White Plains law firm adds bankruptcy practice

delbello merger — New merger partners in White Plains include, from left, Mark Weingarten, Alfred DelBello, Robert Rattet, Dawn Kirby, Jonathan Pasternak and Alfred Donnellan.

A boutique bankruptcy law firm in Westchester County has merged its practice with DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Weiderkehr L.L.P. (DDWWW), a general practice law firm in White Plains best known for its work with real estate developers.

Six attorneys at Rattet Pasternak L.L.P. have relocated from the firm”™s Harrison office to downtown White Plains as the Rattet Pasternak Bankruptcy Practice Group of DDWWW. The general practice firm is headquartered at 1 N. Lexington Ave. on Gateway Plaza.

With the merger, DDWWW has 10 practice groups with 31 attorneys, including 15 litigators. The firm is especially known for a real estate practice that includes land use and zoning and related environmental reviews, complex real estate transactions and financing and property tax certiorari proceedings.

Other practice areas include banking, commercial finance, commercial litigation, corporate law, government relations and economic development, personal injury law and matrimonial and family law.

Rattet Pasternak”™s practice includes all aspects of bankruptcy and insolvency law for businesses and individuals. The firm specializes in serving small and mid-sized businesses in a wide range of industries.

Alfred Donnellan, managing partner of DDWWW and member of the firm”™s executive committee, in a merger announcement called the addition of Rattet Pasternak”™s bankruptcy practice “a natural expansion” for his firm that will “enhance our overall strength and ability to efficiently serve our clients. Having our own bankruptcy practice is an important step forward and complements our existing areas of practice.”

“There is synergy between our firms, which is important to the success of any merger,” Donnellan added.

Jonathan Pasternak, managing partner of Rattet Pasternak, which has a 23-year history in Westchester, in the announcement said the merger offers opportunities for both firms. “Our areas of expertise, including bankruptcy as well as mergers and acquisitions and construction mediation, fit well within DDWWW”™s practice areas and add meaningfully to the scope of what the firm can offer. They are one of the most dynamic firms in the region and have expanded in a measured, steady way,” he said.

The bankruptcy practice group also includes founding partner Robert Rattet, who has practiced bankruptcy and insolvency law for business and real estate enterprises since starting his own law firm in 1975, partners Dawn Kirby, Julie Cvek and Erica Feynman and senior litigation counsel James Glucksman.