John Derek Stern is an Associate in the Firm’s Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring Group, where he focuses his practice on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, debtor‑creditor rights, assignments for the benefit of creditors, and commercial litigation, including related state‑court insolvency and creditor‑remedy proceedings.
John is experienced in Chapter 11 matters involving business and individual debtors, corporate restructuring issues, and bankruptcy‑related litigation. His work includes representing parties in complex insolvency proceedings and handling state‑court litigation arising from distressed business operations and creditor enforcement actions.
While earning his law degree from Rutgers School of Law–Newark, John worked in the foreclosure litigation unit of a national financial services law firm. He also distinguished himself as the Managing Research Editor of the Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal and served as a member of the Federal Tax Law Clinic. During law school, John interned for the Hon. Vincent F. Papalia, U.S.B.J., Dist. of N.J., and in the legal department of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Upon graduating from law school, John served as a law clerk to the Hon. Philip M. Freedman, J.S.C. (Ret.), in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex Vicinage, Special Civil Part, during the 2019–2020 court term. He thereafter served as a staff attorney for the New Jersey Superior Court, the sole staff attorney assigned to the Sexually Violent Predator Court to assist Superior Court judges assigned from every vicinage in New Jersey.
John received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Law & Society from Ramapo College of New Jersey. While at Ramapo, he received the 2016 Faculty‑Student Research Award from the School of Social Science and Human Services and presented his thesis at the 2015 COPLAC Northeast Regional Undergraduate Research Conference.
