The Major RX Firms in Depth: How They Compare

Introduction

The major restructuring practices in U.S. investment banking divide into clear tiers, with meaningful differences in deal mix, debtor versus creditor balance, culture, compensation, and exit profile. Understanding the tiers and the specific positioning of each firm is critical for candidates choosing where to focus recruiting efforts and for analysts deciding which offer to accept when multiple are received.

This article walks through:

The data points come from Octus (formerly Reorg) league tables, contemporaneous press coverage, Wall Street Oasis discussion threads, and public firm disclosures.

PJT Partners commanded approximately 30% of total approved investment banker fees in 2023 with $114.8 million across eight cases, followed by Evercore at $66.2 million across five cases, and Moelis at $38.7 million. Houlihan Lokey, while not always topping the fee league tables in any single year, consistently leads on mandate count due to its larger headcount and broader geographic footprint. Lazard, Centerview, Guggenheim, and PWP rotate through the next tiers depending on year-specific deal flow.

PJT Partners (Restructuring & Special Situations Group)

PJT's RSSG is the highest-profile Rx franchise on Wall Street. The group emerged from Blackstone's Restructuring & Reorganization Advisory practice when PJT spun off in October 2015 under Paul Taubman. The senior leadership (Jamie O'Connell, Tim Coleman, Steve Zelin) has been together for decades and built relationships with virtually every major debtor and creditor party in U.S. distressed credit.

The deal mix tilts toward debtor-side mandates on large-cap cases, though the firm runs significant creditor-side work including major ad hoc group representations. The 2023 fee leadership ($114.8 million, ~30% of approved IB fees) reflects PJT's positioning on the largest cases, including marquee debtor-side roles on cases like Wesco, Robertshaw, and several 2024-2025 mega filings.

Headcount runs lean. The RSSG hires approximately 8-10 analysts globally per year, and the senior team is concentrated in New York. The culture is described by current and former bankers as intense, deal-focused, and intellectually demanding. Hours run 80-100+ per week during heavy deal periods. Compensation is at the top of the Rx market, with Year 1 analyst all-in compensation regularly reported in the $200,000+ range.

Houlihan Lokey Financial Restructuring

Houlihan Lokey FR is the largest dedicated Rx practice by headcount and the consistent league-table leader by mandate count. Average revenue per managing director in its restructuring division reached $9.2 million in the 12 months ending August 2024, versus $5.5 million per MD in corporate finance, illustrating the relative profitability of the Rx franchise.

Houlihan's deal mix is the most balanced among Tier 1 firms, with roughly even distribution between debtor and creditor mandates. The firm is particularly known for creditor-side work including official creditor committee mandates, ad hoc group representations, and second-lien advisory. The geographic footprint (Los Angeles HQ plus offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, London) creates analyst slots in multiple cities.

Headcount runs significantly higher than peers. Houlihan FR hires approximately 15-25 Rx analysts annually across U.S. offices (with roughly 10-12 in New York). The culture is described as more collegial than PJT but still demanding, with hours running 70-90 per week during active periods. Houlihan's compensation runs slightly below the very top of the Rx market but with strong predictability and a deep alumni network.

Lazard Restructuring

Lazard runs one of the most established Rx franchises with deep roots in regulated industries (utilities, healthcare, sovereign restructurings). The firm has advised on landmark cases including PG&E, Puerto Rico, and multiple international sovereign restructurings. The senior team includes David Kurtz and other long-tenured Rx specialists.

The deal mix is roughly balanced between debtor and creditor work, with a particular strength in regulated-industry and sovereign mandates that other firms rarely compete for effectively. The 2023 fee performance was lower than PJT and Evercore in pure investment-banking-fee terms but the firm's role on long-running sovereign and utility cases produces revenue patterns that differ from typical corporate Rx fees.

Lazard's analyst class is small (approximately 8-12 per year) and culture is described as intellectually rigorous with significant senior exposure. The firm's geographic and product breadth (M&A, capital markets, asset management) creates lateral and exit optionality that more focused firms cannot match.

Evercore Restructuring

Evercore's Rx practice is smaller than its M&A practice but punches above its weight in mandate quality. The 2023 fees of $66.2 million across five cases imply average mandate fees over $13 million, the highest per-case figure among Tier 1/1a firms. The senior team has built a reputation for selective, high-impact mandates rather than broad volume.

The deal mix tilts toward debtor-side roles on selective high-profile cases. Evercore Rx analyst headcount runs approximately 8-10 per year, smaller than peers, but each analyst typically sees high-quality deal flow. The culture is described as one of the better lifestyle-and-prestige combinations among Tier 1 firms, with hours and intensity slightly below PJT but compensation and prestige comparable.

