CSG Strengthens Bankruptcy Practice with Addition of Veteran Insolvency Attorneys Della Fera and Walsh
Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC (“CSG”) announced today that veteran bankruptcy attorneys Sam Della Fera, Jr. and Thomas M. Walsh have joined the firm as Members in its West Orange, New Jersey headquarters. Della Fera will serve as Co-Chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Group alongside Robert E. Nies. Scott A. Zuber will serve as its Practice Group Leader.
The timely additions to the Group follow an unprecedented year in which CSG represented several major creditors, including financial institutions, national surety companies and health care providers across the U.S., and particularly within the Mid-Atlantic business hub, as they mapped uncharted waters in the practice of debt recovery. With these latest additions, as well as the two dozen multidisciplinary attorneys who have joined the firm since the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, CSG is poised to continue on its positive upward trajectory as a preeminent legal service provider proactively meeting the business and financial concerns of its clients as they navigate the uncertainty on the horizon.
“We are delighted to welcome Sam and Tom, each brilliant attorneys and business leaders, to the firm,” noted Daniel A. Schwartz, CSG’s Managing Member. “The current business climate and market outlook calls for the delivery of forward-thinking insights and counsel helping to drive positive outcomes for our clients – whether those seeking to minimize their financial exposure or pursuing opportunity in the rebounding transactional marketplace. These key additions to our Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Group position both the firm and its clients for enduring success in this environment.”
Robert E. Nies added, “I have known Sam and Tom for many years and their reputations in the insolvency field are impeccable. They each have the experience, legal acumen and character to add meaningful depth to the Group critical in ensuring the quality legal service and innovative solutions our clients have come to expect at an even broader scale, whether in the courtroom or in the boardroom.”
Della Fera brings nearly 30 years of experience representing the interests of his clients – which include individual and corporate debtors, trustees, creditors’ committees, secured creditors, landlords and other parties – in commercial litigation, bankruptcy, debtor and creditors’ rights, and in financial restructurings and workouts both in and outside of court. He is seasoned in all aspects of Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 matters and is both a Subchapter V bankruptcy trustee and a New Jersey Bankruptcy Court-approved mediator.
Walsh practices in the areas of commercial litigation, corporate restructuring, distressed M&A transactions, bankruptcy, and debtor and creditors’ rights. In the litigation arena, he regularly appears in bankruptcy courts across the country, as well as federal courts throughout New York and New Jersey. Within the transactional setting, he has assisted clients across a variety of industries – including real estate, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and transportation – in managing the end-to-end bankruptcy sale process.
“Tom and I are excited to join one of the fastest growing and most well-managed legal powerhouses in the region,” Della Fera commented. “The deep-rooted culture of collegiality that has been nurtured at CSG over decades, as well as the breadth of knowledge housed within the firm, was readily apparent at the outset of our discussions. These factors will provide ample opportunity for us to supercharge our individual practices and add value to the efforts of our new multidisciplinary teammates – particularly those practicing in the corporate and tax areas, which have become of immense importance in the post-pandemic era.”
Della Fera’s and Walsh’s arrivals mark the latest senior-level legal talent to join the firm following the March 2021 additions of the Honorable Joseph A. Dickson, former Federal Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and transactional commercial real estate veteran, Philip A. Markowitz.
