• Board Certified by the American Board of Certification Consumer Bankruptcy Law since 1998 [Recertified 2002, 2008; 2013]*
• Board Certified by the American Board of Certification in Creditors' Rights Law since 2001 [Recertified 2007, 2012, 2017]
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Fellow, Virginia Law Foundation
• Senior Fellow (Charter), Litigation Counsel of America
• Fellow, National Conference of Bar Presidents
• Life Fellow (Charter Fellow), Roanoke Law Foundation
• "AV/Preeminent" rating for legal ability and ethical standards by Martindale-Hubbell
• Named "Local Bar Leader of the Year" for 2007 by the Virginia State Bar
• Named a Virginia "Super Lawyer," 2006-2020
•     Listed in the Corporate Counsel Edition of "Super Lawyers" magazine, 2009-2019
• Named to The Best Lawyers in America, 2012-2020
• Named to Virginia's "Legal Elite," 2006
• Ranked among "Best Law Firms," U.S. News & World Report, 2013-2020
• Graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, Virginia (J.D., 1983), where Mr. Higgs was a member of the National Moot Court Team and the Moot Court Board, and was a contributor to the University of Richmond Law Review.
• Graduate of Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia (B.A., 1980)

Selected Professional Activities

• Frequent lecturer on bankruptcy law, creditors' rights law, legal ethics and real estate foreclosures for Virginia Continuing Legal Education (Virginia CLE) and other CLE providers, with more than 50 separate presentations presentations to local, statewide and national audiences of legal professionals over the past 30 years.
• Author or co-author of 100 articles, lecture outlines, chapters and books on bankruptcy law, creditors' rights law, legal ethics and real estate foreclosures, including six Attorneys Practice Handbooks published by the Virginia Law Foundation:
  • Bankruptcy Practice in Virginia
  • Debt Collection for Virginia Lawyers - A Systematic Approach
  • Enforcement of Liens and Judgments in Virginia
  • Virginia Foreclosure Actions (currently out of print)
  •  Virginia Law and Practice: A Handbook for Attorneys
  • The Virginia Lawyer: A Desk book for Practitioners
• Author and presenter of the chapter on Creditors' Rights for the Reciprocity Course sponsored by the Fellows of the Virginia Law Foundation.
• Commentator in the legal and popular press on bankruptcy law and on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, including articles published in The Daily Record (Baltimore, Maryland), Virginia Lawyers Weekly, the Blue Ridge Business Journal, and the Valley Business Front.
• Former Virginia Administrative Hearing Officer, Supreme Court of Virginia (1985-1986, 1990-2001).
• Arbitrator: American Arbitration Association, 1992-1996. Better Business Bureau of Western Virginia, 1986-present (Senior Arbitrator, National Panel of Consumer Arbitrators, Better Business Bureau, 1988-present).
• Tax Sale Attorney and Special Commissioner for tax sales for the City of Roanoke, Virginia, 2004-2010.

Selected Community Service Activities

• Coach, Instructional Soccer, City of Roanoke Department of Parks and Recreation, 1996-2008. Certified by National Youth Sports Coaches Association, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006.
• Past President, Blue Ridge Zoological Society of Virginia, Inc. [Mill Mountain Zoo and ACRES: American Center for Rare and Endangered Species].
• Past Chair, Mill Mountain Advisory Committee (Roanoke City Council appointment), Member, 1999-2010 [Chair, 2001-2010].
• Graduate, Leadership Roanoke Valley, Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, (Member, Economic Development Committee), 1992-1993.
• Trustee, Roanoke Bar Association Foundation, 2004-2007 [Chair, 2006-2007]; 2010-2015.
• Volunteer, Boy Scouts of America, Blue Ridge Mountains Council, 2001-2009.
• Volunteer, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, 1995-1998.
• Volunteer, Virginia Skyline Girl Scout Council, 1993-2011.

