Christina Sanfelippo

Member

Recent News:

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 250 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys in Best Lawyers in America 2026 Edition

Best Lawyers selected more than 250 Cozen O'Connor lawyers from 26 of the firm's US offices for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Christina focuses her practice on financial restructuring and bankruptcy law. She represents debtors, trustees, and creditors in a range of Chapter 7 proceedings, including preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as complex bankruptcy litigation. Christina also assists debtors and official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings. In addition, she handles commercial disputes, including contract claims and business torts.

Christina is an active and engaged professional in the bankruptcy and restructuring industry. She is actively involved in the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and she currently serves on IWIRC’s international board of directors as U.S. Programs Committee co-director. Christina has been elected as the chair of the board of directors for the Chicago Network for 2023 and 2024. In 2018, she received the prestigious Rising Star Award for her exceptional leadership and contributions to IWIRC’s mission of enhancing the professional status of women in the insolvency and restructuring profession. An active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), Christina is a coordinating editor of the ABI Journal’s Benchnotes column and serves on the advisory board for the Central States Regional Conference. She also serves as the co-chair of the ABI's Young and New Members Committee. In 2024, Christina was named to the ABI's "40 Under 40" Emerging Leaders in Insolvency Practice list.

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Experience

Represented the court-appointed trustee for the bankruptcy estate of pharmaceutical company Akorn Holding Company LLC in connection with establishing and conducting an expedited auction sale process for substantially all of its assets. At the conclusion of the auction, the aggregate purchase price agreed to be paid by the successful purchasers was approximately $309 million. We then negotiated 13 individual Asset Purchase Agreements and obtained the entry from the bankruptcy court of 21 individual sale orders approving the sales of the purchased assets, all of which we successfully closed within a 45-day period.


Successfully stopped a state court-ordered sheriff's sale of a debtor's real property in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. We obtained court approval of the client's post-petition financing, enabling the company to exit its bankruptcy case and pay all prepetition creditors in full, and then obtained an order dismissing the bankruptcy case.


Served on the team that represented Cosi, Inc. and its six affiliates in their chapter 11 cases commenced in Delaware. One month into the chapter 11 cases, the global pandemic occurred and the resulting lockdowns caused an immediate reduction of 85 percent of this sandwich shop chain’s revenues. The company struggled for its survival, which was hampered by the longevity of the pandemic, the inability to obtain a PPP loan, and funds being exhausted under the Restaurant Revitalization Fund before its application could be acted upon. Ultimately, after dismissing its cases to attempt to obtain RRF monies, the company secured a third-party plan sponsor. We then successfully moved to reinstate the chapter 11 cases over one year after dismissal. We were able to confirm a pre-packaged plan of reorganization within sixteen days after the cases were reinstated with the unanimous support of the creditor body.


Served on the team that represented US Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) and its five affiliates in their Chapter 11 proceedings in Raleigh, NC. USTC and its affiliates were forced into Chapter 11 due to an adverse judgment in a class action that had been ongoing for 17 years, and that resulted in a $1 billion claim being filed by the class in the case. After early skirmishes with the class, we were able to negotiate a global settlement after three days of mediation with the class and the bank group. The global settlement served as the lynchpin to a plan of reorganization that was fully consensual with all classes of creditors and equity holders and was confirmed by the court and has gone effective. The matter was named the 2022 Consumer Staples Deal of the Year and the Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year by the M&A Advisor.


News

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 250 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys in Best Lawyers in America 2026 Edition

August 21, 2025

Best Lawyers selected more than 250 Cozen O'Connor lawyers from 26 of the firm's US offices for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Cozen O’Connor Promotes 31 Attorneys to Member and Senior Principal

March 20, 2025

“It’s always a pleasure to recognize the hard work and dedication of our attorneys and government relations professionals,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Heller. “This outstanding class of new members and senior principals will undoubtedly propel Cozen O’Connor’s ongoing success.”

Nine Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named 2025 Illinois Super Lawyers, Rising Stars

January 21, 2025

Super Lawyers has named seven attorneys 2025 Illinois Super Lawyers and two attorneys 2025 Illinois Rising Stars.

