Brett Pearlman’s practice focuses on private credit, special situations direct lending, workouts, restructurings, and liability management transactions.

He has extensive experience in various financing transactions, including asset-backed, unitranche, second lien, PIK-holdco, mezzanine, debtor-in-possession, and rescue financing. He works with sponsored and non-sponsored companies, leveraging his extensive network of sponsor, bank, direct lending, hedge fund, advisory, and intermediary relationships.

Previously, Brett was a principal at an independent investment firm focused on providing financing solutions to middle-market companies. Before that, he served as a senior vice president at a global private equity firm, overseeing its private debt portfolio of over 150 companies and serving as a director on several portfolio company boards across various asset classes.

Brett joined the firm as a partner in 2025 from another major international law firm.

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Notable Experience (including those prior to joining Cleary)

  • Hooters of America, an iconic casual dining and sports entertainment chain, and its affiliated debtors in their pending Chapter 11 cases involving the restructuring of approximately $380 million of funded debt. Hooters’ Chapter 11 cases are the first whole business securitization filings of their kind and are supported by $40 million of debtor-in-possession financing and a restructuring support agreement with near unanimous support from its key stakeholders.

  • Trinseo PLC and its subsidiaries in connection with a transaction support agreement to, among other things, (i) redeem its existing $115 million 2025 senior notes with the proceeds of a new super holdco term loan, (ii) enter into a new $300 million super-priority revolving credit facility, and (iii) exchange at least $330 million of 2029 senior notes for new 2029 second lien senior secured notes at a discount to par, providing at least $49 million of discount capture.

  • Empire Today in a liability management and financing transaction that received the support of more than 99% of the company’s lenders and enabled the company to obtain significant incremental liquidity and extend its existing debt maturities.

  • A group of noteholders in connection with the provision of $100 million of new first lien debt financing and the exchange of $420 million of convertible notes into second lien secured convertible notes with Luminar, a global automotive technology company, reducing Luminar’s debt by $148 million and providing it with a maturity extension.

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