Former NEFA President Hornby leads new equipment leasing and finance group

Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC’s new equipment leasing and finance group has been launched to serve the growing equipment finance industry and meet evolving finance law trends.

The new group, launched April 1, is under the leadership of former National Equipment Finance Association President Robert Hornby, Hornby told Equipment Finance News. With its launch, CSG aims to better serve the changing equipment finance transaction landscape. 

“It’s easy from a lender’s perspective to shift to a certain style of transaction, such as a lease, finance agreement, equipment as a service, subscription, or bundling arrangement, to serve the needs of their customers or the market” he said. “However, while innovation is critical to the industry, it is our job on the legal side to ensure that the financing transaction is structured properly — we need to get into the minutia of how these changes work from a legal perspective so that the client can move forward with the transaction. How we can help the client implement change in a volatile market is an important question and goes to the heart of why we started our own group and department.”

As new lending services and programs emerge, the legal side of the industry must meet the demands of the rest of the equipment finance space, Hornby said. 

“If you understand this industry, then what you need to understand is legal services need to be provided in a different way,” he said. “With these new situations, [such as] subscription as a service, or a new program, there’s multiple parties, and we’re assigning things around to sit down with a client and say we want to get from point A to point B, but how can we do it legally and properly.” 

Targeted law operations 

The Roseland, N.J.-based, stand-alone finance group also includes Frank Peretore, of counsel; and associates Cory Simmons and Christian Martinotti, and there are plans to enhance services and resources for clients in equipment finance, Hornby said. 

“We wanted to break away a little bit to make our own distinct department and practice area within the firm, not only for streamlining how we add services, but to distinguish ourselves as this hybrid of corporate and litigation,” he said. 

The new group serves national and regional banks, captive equipment leasing companies and alternative lenders, Hornby said. The group regularly appears in New York and New Jersey courts to represent secured creditors, and also operates on transactions nationwide. 

“Equipment finance is running operations through every single state that we help, and not only the small guys, but the big guys, get the stuff they need to really get the job done,” he said. “Some people think, it’s all [Uniform Commercial Code]  … but this is about getting equipment in the hands of the people that are going to help America build itself back again.”  

The third annual Equipment Finance Connect at the JW Marriott Nashville in Nashville, Tenn., on May 14-15, 2025, is the only event that brings together equipment dealers and lenders to share insights, attend discussions on crucial industry topics and network with peers. Learn more about the event and register here.