at Jones Day, comprising more than 120 professionals.
Professor Harner played a leading role in several significant national and international corporate restructurings, including chapter 11 cases involving American Airlines, Six Flags Entertainment, Hard Rock Park, Molycorp Minerals LLC, Sears Roebuck & Co., Stations Casinos, Nextel International, National Century Financial Enterprises, Kmart Corporation, USG Corporation, R.H. Macy & Co., Federated Department Stores, Messer Lincoln gmbH, NationsRent, Trans World Airlines, NextWave Communications, Imperial Home Decor Group, Lensar, Inc., OnCure Holdings, Laidlaw Inc., Loewen Group International, Rax Restaurants, and Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation. He also served in a number of fiduciary capacities, including as a court-appointed chapter 11 operating and bankruptcy trustee and professional fee examiner.
He is an elected fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, is the immediate past chair of the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation, and currently serves on the boards of directors of both organizations and as co-chair of the college’s Standing Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
He is a graduate of Duke University (BA, magna cum laude, 1985), where he was an Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholar, and the Duke University School of Law (JD, with highest honors, 1988), where he was an Anna Pierce Stafford Scholar. After graduation from Duke, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.