Weil’s Justin Lee weighs in on LMEs amid market uncertainty

In this episode of the Debtwire podcast, Justin Lee, partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, joins Melina Chalkia, Debtwire’s primary market reporter for North America, to unpack the evolving landscape of liability management exercises. Justin Lee is the co-head of Weil’s banking and finance practice and global head of liability management and strategic capital solutions. His practice involves advising institutional lenders, direct lenders, asset managers and corporate borrowers on all types of financing transactions. Lee has worked on high profile deals for companies like Clarios Global, Hertz, Krispy Kreme and Dye & Durham. With 2024 dubbed the “year of LMEs,” this episode explores whether that momentum is carrying into 2025. Lee weighs in on how sponsor creativity is evolving and whether the tariff-driven market volatility is shifting the tone. He dives into the structural trends shaping deal terms, the rise of co-op groups and how borrower-lender dynamics are changing. Lee also goes through Weil’s practice, what the pipeline looks like and what the future holds for LMEs.