Bar Memberships

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• American Bar Association
• Roanoke Bar Association
•      (President, 2005-2006)
• Virginia Bar Association
• Virginia Creditors Bar Association
• Virginia State Bar [Member, Bankruptcy Section]

Court Admissions

• Supreme Court of the United States
• Supreme Court of Virginia
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
• United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia

Reported Cases

• Summit City Limits, LLC v. AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc. (In re AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc.), 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 4236 (Bankr. E.D. Va., decided October 9, 2013).
• Plastic Fabricating, Inc. v. Electrex Company, Inc., No. 7:12-CV-00119, 2012 WL 1970237 (W.D. Va., decided May 30, 2012).
• Brown Bark I L.P. v. Ebersole (In re Ebersole), 440 B.R. 690 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2010).
• Garcia v. Direct Fin. Servs. LLC (In re Garcia), 436 B.R. 825 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2010).
• In re Martin, 427 B.R. 573 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2010).
• City of Roanoke v. Whitlow (In re Whitlow), 410 B.R. 220, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 2344 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2009).
• DaimlerChrysler Fin. Servs. Ams., LLC v. Meadows (In re Meadows), 292 Fed. Appx. 256; 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 19452 (4th Cir., 2008).
• DaimlerChrysler Fin. Servs. Ams., L.L.C. v. Waters, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52119, 2007 WL 2107428 (W.D. Va. 2007).
• In the Matter of the Foreclosure of Deed of Trust from Donna Bailey and Steven Bailey, 75 Va. Cir. 462, 2007 Va. Cir. LEXIS 259 (Tazewell County 2007).
• SunTrust Bank v. Wright, 63 Va. Cir. 396, 2003 Va. Cir. LEXIS 205 (Roanoke City 2003).
• In re Waters, 227 B.R. 784, 1998 Bankr. Lexis 1625 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 1998).
• Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. v. Wroblewski (In re Wroblewski), 1997 Bankr. LEXIS 1963 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 1997), aff’d, Wroblewski v. Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. (In Re Wroblewski), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21925 (W.D. Va. 1997).
• Giles v. Miller, 67 Va. Cir. 426; 1996 Va. Cir. LEXIS 691, (Lynchburg 1996).
• Cooper v. Horn, 248 Va. 417, 448 S.E.2d 403, 1994 Va. LEXIS 123 (1994).
• Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Company v. Waldron, et al., 16 Va. App. 991, 434 S.E.2d 690, Va. App. LEXIS 412 (Va. App. 1993) (on brief).
• Shelton v. Overstreet (combined on appeal with Benefiel v. Walker), 244 Va. 488, 422 S.E.2d 773, 1992 Va. LEXIS 123 (1992) (on brief).

 

 

Unreported Cases Publicly Available

 

• Farmer's Foods Distribution Center, Inc., et al. v. Element Financial Corp., No. 170001 (Va. Supreme Court, 2017).
• Whitlow v. City of Roanoke, No. 106558, (U.S. Supreme Court, 2010, 2011).
• Whitlow v. City of Roanoke, No. 100003, (Va. Supreme Court, 2010).
• In re Whitlow, No 09-71228 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2009).
• DaimlerChrysler Financial Services v. Meadows (In re Meadows), No. 07-1968 (4th Circuit, 2008).
• Macher v. City of Roanoke, No. 081332, (Va. Supreme Court, 2008).
• In re Waters, No. 06-50309, (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re Meadows, No. 06-62050, (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re Avery, No. 07-50300 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., decided July 31, 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., decided August 17, 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., decided August 21, 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., decided October 11, 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., Adv. Proc. No. 07-06092 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., Adv. Proc. No. 07-06100 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• Snow v. Skyline Corp., et al., No. 070913 (Va. Supreme Court, 2007).

 

Personal

• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America, 1973.
• Eagle Scout Dad, 2009.
• Eagle Scout Mentor (3 awards), 2009.
• Girl Scout Gold Award Dad, 2006, 2011.
• Outstanding Young Man of America, United States Jaycees, 1984.
• President's Call to Service Award (4,000+ lifetime hours community service), 2011.
• President's Volunteer Service Award, Gold Award, (500+ hours community service), 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008.
• Virginia Bar Association "Community Servant" 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
• Named "Local Bar Leader of the Year" in 2007 by the Virginia State Bar.

Your lawyer should be

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*Bankruptcy practice limited to representing creditors.

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