
- Biography
- Professional Associations
- Honors And Awards
- Practice Highlights
- Published Works
- Classes And Seminars
Biography
With over 700 appearances in the local bankruptcy court and over three decades of experience practicing business law emphasizing debtor and creditor relationships throughout Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland, Alex represents clients in all aspects of business distress, commercial litigation, asset sales in bankruptcy, financial restructuring, creditors' rights litigation, loan restructuring, and workout agreements. As a regular part of his practice, Alex also represents chapter 7 trustees in bankruptcy giving him a unique perspective on those matters.
Alex has a thorough understanding of the value, scope, and boundaries of legal judgment applied in the business world. Even more important is his understanding of the crossroads between the two worlds and his ability to discern his clients' objectives and the most efficient means to achieve them.
Results oriented, responsive, and always accessible, Alex builds relationships with his clients based on mutual respect and trust. He focuses knowledge and experience to quickly and efficiently identify critical issues, seeking the most realistic and attainable solutions.
As a component of his business practice, Alex also represents applicants for industrial security clearances before the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals concerning Statements of Reasons issued against individuals seeking to suspend or revoke their security clearance.
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association (NVBBA), Secretary, 2006-2009, 2012-2017
- Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association (NVBBA), President, 2003 to 2004
- Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association (NVBBA), Board of Directors, 1999 to Present
- American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI)
- Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association (NVBBA), Vice President, 2012, 2017
Honors And Awards
- AV Preeminent® Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™
- The Best Lawyers in America® – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization, 2014-2024
- Virginia Super Lawyers – Bankruptcy: Business, 2018-2022
- Washington D.C. Super Lawyers – Bankruptcy: Business, 2018 - 2022
- Top Lawyers, Washingtonian magazine, 2017-2018
- Best of NoVA, Top Lawyers in Bankruptcy, Northern Virginia magazine, 2017, 2021-2022
- Virginia Super Lawyers – Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, 2007, 2009-2017
- Chambers USA, “America's Leading Lawyers for Business”, Bankruptcy /Restructuring, 2010-2022
- “Legal Elite”, Virginia Business magazine - Bankruptcy/Creditors' Rights, 2015, 2019-2021
- The Legal 500 US, “Recommended Lawyer” in Corporate Restructuring, 2014
- Washington D.C. Super Lawyers - Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, 2008, 2010-2017
Practice Highlights
- Active in advising corporations and individuals on their business needs and opportunities, represents individuals, financial institutions, insurance companies, and others in distressed financial situations.
- Completed the sale and purchase of assets from bankruptcy estates, emphasizing the representation of purchasers of distressed assets.
- Representative liquidating trustee in $14 million judgment against airline based in the People’s Republic of China resulting in settlement and full payment to all creditors.
- Acted as counsel to a chapter 11 trustee in recovery of an extensive real estate portfolio acquired by a chapter 11 debtor as a result of massive loan fraud.
- Represented a large government contractor in a chapter 11 bankruptcy on issues related to assumption of executory government contracts.
- Litigated Statements of Reasons issued by the Defense Security Service (DSS) under Department of Defense (DOD) Directive 5200-R, “Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information.”
- Experienced with appeals to the Appeal Board of the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) concerning adverse findings as to whether to issue a security clearance under Directive 5200-R.
Published Works
- Caveat Employer: The WARN Act and Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Court Decisions, Weekly News & Comment, September 9, 2008
- We All Need… Somebody to Lien On, Airworthy: Insights into Current Aviation Legal Issues, April, 2008
- Supreme Court Holds Oral Argument in Piccadilly Cafeterias: Ability of State and Local Governments to Tax Transfers on Sales Approved Outside of a Chapter 11 Plan before the Court, Bankruptcy Protector Alert, March 28, 2008
- WARN Act Class Action Status Sought in Aegis Mortgage Company Bankruptcy, Complaint Illustrates Survival and Impact of WARN Act Claims in the Context of Chapter 11, Bankruptcy Protector, September 7, 2007
- Unwinding the Deal When Bankruptcy Looms, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, May, 2007
- Supreme Court Holds Oral Argument in Katz: State Sovereign Immunity in Bankruptcy again before the Court, November 1, 2005
- Security Clearances: The Need for Early Employer Intervention and Awareness of Key Legislative Changes, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Vol. 13, No. 7, July, 2005
- Municipal Insolvencies: A Primer on the Treatment of Municipalities Under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, March, 2005
- Managing Employees' Security Clearance Investigations, Contract Management, February, 2005
- Summary of Supreme Court Argument in Hood, American Bankruptcy Institute Update, March 2, 2004
- Bankruptcy Board Certification Setting High Standards for the Profession, April 26, 2002
- Cash Collateral: The "in the Grasp" Rule, April 26, 2002
- Change of Venue in Bankruptcy, April 26, 2002
- Competing Plans to File or Not to File?, April 26, 2002
- Creditors' Committees: How They Really Work, April 26, 2002
- Cures for the New Debtor Syndrome, April 26, 2002
- Dealing with a Bankrupt Tenant, April 26, 2002
- Fast Tracking Large Single Asset Real Estate Cases, April 26, 2002
- How to Win a Lift Stay Proceeding, April 26, 2002
- Information Technology Companies and Chapter 11, April 26, 2002
- Interest Rate Cramdown, April 26, 2002
- Let the Buyer Beware: Buying Notes and Mortgages from the FDIC/RTC, April 26, 2002
- Loan Guarantee Now Subject to New Preference Attack, April 26, 2002
- New Bankruptcy Reform Legislation in the Works, April 26, 2002
- Partnership Bankruptcy-Surveying the Broader Impact, April 26, 2002
- Post Confirmation Financing Bankruptcy's Silver Lining, April 26, 2002
- Prepackaged and Fast-Track 11's Prior Planning Often Pays, April 26, 2002
- Protecting Security Interests in "Unusual" Collateral, April 26, 2002
- Receivables Generated by Personal Service Contracts Are Risky Collateral, April 26, 2002
- Selecting Creditors' Committee Counsel, April 26, 2002
- Small Single Asset Real Estate Cases Under the 1994 Bankruptcy Reform Act, April 26, 2002
- Superpriority Financing: Last in Time First in Line, April 26, 2002
- Supreme Court Strikes Down Chapter 11 Plan Which Allowed Equity to Retain Shares Without Paying Creditors in Full, April 26, 2002
- The Art of Defending against Cramdown, April 26, 2002
- The Creditors Committee in Chapter 11, April 26, 2002
- The Ins and Outs of Buying Claims in Bankruptcy, April 26, 2002
- The Supreme Court's Rash Decision, April 26, 2002
- Uncharted Waters for Lenders: The Treatment of Leases in Bankruptcy, April 26, 2002
- What to Look for in Creditors' Committee Counsel, April 26, 2002
- Unbundling as a Means of Financing Bankruptcy Fees and Working Without a “Wet” Signature ( October 1, 2017 )
- Harness Your Strong Arm Powers: A Five-Point Checklist for Bringing Claims Under § 544 ( June 30, 2015 )
Classes And Seminars
- March 2020: The Strong Arm of the Chapter 7 Trustee: Avoidance and Recovery Actions
- June 2017: Agent 99, Don’t Let Your Finances Bankrupt Your Security Clearance
- September 2016: “With All Due Respect…”: Contemptuous Behavior–Contempt and Enforcement Proceedings in Bankruptcy, The Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association
- May 21, 2015: The Trustee’s Strong-Arm Powers under Bankruptcy Code § 544: 7 Tips for Prosecuting and Defending Avoidance Actions, Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association
- January 2015: Defeat Out of the Jaws of Victory: What Bankruptcy Will Do to That Perfect Case , Virginia CLE, VBA
- September 20, 2012: The Bankrupt Secret Agent: Financial Considerations and Bankruptcy in Determining Eligibility for Security Clearances, The Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association
- April 17, 2012: Virginia Foreclosures and Workouts, National Business Institute Seminar
- May 7, 2010: Government Contracts, Bankruptcy Bar Association 14th Annual Spring Break Weekend
- June 10, 2009: Foreclosure Basics, Virginia CLE Seminar
- December 4-6, 2008: Bankruptcy Taxation Educational Session: I’ll Have the Roast Beef and a Side of Real Estate Tax Exemptions for My Confirmed Plan – The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Florida Department of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc., ABI Winter Leadership Conference
- October 29, 2008: Foreclosures for the General Practitioner CLE, Fairfax Bar Association
- July 10, 2008: Supreme Court Decides State of Florida v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, Inc., West Legalworks, Thomson Reuters Webinar
- November 7, 2007: Foreclosure Procedures Under Virginia Law, Northern Virginia Association of Realtors’ Risk Reduction Graduate Elective Course
- April 6, 2005: 18 Issues in Virginia Foreclosure Actions, Virginia Law Foundation’s Continuing Legal Education
- June 24, 2003: 24 Issues in Virginia Foreclosure Actions, Virginia Law Foundation’s Continuing Legal Education
Practice Areas
- Litigation
- Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights
- Security Clearance Litigation
Education
- Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington
- J.D. - 1985
- James Madison University
- B.S. - 1981
Bar Admissions
- Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Tax Court
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Virginia
- Virginia Supreme Court
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- U.S. District Court District of Maryland
- Supreme Court of the United States of America
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Past Positions
- Special Trial Judge Daniel J. Dinan, U.S. Tax Court, Attorney-Advisor, 1986 to 1986