Gary M. Schildhorn
Of Counsel
Overview
Gary Schildhorn has over 40 years of experience assisting clients with overcoming business challenges and obtaining their goals. Gary possesses extensive courtroom and broad transactional experience. His areas of practice focus on corporate and business law, insolvency, reorganizations, and business bankruptcies. His clients are involved in a variety of industries, including real estate, distribution, employment services, multi-unit franchising, manufacturing, finance, and transportation.
Representative Matters
- Represented client in financing and acquisition of 32 office building portfolio.
- Represented $100 million+ profitable staffing company in sale of its business.
- Represents regional banks in front end transactions, workouts, and strategic affiliations.
- Represented client in sale of one of the largest privately owned quarries on the East Coast.
- Represented the Unsecured Creditor Committee in the bankruptcy proceeding of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, the Equity Committee in Marvel Entertainment, Inc., and the Debtor in DVI, Inc.
- Represented a major snack food manufacturer in negotiating the pre and post-petition transactions that resulted in the client acquiring a competitor out of bankruptcy.
- Represented client in federal court litigation in breach of lease suit involving thousands of shipping containers.
- Represented family that controls multiple restaurants, residential real estate developments, a golf course, and clubhouse. Negotiated consensual deals resulting in forgiveness of personal exposure of in excess of 20 million in debt.
- Represented 100-unit restaurant franchisee in pre-bankruptcy planning with bondholders, landlords, and franchisor.
- Represented developer with exposure in excess of $100 million to multiple banks in consensual workouts.
Professional Affiliations
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- Turnaround Management Association
Community Involvement
- Philadelphia Komen Foundation Race For The Cure, Former Co-Chair
- Executive Committee A Better Chance (ABC), Lower Merion, Board Member
- Of Kids Smiles, Board Member
- Lakeview Estates Homeowners Association, Board of Directors
Awards and Recognition:
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Selected for inclusion in Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers in Business for Bankruptcy/Restructuring
- Attained an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell
News and Insights
Publications
- “Can Performance Under Contracts be Discharged as a Result of the Coronavirus and Associated Government Orders in Pennsylvania?” Eckert Seamans’ COVID-19 Legal Update, March 25, 2020.
- “Franchise Agreements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: What restaurant franchisees need to know about these business deals,” co-author, Full Service Restaurant Magazine, February 2017.
- “The Unresolved Dilemma of Creditors’ vs. Stakeholders’ Rights,” ABI Journal, May 2013.
Media Coverage
- “Preparing for the age of AI scams,” NPR Pod Cast, January 25, 2024.
- “He Testified Before Congress After Nearly Falling Victim to A $9k AI Scam,” The Tamron Hall Show, January 11, 2024.
- “Philadelphia Attorney Tells Lawmakers How He Nearly Fell Victim to AI Scam,” C-SPAN, November 15, 2023.
- “Philadelphia Newspapers to release reorganization plan,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2009.
- “Judge allows papers to hire special counsel,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 10, 2009.
- “Creditors must inform Phila. Newspapers on taping probe,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 2009.
- “Judge to creditors in DN, Inky bankruptcy probe: Share info ASAP,” Philadelphia Daily News, July 1, 2009.
- “Publisher at odds with creditors over bank probe,” The Deal, June 30, 2009.
News Releases
- “Eckert Seamans Team Assists Penncap Properties on Significant Real Estate Transactions,” February 2024.
- “Eckert Seamans Advises Courtroom Connect on Acquisition by Greybull Stewardship,” March 2023.
Speaking Engagements
- “Auditing and Accounting Issues During a Financial Restructuring,” The National Tax Professionals Symposium, November 2012.
- “Keep it Interesting: Novel Issues Right Here in Philadelphia with the Inquirer Case,” panelist, Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, November 2009.
- “Bankruptcy in 2009: Practical Challenges, Scholarly Responses,” moderator, The Temple Law Review Symposium, April 2009.
- “The Lender Who Wanted Principal and Interest Payments and Title to All of the Borrower’s Assets,” Eckert Seamans’ CLE program, August 2007.
- “Why Businesses Fail,” presented annually to Villanova University undergraduate and MBA classes.