Joel Shafferman is Of Counsel to Kucker Marino Winiarsky & Bittens, LLP. Mr. Shafferman concentrates his practice in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy law, general commercial law, as well as litigation in federal court. Immediately upon graduating law school in 1985, Mr. Shafferman was the law clerk for a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of New York.

As part of his creditors’ rights practice, Mr. Shafferman has broad experience in representing landlords in large and small chapter 11 retail cases such as Sears, Roebuck and Co., CEC Entertainment Inc. (parent corporation of Chuck E Cheese), 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc., Yoga Smoga, Inc., Auralee Productions, Inc. fka Halloween Scene. Mr. Shafferman also regularly represents secured lenders, and unsecured creditors in enforcing their rights against businesses and individuals debtors in chapter 7 and chapter 11 cases, and in defending claims against brought by bankruptcy trustees and creditors’ committees in adversary proceedings seeking to recover preferences and fraudulent conveyances. Mr. Shafferman has also represented creditor committees successfully obtaining recoveries for creditors in the successful reorganization.

In addition to his creditors’ rights practice, Mr. Shafferman has extensive experience in representing businesses entities and individuals as debtors in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 cases. Mr. Shafferman’s debtor client case encompasses a broad range of businesses ranging from single asset real estate entities, retail stores, restaurants, country clubs, and dotcoms.

In his federal ligation practice, recently Mr. Shafferman, along with his co-counsel, successfully represented Gem Financial Service, Inc. in obtaining an award, in excess of $1,000,000, against the City of New York in a jury trial held in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York.

Creditors’ Rights/Bankruptcy

• Motions to compel immediate payment of administrative rent
• Motions for modification of the automatic stay
• Motions for dismissal of Chapter 11 cases
• Reorganization plans in Chapter 11 reorganizations for business and individuals
• Bankruptcy Litigation including prosecuting and defending preferential transfer, fraudulent conveyance, and other “claw back” type adversary proceedings
• Bankruptcy litigation of discharge and dischargeability actions
• Purchases of assets in bankruptcy court sales
• Chapter 11 DIP financing