Tara J. Schellhorn

Tara J. Schellhorn is a partner with Riker Danzig LLP in Morristown, N.J., in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Corporate Restructuring Group. Her practice focuses on all aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring, including the representation of debtors, creditors’ committees, trustees, financial institutions, secured lenders, unsecured creditors and other parties in interest in complex chapter 11 cases. Ms. Schellhorn also has experience in bankruptcy litigation, including prosecuting and defending nondischargeability, preference and other avoidance actions. In addition, she has significant experience representing clients on complex corporate lending issues, including the representation of indenture trustees in default and bankruptcy situations. Her practice also includes civil litigation in both federal and state courts. Ms. Schellhorn currently serves as Secretary of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation’s (IWIRC’s) New Jersey Network, for which she formerly served as co-chair. She also served as Finance director on the International Board in 2024. In 2021, IWIRC honored her with the prestigious Melnick Award for exceptional contributions by an IWIRC member. Ms. Schellhorn also is an active ABI member and served as co-chair of ABI’s Young and New Members Committee, which received the Committee of the Year Award at ABI’s 2022 Annual Spring Meeting. She has served in a variety of roles, including co-chairing ABI’s Young and New Members Committee and Emerging Industries and Technology Committee, as well as serving as a member of the “40 Under 40” Program’s Steering Committee. She also serves as a contributing editor of the ABI Journal, overseeing the “Building Blocks” column, and she has authored numerous articles. Ms. Schellhorn is vice chair of the Lawyers Advisory Committee to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Prior to joining Riker Danzig, she clerked for Hon. Raymond T. Lyons in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Ms. Schellhorn is an editorial board member for Thomson Reuters’ 2024 book Strategic Alternatives For and Against Distressed Businesses. She received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Gettysburg College in 2004, and her J.D. magna cum laude from Widener University School of Law in 2007, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Widener Law Journal and received the Widener Law Journal Award for Distinguished Legal Scholarship. In addition, she received a 2007 ABI Medal of Excellence for out-standing performance in her bankruptcy coursework.