Anthony M. Vassallo is a bankruptcy attorney who has devoted his entire professional career to representing debtors, creditors and trustees in both corporate and personal bankruptcy proceedings, ranging from individual cases to some of the largest corporate bankruptcy proceedings filed in the United States.
Tony is experienced in all facets of Chapter 7, 11, and 13 cases, out-of-court restructurings, and refinancing transactions. He has regularly appeared at court hearings, pre-trial conferences, depositions, appeals and arbitrations. He also is skilled in drafting pleadings, memoranda and discovery, conducting due diligence for asset sale and financing transactions, and drafting opinion letters for secured asset and sale transactions.
EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND
Tony attended Brooklyn Law School where he earned his juris doctor as a Dean Merit's Scholar in 1993. Prior to that he attended Columbia University where he received a B.A. in Latin and History followed by several years of graduate study in ancient history. During this time he also worked as a Senior Legal Assistant at two prominent law firms, focusing on bankruptcy law while working with two of the Bankruptcy Bar’s most respected attorneys.
EXPERIENCE
Judicial Clerkship
After earning his law degree, Tony clerked for the Hon. Tina L. Brozman, former Chief Judge of United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. During the two-year assignment he drafted over a dozen published opinions as well as dozens of unpublished opinions and bench memoranda for Bankruptcy Court and Bankruptcy Appellate Panel proceedings. He also assisted Judge Brozman in managing her court docket, and attending settlement conferences and overseeing discovery disputes.
Law Firm and Corporate
Upon completion of his clerkship, Tony worked for over a decade in nationally renowned bankruptcy departments at three law firms: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP; Togut Segal & Segal, LLP; and Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe, LLP. Engagements included representing debtors in Enron Corp., Delphi Corp., Episcopal Health Services, Inc., Adelphia Comunications, XO Communications and Starter Corp., representing Chapter 11 trustees in Refco, LLC; and Copperfield Investments, LLC, and representing Chapter 7 trustees in numerous cases. Other restructuring clients have included a major paper manufacturer, a major shoe company, a clothing manufacturer, a major party goods supplier, a Japanese steel company, and several commercial landlords and financial institutions including an Italian bank. Later, he worked for two years as in-house counsel for a major financial institution managing a nationwide portfolio of 150 active consumer bankruptcies involving mortgage loan issues.
Private Practice
Since 2013, Tony has maintained a private practice in which he represents clients in Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 proceedings and financial restructuring matters. He recently was engaged to represent two of the three largest individual tort creditors in the Gawker Media chapter 11 case.
ACTIVITIES
Professional
Among his professional activities, he is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York including serving on the Committees for Cooperative and Condominium Law and Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals. He has co-authored several law review articles regarding issues in international insolvency law and has lectured about bankruptcy issues for coops and condos. He has been interviewed by American Lawyer, Habitat Magazine and The New York Times.
Personal
Among his interests, Mr. Vassallo is an avid sports fan. He is the editor of and frequent contributor to www.thedarkranger.com, a website devoted to the New York Rangers. He enjoys graphic novels (DC, not Marvel), gardening, and opera.