Christina Sanfelippo Named to American Bankruptcy Institute’s “40 Under 40” List

October 21, 2024

Christina Sanfelippo, an associate in Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Practice, has been selected as an honoree of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2024 “40 Under 40” Emerging Leaders in Insolvency Practice award program.

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys in its Best Lawyers in America 2025 Edition

August 15, 2024

Best Lawyers selected 242 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.

The American Bankruptcy Institute Selects Cozen O’Connor Transaction as Asset Sale of the Year

April 20, 2024

Cozen O’Connor is proud to announce that the firm’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Group is the recipient of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Asset Sale of the Year award.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 19 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

March 05, 2024

Ira Bodenstein, Jack Carriglio, Janet Davis, John Dunn, Mitch Edlund, Wendy Enerson, Gary Gassman, Tia Ghattas, Jeremy Glenn, Erin Bolan Hines, Mark Rabinowitz, Peter Roberts, Brian Shaw, Joseph Tilson, Julie Trester, Peter Valeta, Anna Wermuth, and Brian Williams were recognized as Leading Lawyers, Christina Sanfelippo was recognized as an Emerging Lawyer.

Best Lawyers Honors More Than 200 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys to its Best Lawyers in America 2024 Edition

August 17, 2023

Best Lawyers selected 230 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s U.S. offices for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Cozen O’Connor Attorney Christina Sanfelippo Elected Board of Directors Chair for IWIRC’s Chicago Network

December 13, 2022

Chicago, December 13, 2022 — Christina Sanfelippo, an associate in Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Practice, has been elected chair of the board of directors for the Chicago Network of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) for 2023 and 2024. Sanfelippo has also been elected U.S. Programs Committee co-director on IWIRC’s international board of directors for 2023.

U.S. Tobacco Deal Wins M&A Advisor Award

November 16, 2022

The team's representation of U.S. Tobacco successfully ended a 17-year class action battle for the largest tobacco cooperative in the United States.

More Than 200 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch

August 22, 2022

210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 24 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 23 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

March 02, 2022

The Leading Lawyers Network has named 22 Cozen O’Connor lawyers to its annual list of Illinois’ top practitioners and named one other as an Emerging Lawyer in its 2022 survey results.

More Than 205 Cozen O’Connor Attorneys Named Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch By The Best Lawyers In America

August 19, 2021

Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Leading Lawyers Network Recognizes 26 Cozen O’Connor Lawyers as Top Illinois Practitioners

January 26, 2021

The Leading Lawyers Network has named 24 Cozen O’Connor lawyers to its annual list of Illinois’ top practitioners and named two others as Emerging Lawyers in its 2021 survey results.

Publications

Golf Cart Ruling Exposes Bankruptcy Exemption Law Issue

October 03, 2022

Brian Shaw and Christina Sanfelippo discuss the In re: Smith decision and what it means for bankruptcy practitioners in a Law360 article.

Fixing Ch. 11 For Small Biz: What SBRA Means By 'Engaged'

February 05, 2021

Brian Shaw and Christina Sanfelippo discuss the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) that went into effect on February 19, 2021 and is designed to improve the Chapter 11 reorganization process for small business debtors in Law360.

The Domesticity Barrier to Recognition of a Foreign Proceeding Under Chapter 15

August 31, 2018

Brian Shaw and Christina Sanfelippo go in-depth about Judge Sean Lane's reiterated statement regarding the low domestic presence threshold (Domesticity) that a foreign representative must meet when it is petitioning for recognition of a foreign proceeding under Chapter 15 in Law.com.

Commodity Broker Liquidations: What Qualifies as a “Commodity Contract”?

September 22, 2017

Christina Sanfelippo discusses what qualifies as a Commodity Contract in the American Bar Association's Young & New Members Committee Newsletter.

Education

  • Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2015
  • University of Minnesota , B.S., 2012

Awards & Honors

"40 Under 40" Emerging Leaders in Insolvency Practice, American Bankruptcy Institute, 2024

Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch, 2021-2026

Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2025

International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, Rising Star Award, 2018

Emerging Lawyer, Bankruptcy & Workout Law: Commercial and Commercial Litigation by Leading Lawyers, 2017-2018

  • Illinois
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court -- Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court -- Western District of Wisconsin

American Bankruptcy Institute 

International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation