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	Judge "the Right Guy" for Complex Dispute By Maureen Milford The News Journal January 18, 2010 http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20101180313 If any judge is up to the challenge of deciding complex disputes in a sensitive bankruptcy case, it is U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi, lawyers said. Sontchi, who is presiding over the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, is a "very smart judge" who enjoys the challenge of puzzling through complicated facts and competing sets of interests, lawyers said. Now Sontchi has to decide whether to grant charity, sustenance or benefits from the diocese's pool of assets to six men accused of abuse. Abuse survivors, who are unsecured creditors, are asking the judge to deny any payments. "He's the right guy" to handle the matter, said Mark Collins, head of the bankruptcy group at Richards, Layton & Finger in Wilmington. "Judge Sontchi has the right temperament and intellect to approach these issues. He's a very bright guy." Sontchi has experience in deciding matters for which there is no precedent, said Mark Power, with Hahn & Hessen in New York City. Power represented creditors in the bankruptcy of one of the country's largest mortgage lenders, a case that involved issues of law that had never been decided, he said. "He won't shy away from making tough decisions," Power said. The mortgage lender case was similar to the diocesan bankruptcy in that it involved homeowners who had been victimized and were angry. Emotions were raw, he said. "Judge Sontchi was extremely sensitive to the plight of the homeowners," Power said. Power said he's also been in the courtroom observing when Sontchi has handled consumer bankruptcy cases. "Rarely do you see a judge who goes out of his way to explain" the law, Power said. "You can see he enjoys being a judge and relishes the role." Bankruptcy lawyers say Sontchi's intellectual bent led him to leave a lucrative private practice in Wilmington in 2006 to take a position in the federal bankruptcy court's Delaware district. He was a member of the firm of Ashby & Geddes. "He's not in it for the money," said Douglas Baird, a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, where Sontchi is a lecturer. Sontchi, a Delaware native, graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He received his law degree in 1992 from the University of Chicago Law School. Sontchi clerked for Delaware Supreme Court Justice Joseph T. Walsh, who has since retired. "He was one of my better law clerks," Walsh said. "He was extremely hard-working, bright and conscientious." Baird said bankruptcy lawyers have said to him privately that Sontchi's great quality as a judge is his ability to come to a case without any bias. "The test of a really good judge is if you would like him to decide a case and you don't know which side you're going to be on. Lawyers know that this is a judge who's going to get it right," Baird said. Contact Maureen Milford at 324-2881 or mmilford@delawareonline.com
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