By Gabrielle Saulsbery , NJBIZ

Porzio, Bromberg & Newman PC opened an outpost in Wilmington, Del. with the addition of Cheryl Santaniello, who will lead the new office, the firm announced Thursday.

This is the firm’s first Delaware location and is part of its long-term strategy to expand its services in Delaware and offer access to its widely-used bankruptcy courts.

Santaniello joins Porzio from three years at Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC in Wilmington. She started her legal career three decades ago at a firm in Haddonfield, according to her LinkedIn, and advises clients on complex business transactions and acquisitions.

Along with leading the Wilmington office as its managing principal, Santaniello is a member of Porzio’s Real Estate and Bankruptcy practice groups. She focuses her practice in the areas of business transactions, commercial real estate, lending and creditors’ rights, representing commercial purchasers, sellers, lenders, developers, landlords and tenants in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“This is an exciting time for Porzio, as Cheryl’s transactional and creditors rights background aligns with our firm’s objective to provide local counsel to our clients’ bankruptcy matters in Delaware,” said Vito Gagliardi Jr., managing principal of Porzio and president of the firm’s three subsidiaries – Porzio Life Sciences LLC, Porzio Governmental Affairs LLC and Porzio Compliance Services LLC –, in a prepared statement.

“We welcome Cheryl to the firm, knowing that our clients will benefit from her significant experience representing regional lending institutions, commercial real estate owners, and developers. In addition, Cheryl’s strong connection to the Wilmington area will guide our bankruptcy clients on financial distress and restructuring matters in the Delaware courts,” he said.

Santaniello also serves as outside general counsel to clients in a variety of industries, helping them navigate their day-to-day operations and providing legal opinions to lenders and rating agencies on entity formation and existence, authority, bankruptcy-remoteness and non-consolidation.

“I am excited to work with my new Porzio colleagues and to be a part of the firm’s overall strategic growth into the Delaware legal community. The wide range of legal services and specialists Porzio offers businesses and individuals is impressive, and I am confident that local and regional clients will find Porzio’s attorneys to be strategic partners and allies,” said Santaniello in a prepared statement.

“I am particularly excited to help launch Porzio’s established bankruptcy practice into this region, offering local Delaware counsel to the firm’s clients on their critically important bankruptcy matters. I look forward to building the Porzio team here in Wilmington,” she said.

In addition to its Morristown headquarters, Porzio now has offices in Princeton and Ocean City; Westborough, Mass.; New York City; and Washington, D.C.; along with its most recent outpost before Delaware in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which came online in October.

The Wilmington office is located at 300 Delaware Ave., Suite 1220.

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