Moelis & Company Restructuring

Moelis Rx hires approximately 8-10 analysts per year with a culture often described as more aggressive and meritocratic than peers. The 2023 fee performance of $38.7 million placed the firm just below Evercore. Moelis runs a balanced debtor and creditor practice with particular strength in middle-market and upper-middle-market mandates.

The firm's analyst experience is described as direct, with senior MDs regularly engaging with junior staff and high responsibility delegation early in the analyst tenure. Compensation is at the upper end of Rx market norms.

Tier 2 and Tier 2a Firms

Understanding which firm worked which side of which case is the highest-resolution way to compare positioning. Several recent mandates illustrate the typical role distribution:

Each restructuring financial advisor typically pairs with a small set of preferred bankruptcy law firms. Understanding the pairings helps candidates contextualize the broader advisor ecosystem.

These pairings are not exclusive but represent recurring co-mandate patterns. Candidates working at any of these financial advisors will spend significant time interfacing with the corresponding legal advisors across deal lifecycles.

The Rx senior advisor market is small enough that lateral movement among Tier 1 and Tier 1a firms is observable and sometimes consequential. Recent senior moves include several MD-level transitions among PJT, Houlihan Lokey, Evercore, Lazard, Moelis, and Ducera through 2024 and 2025. The lateral market reflects the underlying scarcity of senior Rx talent: a Tier 1 firm losing two MDs in the same year can meaningfully shift its mandate-winning capability for a 12-24 month period.

For analyst-level candidates, the lateral market is meaningful because senior moves often pull junior bankers along. A senior MD moving from PJT to Ducera, for example, may bring two or three associates and a vice president, creating both opportunities (for those who follow) and risks (for those who do not get invited to the new platform). Lateral senior moves are tracked closely by Rx-focused recruiters and are worth watching as part of broader career planning.

The Tier 1 and Tier 1a firms each have distinct geographic strategies that affect analyst experience:

The geographic footprint matters more for second-year analysts and beyond who may have flexibility on staffing location. For first-year analysts, the staffing decision is typically driven by current case load rather than personal preference.

The major Rx firms run similar but not identical title structures.

Promotion pace varies by firm. PJT and the elite boutiques are known for slower promotion timelines (associate-to-VP often takes 3-4 years versus a faster 2-3 years at some peers). Houlihan Lokey is sometimes described as having faster promotion at the analyst-to-associate level.

The MD ranks at the top firms remain small. PJT's RSSG MD count is approximately 15-20 across U.S. offices. Houlihan FR has approximately 40-50 MDs across all U.S. offices. The senior-level concentration explains why the firms can produce dramatically different mandate-winning outcomes despite similar junior bench depth.

The choice among Rx firms involves trade-offs across several dimensions:

A subtle but important dimension of firm comparison is how concentrated decision-making is at the senior level and how many of the firm's mandates depend on a small number of MDs:

For analysts evaluating offers, the senior bench composition matters because it determines who you will work with day-to-day, who staffs cases, and who provides mentorship. Visiting a firm and meeting with second- and third-year analysts during the recruiting process is the most reliable way to assess whether the senior bench composition fits a candidate's working style.

The aggregate Rx fee pool across the U.S. major firms in 2025 likely exceeded $3 billion based on extrapolation from the 2023-2024 league table data and the 2025 mandate volume increase. The distribution skews heavily to the top: PJT's roughly 30% share of approved IB fees in 2023 likely persisted through 2025, with Houlihan Lokey, Lazard, Evercore, and Moelis splitting most of the remainder.

For candidates, the fee pool size matters because it directly drives compensation pools. A 30-40% above-2024 fee year produces meaningful bonus uplift across the major firms, with Year 1 analyst total compensation likely running 15-25% above the previous cycle's level at the top firms. The 2025-2026 compensation environment is among the most attractive Rx market windows in recent memory.

The aggregate restructuring fee pool across the major firms ran an estimated $30-40% above 2024 levels in 2025, reflecting the broader market surge captured in Section 8 of this guide. League table positioning at any single firm fluctuates year-by-year based on which firm wins which marquee case, but the underlying tier structure has been stable for the past five-plus years.

For interview prep purposes, candidates should know the tier structure, the senior teams at each firm (at least at the Tier 1 firms), and the marquee cases each firm has worked. This knowledge differentiates candidates who treat Rx as an undifferentiated boutique cluster from candidates who understand the actual competitive dynamics. The next twelve articles in this section drill into the lifestyle, compensation, exit pathways, and interview process across the Rx universe.