Polsinelli

Departments

Phone: 302.252.0922
Fax: 302.252.0921

Christopher A. Ward

Shareholder | Practice Group Chair
Christopher A. Ward is vice chair of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring practice group, as well as managing shareholder of Polsinelli's Wilmington, Delaware office.  In addition to acting as primary counsel to the firm’s clients in matters pending in Delaware, Mr. Ward serves as Delaware local counsel, conflicts counsel, avoidance action/contingency fee counsel, special counsel and claims administration counsel in various matters pending before the Delaware courts.  Mr. Ward focuses his practice on corporate bankruptcy, financial restructuring, bankruptcy litigation, out-of-court workouts and debtor in possession financing.  He has represented a vast array of clients, including numerous chapter 11 debtors, creditors’ committees, liquidating and litigation trusts, equity committees and shareholders, assignees in assignments for the benefit of creditors (ABC), asset purchasers, institutional lenders, private equity firms, landlords and individual creditors, as well as both plaintiffs and defendants in adversary proceedings. 

Memberships and Affiliations

  • American Bankruptcy Institute
    • Century Council Member
  • Turnaround Management Association
  • Delaware State Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
    • Business Law Section
  • Widener University School of Law
    • Alumni Mentoring Program
  • MDA Hot 100 Legal Leaders Event (Delaware Valley)
    • Executive Committee

Distinctions

  • Ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Bankruptcy/Restructuring, (Delaware), 2010-2013
  • Selected for inclusion in Delaware Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2012
  • 7th Annual M&A Advisor Turnaround Awards, Best Restructuring, Finalist, Restructuring Deal of the Year ($100M-$500M), Restructuring and Sale of Coach America
  • Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Co-Chair
  • Polsinelli Shughart Bankruptcy Report, Editor
  • Delaware Bankruptcy, District and Superior Court Certified Mediator
  • Daily DAC LLC, Advisory Board
  • Rated “Superb” (10 out of 10) by the attorney rating service, AVVO

Experience

  • Lead counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of Revel AC, Inc.
  • Lead counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of Open Range Communications and special litigation counsel to chapter 7 Trustee
  • Special litigation counsel to the chapter 7 trustee in Doveview, LLC
  • Lead counsel to Blue Springs Ford as chapter 11 debtor and debtor in possession
  • Delaware bankruptcy counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of Saab Cars of North America (former counsel to petitioning creditors in involuntary chapter 11)
  • Lead counsel to Barjan, LLC; TSG Global, LLC, and their affiliated chapter 11 debtors
  • Lead counsel to Nichols Excavation and Nichols Nursery as chapter 11 debtors and debtors in possession
  • Delaware bankruptcy counsel and special conflicts counsel to Coach America and its 50 affiliated debtor and debtor in possession entities
  • Co-counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors of Chef Solutions and Orval Kent Foods
  • Co-counsel to Charles M. Moore, in his capacity as trustee of the CD Liquidation Trust
  • Lead counsel to Signature Styles, LLC (Spiegel Brands) as chapter 11 debtors and debtors in possession
  • Special conflicts counsel to Indianapolis Downs debtors and debtors in possession
  • Co-counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors of FKF Madison Park Group Owner, LLC (One Madison Park)
  • Co-counsel to Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. and its affiliates as chapter 11 debtors and debtor in possession
  • Lead counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors of Ultimate Escapes Holdings
  • Counsel to largest shareholder of Metropolitan Hospice in Delaware Chancery Court action seeking the appointment of receiver
  • Co-counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of Global Capacity Group, Inc.
  • Co-Counsel to the Wilmington Trust Company, the Liquidating Trustee of the PCAA Creditors Liquidating Trust, successor-in-interest to the official committee of unsecured creditors of PCAA Parent
  • Co-counsel to Barcalounger and American of Martinsville as chapter 11 debtors and debtors in possession
  • Lead counsel to Eigen, Inc. as chapter 11 debtor and debtor in possession
  • Lead counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors, and its successor the liquidating trust, in the chapter 11 cases of Crossroads Wireless in the Western District of Oklahoma
  • Lead counsel to Coastal Concrete Southeast, a Delaware corporation, in its successful out-of-court restructuring to solidify its balance sheet and to improve future liquidity
  • Co-counsel to Hotel Equity V, LLC as debtor in its chapter 11 case pending in Delaware Bankruptcy Court, as well as matters pending before the Delaware Chancery Court and District Court
  • Co-counsel to ad hoc committee of Visteon Pension Plan Participants
  • Co-counsel to NV Broadcasting, LLC and its affiliated chapter 11 debtors and debtors in possession
  • Special conflicts counsel to Opus South Corporation, chapter 11 debtor and debtor in possession
  • Lead counsel to DxTech, LLC as chapter 11 debtor and debtor in possession
  • Co-counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of Pliant Corporation (2009) and reorganized debtors 
  • Counsel to Assignee in Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors in Delaware Chancery Court on behalf of Fitz & Floyd, Inc. and FEG/Ramic
  • Co-counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors of White Energy (Ethanol), Inc.
  • Co-counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors in BT Holdings/Big 10 Tires
  • Co-counsel to Louis J. Freeh, Esq., the court-appointed Examiner of SemCrude, L.P. and its affiliated debtors and debtors in possession
  • Counsel to chair of the official committee of unsecured creditors and largest unsecured creditor in Incentra/ManagedSolutions
  • Counsel to chapter 7 Debtors: Entertainment Publications; Abound Solar; Hess Industries; Bomar/Nantucket Trim; Consolidated Bedding/Spring Air Mattress; LakeWest Group, LLC; and Ark II Manufacturing, LLC
  • Counsel to various lenders and special servicers in chapter 11 cases of DBSI, Inc. and its related tenant-in-common (TIC) entities
  • Co-counsel to ad hoc committee of equity security holders in Source Interlink
  • Co-counsel to group of lenders and reorganized debtor in JHT Holdings, LLC
  • Counsel to numerous contract counter-parties in Lehman Brothers chapter 11 case
  • Co-counsel to debtor in possession and reorganized debtor in chapter 11 case of American LaFrance, LLC
  • Co-counsel to official committee of unsecured creditors in chapter 11 case of Amp'd Mobile, Inc.
  • Co-counsel to debtor in chapter 11 cases of The Love Sac Corporation
  • Counsel to official committee of equity security holders in chapter 11 cases of Trump Hotel Casino Resorts
  • Counsel to debtors in chapter 11 cases of Ameriking, Inc.
  • Counsel to the debtors in chapter 11 cases of Unidigital, Inc.

