February 26, 2008 – LAWFUEL – Law Firm Newswire – Cole Schotz announced the addition of five new members and one new associate, effective March 1. Norman L. Pernick, J. Kate Stickles and Michael F. Bonkowski will practice in the firm’s newly opened Wilmington office, while Irving E. Walker and Gary H. Leibowitz will practice in the firm’s newly-opened Baltimore office. David Dean is joining Cole Schotz as an associate and will also practice in the firm’s Baltimore office.
Pernick, Stickles, Walker, Leibowitz and Dean concentrate their practices in bankruptcy and all facets of corporate restructuring. Bonkowski’s expertise is in complex business and corporate litigation in Delaware’s Court of Chancery and elsewhere. All six attorneys were previously with Saul Ewing.
“We are thrilled to have such an outstanding group of attorneys join Cole Schotz,” said Michael D. Sirota, Co-Managing Shareholder of the firm and Chairman of the Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Department. “Norm Pernick and his colleagues have earned national reputations as premier restructuring lawyers and have worked on some of the most sophisticated and complex corporate bankruptcy cases in the Second, Third and Fourth Circuits. This strategic expansion increases Cole Schotz’s roster of full time restructuring lawyers to more than 20, uniquely situating the firm to provide its extensive expertise in several of the busiest restructuring venues in the country. We are excited by the opportunities this creates for our clients, industry colleagues and the firm.”
The Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Department of Cole Schotz is one of the New York metropolitan area’s most active and sophisticated corporate restructuring practices, possessing the expertise to represent clients in any insolvency-related matter throughout the country. The Department has extensive experience in middle market Chapter 11 cases representing debtors, creditors’ committees, equity holders, fiduciaries, acquiring entities and other parties with substantial interests in insolvency proceedings throughout the United States.
“My colleagues and I are excited to be joining a well-respected, full-service, collegial firm like Cole Schotz. The move is a perfect fit from a variety of business and cultural perspectives,” said Pernick. “Cole Schotz now possesses a unique status in the industry, with substantial, well-respected bankruptcy practitioners on the ground in the key corporate markets of New York, New Jersey, Wilmington and Baltimore. We believe this expansion will allow for the enhancement of Cole Schotz’s existing middle market focus and will position the firm for additional opportunities as co-counsel and conflicts counsel in the largest insolvency proceedings.”
