Renowned US bankruptcy lawyer and Weil Gotshal & Manges partner Harvey Miller has died aged 82.

He died yesterday (27 April) at his home in Manhattan after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neuron disease.

Miller founded Weil's bankruptcy practice, building up a reputation for both himself and the firm on the back of a string of major cases including Lehman Brothers, General Motors, American Airlines, Texaco and Enron. He is widely regarded for transforming bankruptcy and restructuring into a leading practice at commercial law firms. 

He headed Weil's finance and restructuring group for 31 years and served on the firm's management committee for 27 years before embarking on a four-year stint at merchant banking firm Greenhill & Co, where he worked as managing director and vice chair.

Weil executive partner Barry Wolf described Miller as "the premier bankruptcy law practitioner".

He added: "He was a trailblazer and set the standard for how to approach, develop and expand the practice. He leaves an unparalleled and indelible impact on the field of bankruptcy law and on Weil and we will miss him greatly."

Ira Millstein, a senior partner at Weil who recruited Miller and managed the firm alongside him, said: "When Harvey joined Weil we had only 45 lawyers and two offices. He was an unforgettable leader, my personal colleague and friend. He will be missed greatly by me and many at Weil and beyond."

As well as working in private practice Miller also spent time teaching at some of America's foremost law schools including Columbia Law School, Yale Law School and New York University School of Law.

In honour of Miller, Weil has established the Harvey R Miller Lecture Series at Columbia Law School. Information on how to make contributions will be posted on the firm's website.