Mr. Ward also represents defendants in numerous adversary proceedings across the country, including: Allied Sytems; Ascendia Brands; BioEnergy; Blue Hippo; Crossroads Wireless; Delphi; DBSI; DG Liquidation; GOE Lima; Hard Rock Park; Linens N' Things; Incentra Managed Solutions; Masterlink; Midway Games; Mortgage Lenders Network; MPC Computers; Quebecor; Netversant; New Century; New Page, Newstarcom; Nortel Networks; Northeast Biofuels; NWL Holdings; Pacific Energy; Tribune Company; Renew Energy; RG Steel, SCH Corp.; SemGroup; Spansion; Ultimate Acquisition; VeraSun; and Visteon.

Publications & Presentations

April 4, 2013
Presentation given by James Billingsley; moderated by Christopher Ward; and authored by Justin Edelson, all from the law firm of Polsinelli Shughart.
April 2013
American Bankruptcy Institute
Authored and edited by Christopher Ward. Also authored by Michael Tamburini, Shanti Katona and Jarrett Vine. 
March 4, 2013
March 2012
American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Vol. XXXI, No. 2
November 2011
Financier Worldwide Magazine
Chris Ward, Vice Chair of Polsinelli's Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Group and Managing Shareholder of Polsinelli's Delaware office recently participated in a roundtable discussion regarding U.S. bankruptcy law with industry leaders including Kirkland & Ellis, Conway McKenzie and Skadden Arps. The roundtable focused on:
  • Summary of recent trends in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
  • Pros and cons of a corporate bankruptcy filing
  • Emergence of Section 363 asset sales and prepackaged bankruptcies as the preferred course of action in bankruptcy
October 2011
Financier Worldwide Magazine
The US business environment remains tough. Early signs of economic recovery were wiped out when the second quarter stalled, due largely to the government's debt ceiling crisis. Meanwhile, distressed companies continue to opt for section 363 sales and liquidations over Chapter 11 restructurings, and the shock of the credit downgrade has hit those already struggling in a weak recovery. However, these challenges are not insurmountable - there are still opportunities for debtors and their bankruptcy advisers to work together to effect positive change and revitalise fortunes.
March 10, 2011
In these troubling economic times, situations involving a licensing counterparty filing for bankruptcy are becoming more common, so it is vital for practitioners to address bankruptcy issues upfront during the negotiation of the licensing agreement
January 2011
ABI Technology and Telecommunications Committee Newsletter, Volume 8, Number 1
October 2010
In an order dated September 7, 2010, Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain of the Southern District of New York dismissed, without prejudice, more than 100 adversary proceedings filed by the reorganized debtors (the “Debtors”) in the bankruptcy cases of DPH Holdings Corp. (05-44481 (RDD)) (“Delphi”) for failure to plead sufficient facts to state such claims and to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Federal Rules”).
July 16, 2010
Lorman Education Services
Presentations given on topics: First Day Pleadings; Secured Claims, Cash Collateral and DIP Financing; 363 Sales
March 2010
ABI Asset Sales Committee Newsletter, Volume 7, Number 2
January | February 2010
TMA The Journal of Corporate Renewal, Vol. 23/No. 1 Jan/Feb 2010
January 2010
2009
Published by Thomson Reuters
Chapter 1:  Chapter 11 Strategy and the Creditors' Committee:  Achieving Success for All Creditors
2009
Presented to Sterling Education Series
December | January 2006
American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, Vol. XXIV, No.10
2005
Presented to National Business Institute
2005
Financier Worldwide’s Restructuring and Insolvency Guide
2004
Presented to Sterling Education Services