Baker Donelson Announces New Office Managing Shareholders in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

While serving as office managing shareholders Ms. Walters and Mr. O'Connell will both maintain their legal practices.

Ms. Walters represents financial institutions, alternative finance companies, businesses, and creditors in bankruptcy matters, creditors' rights litigation, workouts, debt restructurings, and complex Chapter 11 cases nationwide. She assumes the role from Matthew W. Wolfe, who was recently named chair of Baker Donelson's Health Law Group.

"I am excited to serve as managing shareholder of our Raleigh office," Ms. Walters said. "We have an exceptional team of talented professionals and a strong foundation for continued growth. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to continue delivering exceptional service to our clients while strengthening our presence in the market and building on the collaborative culture that defines our office."

With more than 15 years of experience, Ms. Walters represents secured and unsecured creditors in reorganizations and liquidations throughout the country, as well as purchasers and sellers of debt and assets in foreclosure sales, Article 9 sales, and Chapter 11 Section 363 sales. She has extensive experience in bankruptcy litigation involving preference and fraudulent transfer actions and regularly represents national and regional financial institutions, specialty agricultural lenders, and equipment finance companies in Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 proceedings. Her practice also includes advising clients on workouts, forbearance agreements, loan modifications, and other restructuring transactions.

Ms. Walters earned her B.A. from Lake Forest College and her J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. She has held leadership roles in the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, both nationally and in the Carolinas Network. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and serves as treasurer and council member of the Bankruptcy Section. Ms. Walters is recognized in Chambers USA as a leading Bankruptcy/Restructuring lawyer in North Carolina (since 2022), The Best Lawyers in America^® for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law (since 2022), and North Carolina Super Lawyers for Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights (since 2022) and Bankruptcy: Business (since 2025).

Mr. O'Connell's practice is focused on representing corporate and individual clients in white collar and regulatory defense matters. He assumes the role from John McJunkin, who has served as managing shareholder in D.C. since 2019 and will return to a full-time focus on his practice representing creditor clients faced with insolvency and troubled loan issues in and around Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

"Our Washington, D.C., office is full of talented attorneys and public policy professionals who are deeply committed to their clients and to one another," Mr. O'Connell said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to support this team, and I am especially grateful to John McJunkin for the steady and thoughtful leadership he has provided. John has built an office that is serious not only about excellent client service, but also about community, collegiality, and taking care of one another. I look forward to building on that foundation and helping my colleagues continue to thrive."

With more than 70 employees, including more than 40 attorneys and public policy advisors, Baker Donelson's D.C. office has a range of nationally recognized lawyers that form teams focused on a variety of industries and client needs. The office is also home to DB3, a public policy affiliate of Baker Donelson, and The Howard Baker Forum, a research and education organization which seeks to illuminate public policy challenges facing the nation today.

A member of Baker Donelson's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group, Mr. O'Connell represents companies and individuals in high-stakes criminal, civil, and regulatory enforcement matters involving the False Claims Act, health care fraud, tax, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and other complex fraud and compliance issues. He also advises clients on compliance programs, internal investigations, and U.S. and international regulatory risk.

Before joining Baker Donelson, Mr. O'Connell spent more than 13 years with the Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Fraud Section and Criminal Tax Division and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland and the Western District of Texas. He joined the DOJ through the Attorney General's Honors Program and led investigations and prosecutions involving health care, tax, bank, wire, mail, and securities fraud; money laundering; public corruption; and the FCPA.

Mr. O'Connell earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Temple University's Beasley School of Law. He is President-Elect of the Federal Bar Association's Washington, D.C. Chapter and was recognized as a 2026 Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer.