GianClaudio Finizio | Bayard, P.A.

Tel: +1 302-429-4240
Fax: +1 302-658-6395

Biography
Experience
News

GianClaudio regularly represents debtors, official committees of unsecured creditors or equity holders, financial institutions, and publicly and privately held businesses in bankruptcy cases.

GianClaudio also focuses on insurance matters including advising insurance companies regarding compliance with state regulations and changes in ownership or control. During 2008, GianClaudio performed the duties of Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the Insurance Commissioner of Delaware. GianClaudio is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Delaware. GianClaudio also currently serves as the firm’s member contact for Meritas™. In 2019, GianClaudio was appointed to the Meritas U.S. Leadership Committee where he served a three-year term. Meritas is an invitation-only international alliance of over 175 business law firms located in over 80 countries.

Prior to practicing law, he served as a business analyst in Basell USA Inc.’s Health, Safety and Environment, supporting North American manufacturing, research and development facilities in the areas of product regulatory activities, environmental, toxicological, health, safety, and industrial hygiene. While in law school, GianClaudio was a member of Basell’s law department, assisting with litigation and corporate governance matters.

GianClaudio earned a J.D., magna cum laude (co-valedictorian), from the Widener University Delaware Law School, and graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.A. in Biology and Italian. He served as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Jane R. Roth in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. GianClaudio is listed as an attorney contact for the State of Delaware by the Italian Trade Agency (ICE – Agenzia per la promozione all’estero e l’internazionale delle imprese Italiane). He is fluent in Italian.

Awards & Rankings

Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, 2017

Debtors

Sea Launch – Lead counsel for Yuzhny PA Mashinstroitelny (“Yuzhmash”), a large scale state-owned Ukrainian manufacturer of space rockets involving litigation against the official committee of unsecured creditors in support of Yuzhmash’s $141 million claim resulting in a global resolution pursuant to an amended plan of reorganization that involved negotiations among the world’s most advanced rocket manufacturers in the U.S.A. (Boeing), Russia (S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia) and Ukraine (Yuzhmash).
Insightra Medical, Inc. – Representation of chapter 11 Debtors resulting in confimred plan of reorganization
MIG, LLC and ITC Cellular, LLC – Lead bankruptcy counsel for Shenton Park Company, Inc. in the MIG, LLC and ITC Cellular, LLC chapter 11 cases.
Repsol – Lead counsel to Repsol in the chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of Caribbean Petroleum and affiliates and on appeal in the Delaware District Court.
Phoenix Payment Systems – Lead counsel for former CEO and largest shareholder of debtor involved in the credit card processing industry
Raser Technologies Inc. (Cyrq Energy Inc.) – Delaware counsel to the Debtors in connection with plan confirmation and post-confirmation litigation.
Pacific Energy Resources Ltd. – Representation of overriding royalty interest holder of oil and gas production and exploration assets
Uniroyal – Delaware counsel to debtors.

Committees

Premier International Holdings Group, Inc (Six Flags) – Co-counsel to an Ad Hoc Committee of Bondholders in the Premier International Holdings Group Inc. (Six Flags mega case) chapter 11 cases resulting in bankruptcy court approval of a deal which ultimately gave control of the company to bondholder group in exchange for new equity investment.
AbitibiBowater, Inc. – Co-counsel the Creditors’ Committee in the mega cases of AbitibiBowater, an integrated newsprint and forestry products family of companies.
Altegrity – Delaware counsel to the statutory committee of unsecured creditors.
Trident Microsystems, Inc. – Delaware counsel to the Statutory Committee of Equity Security Holders in the Trident Microsystems, Inc. chapter 11 cases.
School Specialty, Inc. – Co-counsel to certain Noteholders relative to a proposed Disclosure Statement for Debtors’ Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization and Amended Plan resulting in obtaining value for the objecting noteholders.
Capmark – Co-counsel to the Creditors’ Committee in the mega cases of Capmark Financial Group, a group of commercial real estate financial services companies providing real estate-related products and services to borrowers and investors in North America, Asia and Europe.
Magnatrax – Delaware counsel to the statutory committee of unsecured creditors of Magnatrax.
Kellstrom – Representation of statutory committee of unsecured creditors and the liquidating trustee.
IT Group – Delaware counsel to the statutory committee of unsecured creditors involved a significant favorable decision of then pending avoidance actions granting the client’s partial summary judgment motion with respect to the all important issue of the application of the Third Circuit’s “Kiwi” decision.
Seitel – Representation of the Seitel Equity Committee.