DETROIT, MI -- The lawyers and consultants who led Detroit through its mammoth restructuring are receiving accolades and making big moves in the wake of the city's exit from bankruptcy. A national organization of turnaround and finance professionals last month named Detroit's bankruptcy "Restructuring of the Year" in recognition of the firms that negotiated the agreements and strategies leading to

"Helping the city we call home make a historic comeback is one of our firm's greatest achievements," said Van Conway, CEO of Conway MacKenzie in a Wednesday statement. The Birmingham-based firm received the

along with seven other firms that worked on the case: Miller Buckfire, Ernst & Young, Barclays, Jones Day, Kurtzman Carson, Miller Canfield and Pepper Hamilton. "We are proud of the role we played in Detroit's restructuring and revitalization," Conway said. And Jones Day had its own announcement Wednesday. The Cleveland-based law firm that led Detroit's restructuring efforts plans to open a new office in the Motor City. Kevyn Orr, the bankruptcy attorney who took over Detroit government as emergency manager in 2013 and led the city through the Chapter 9 case, was a partner at Jones Day before he was tapped by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. (

) The Detroit office is expected to open July 1 as the firm's 42nd in the world. "Detroit has always been and will continue to be one of the great cities of the United States," said Jones Day Managing Partner Steve Brogan. "... Given our history and experience as lawyers for the great corporations of America's heartland, we are well-equipped to assist these vital efforts to rebuild the Detroit economy. We are, for example, uniquely well-suited to facilitate the growing inbound investment in the area, protect the exceptional volume of intellectual property produced by the companies of Southeast Michigan, and enable these entities to take advantage of markets across the globe, all of which is essential to the area's advancement and prosperity." The office will be led by a Wayne State University Law School graduate currently based in Chicago, Timothy Melton. "I am extremely excited to return to Detroit and privileged to have the chance to partner with the community and our clients in further expanding the business environment throughout the Metro area," Melton said in a statement. "We are proud to be investing in the vitality of Detroit's future and look forward to continuing to help our clients compete in the global marketplace while capitalizing on the new energy and optimism in the region."