John Lyons

John Lyons represents major US and global corporations, committees, lenders and boards of directors in complex business reorganizations, acquisitions and divestitures, typically in distressed situations, in a broad variety of industries.

John has served as counsel to boards, companies and committees in several significant business reorganizations, including American Airlines, VeraSun Energy, Delphi Corporation, US Airways, Interstate Bakeries, Favorite Brands, and Einstein Noah Bagel Corp., among others.  John also served as Global Co-Chair of DLA Piper’s Industrials Sector and coordinated the development and strategies for clients in that sector.

In 2019, Governor Pritzker appointed John to serve on the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System Board of Trustees (SURS). SURS administers retirement plans for employees and retirees that work or have worked in the Illinois higher education system, including the state universities and community colleges, serving more than 240,000 beneficiaries and managing over US$27 billion in assets.  Last November, Governor Pritzker appointed John as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of SURS.

John has received many industry recognitions including being listed in Chambers for the past 15 years, the Legal 500, Law Dragon Global 500 Leading Restructuring and Insolvency Lawyers, and Lawdragon 500 Leading Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers, among other listings.

John has also served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Currently, John serves on the board of the Chicago District Golf Association and its Sunshine Through Golf charitable event.  John is married to his wife Angie and has three grown children.  John and Angie perform in several Chicago area musical groups including Not for Profit, The Celtniks and the Idle Minds.