Christopher Celentino is the managing partner of Duane Morris' San Diego office. He practices in the areas of business reorganization, creditor's rights, insolvency and bankruptcy Mr. Celentino's bankruptcy practice emphasizes representation of creditors in chapter 7, 11 and 13 cases, as well as representation of court-appointed trustees in chapter 7 and chapter 11 cases. He has also represented debtors, including publicly traded companies, having been instrumental in representing a debtor in a chapter 11 reorganization characterized by the bankruptcy judge as "a member of the San Diego Bankruptcy Reorganization Hall of Fame." Mr. Celentino has a special knowledge in mechanic's lien law and construction litigation matters, as well as family law and related dissolution matters. Mr. Celentino's creditor's rights practice emphasizes representing lenders and borrowers in workout and restructuring of commercial loans, secured transactions, and lease transactions, and pursuit of creditor's remedies in commercial litigation matters.

Mr. Celentino is admitted to practice in all California state courts and before the U.S. District Court for the Southern, Northern, Central and Eastern districts of California. Mr. Celentino has been admitted pro hac vice in federal bankruptcy court matters in Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Illinois and Texas.

Mr. Celentino is one of only four San Diego attorneys certified as a business bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification. Mr. Celentino is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, California State Bar Association and the San Diego, Bay Area and California bankruptcy forums. He was named a Super Lawyer for San Diego by Law & Politics magazine for 2007 and 2008, was listed in the 2005-2006 edition of Who's Who in American Law and was the 2002 president of the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, the leading professional organization for bankruptcy lawyers in San Diego. His is the current secretary of the California State Bar Association Insolvency Law Committee and a member of the board of directors of the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum. He is a former president of the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, former chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association, former chair of the San Diego Financial Lawyers Group and a former executive committee member and board member of the California Bankruptcy Forum. He serves as a court-appointed mediator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California. Mr. Celentino has written and spoken on a wide variety of creditor's rights, banking, business and bankruptcy law topics.

Mr. Celentino is a 1987 cum laude graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Law and Technology and was an associate editor of The Georgetown Law Journal, and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Areas Of Practice

Creditor's Rights
Fiduciary Services Litigation
Business Reorganization and Workouts
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law

Representative Matters

Chief Reorganization Counsel, Palomar Mountain Spring Water, Inc., Confirmed Plan of Reorganization
Chief Reorganization Counsel, CinemaStar, Inc., confirmed plan, publicly traded company
Chief Reorganization Counsel, Audre, Inc., confirmed plan, publicly traded company
Trustee Counsel, In re Adams, complex high-profile bankruptcy/divorce case
Trustee Counsel, Multiple Fraudulent Conveyance Cases
OCC Counsel, In re Pacific Gateway Exchange, Confirmed Plan of Reorganization
OCC Counsel, In re Campesinos Unidos, Confirmed Plan of Reorganization

Professional Activities

State Bar of California
- Member, Insolvency Law Committee, 2005 - 2008
San Diego County Bar Association
- Chair, Bankruptcy Law Section, 1992-1993
San Diego Financial Lawyer's Group
- Former President
United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California
- Mediation Panel Member, 1994-present
Louis M. Welch Inn of the American Inns of Court

Admissions

California
United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude, 1987

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2003-present
-- Managing Partner, San Diego office
Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP, San Diego, California
- Partner, 1994-2003
- Associate, 1987-1994

Board Memberships

Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum
- Board of Directors
California Bankruptcy Forum
- Executive Committee
- Board of Directors
- Co-chair, Program Committee, 2000 Annual Meeting
San Diego Bankruptcy Forum
- Member, Board of Directors
- President, 2002
San Diego Center for Children
- Former Chair of Board

Civic and Charitable Activities

Fundraising Steering Committee, ElderHelp, 1996-1999
Republican National Convention Host Committee, 1996
Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee, City of San Diego, 1988-1991
San Diego Venture Group, 1987-1990
Member, Georgetown University Alumni Club of San Diego
Member, Northwestern University Alumni Club of San Diego
Head Coach and Team Manager, Presidio Little League
Coach and Sponsor, Tecolote Little League

Honors and Awards

Board Certified, Business Bankruptcy Specialist, American Board of Certification
Southern California Super Lawyers, 2007 and 2008
Listed in 2005-2006 edition of Who's Who in American Law
1994 Annual Award for Outstanding Service to the Community, San Diego County Bar Association
Frank Curran Humanitarian Award, San Diego Downtown Partnership, 1993
Delegate, California State Bar Convention, 1992 and 1993
Wiley M. Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Service, State Bar of California, 1992

Selected Publications

Author, "Portions of the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Legislation of Interest to Family Law Practitioners," Pennsylvania Family Lawyer, July 2008
Author, "Divorce and Bankruptcy: Spousal Support as Property of the Estate," California Bankruptcy Journal, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2006
Author, "Divorce and Bankruptcy," California Family Law Newsletter, 2006
Co-author, "Bankruptcy Law Update," CEB, April 1997 and 1998
Co-author, "Divorce and Bankruptcy: Current Issues," National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Meeting, 1995
Co-author, "Bankruptcy Ethics: A Panel Discussion," San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, 1994
Co-author, "Trustee's Issues: A Panel Discussion, " San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, 1994
"A Primer on Mechanics' Liens, Stop Notices and Design Professional's Liens: Protecting Your Interests in a Slow Economy," San Diego Wholesale Credit Association, 1994
"Bankruptcy Waters Run Deep for Those on Board," San Diego Business Journal, September 1993
Co-author, "Mechanics' Liens and Related Remedies," San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, 1992
Co-author, "Bankruptcy: a Brief Introduction," Dicta Magazine, November 1988
Co-author, "Debtors' Pension Plans: Ours or Theirs," NABtalk, Journal of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, Summer 2001
Co-author, "Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd.: Invalidating Shrink-wrap Licenses?" 2 Journal of Law & Technology 151, 1987

Selected Speaking Engagements

Co-speaker, "Bankruptcy Issues in Divorce," The Rutter Group program, San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, September 24-25, 2007
Speaker, "Bankruptcy Law: What You Need to Know When a Key Vendor/Supplier/Customer Files Bankruptcy?" Center for International Legal Studies, August 2006
Speaker, "Licensing, Distributions and Franchising Issues Arising in U.S. Bankruptcy Proceedings," Center for International Legal Studies, February 2006
Speaker, "Medication in Bankruptcy Cases, Center for International Legal Studies, February 2007
"Bankruptcy Taxation", 8th Annual Tax and Accounting Institute, San Diego, California, November 2004
"Key Creditor Remedies and Related Issues Under the Bankruptcy Law," CFDD Western Conference, San Diego, California, February 2004
Speaker, "Mechanics Lien Law & Related Remedies," National Association of Credit Managers, San Diego, 2006
Speaker, "Mechanics Lien Law & Related Remedies," National Association of Credit Managers, San Diego, 2006
"Debtors' Pension Plans: Ours or Theirs," National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, Spring Meeting, 2001; Annual Meeting, September 2003
"Construction Law and Mechanics' Lien Issues," Center for International Legal Studies, February 2003
"A Primer on Mechanic's Liens, Stop Notices and Design Professional's Liens," Credit Financial Development Division of National Association of Credit Managers, January 2001, 2002 and 2003
"Mechanics' Lien Law and Strategy, Stop Notices, and Payment Bond Claims in California," National Business Institute, April 2002
"Workouts, Restructuring and Reorganization," Association for Corporate Growth Annual Meeting, March 2002
"Emerging Use of Internet in Bankruptcy Asset Liquidation," Central California Bankruptcy Association, November 2000
"Efficient Liquidation of Assets in Bankruptcy Cases, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, September 2000
"Pursuit of Pension Assets in Bankruptcy Cases," Alameda County Bar Association, March 2000
"Offshore Assets: Discovery and Recovery," Southern California Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, January 2000
"What a Debtor's Lawyer Should Know About Commercial Credit," Central California Bankruptcy Forum, July 1999
"Bankruptcy and Divorce," Central California Bankruptcy Forum, July 1998
"A Primer on Mechanics' Liens, Stop Notices and Design Professional's Liens," Credit Financial Development Division of National Association of Credit Managers, April 1998
"Bankruptcy Law Update," CEB, March 1997; April 1998
"Construction Law and Bankruptcy," Central California Bankruptcy Forum, July 1997
"Bankruptcy and Divorce: An In-depth Analysis of Selected Issues," National Business Institute, June 1996; February 1997
"Bankruptcy and Divorce: Selected Issues," San Diego County Bar Association, March 1996
"Commercial Lending in California," National Business Institute, 1996
"Enforcing a Guaranty of Real Property Loans," San Diego County Bar Association, Real Property and Commercial Law Sections, May 1995
"Divorce and Bankruptcy: Current Issues," National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Meeting, March 1995
"Recent Changes to the California Civil Code: Mechanics' Liens, Stop Notices and Related Remedies on State and Federal Contracts," CFDD, San Diego Chapter
"A Primer on Mechanics' Liens, Stop Notices and Design Professional's Liens: Protecting Your Interests in a Slow Economy," "Bankruptcy Risks in Credit Transactions" and "Mechanics' Liens, Stop Notices and Related Remedies," San Diego Wholesale Credit Association, 1994
"International Letters of Credit," International Law Forum
"Documenting the Commercial Loan," Infocast
"Bankruptcy Risks in Credit Transactions," National Association of Credit Managers
"Workouts and Washouts: Current Issues in Dealing with Defaults and Foreclosures," National Association of Credit Managers
"Receiverships: Protecting Your Rents," Ninth Annual Legal Roundtable, San Diego Chapter of Women in Commercial Real Estate