• Board Certified in Consumer Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification since 1998.*
• Board Certified in Creditors' Rights Law by the American Board of Certification since 2001.*
• "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" in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
•      Listed in the Corporate Counsel Edition of "Super Lawyers" magazine in 2009, 2010.
• Named one of Virginia's "Legal Elite" in 2006.
• 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.
• Graduate of Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia (B.A., 1980).
• Member, Lease Enforcement Attorney's Network (LEAN), 2002-present.
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation.
• Fellow, Virginia Law Foundation.
• Charter Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America.
• Fellow, National Conference of Bar Presidents

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 during the past 20 years.
• Author or co-author of over 80 articles, lecture outlines, chapters and books on bankruptcy law, creditors' rights law, legal ethics and real estate foreclosures, including five Virginia Law Foundation Handbooks:
  • 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)
  • The Virginia Lawyer: A Desk book for Practitioners
• 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, and the Blue Ridge Business Journal.
• Former 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].
• Member, Mill Mountain Advisory Committee (Roanoke City Council appointment), 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].
• Volunteer, Blue Ridge Mountains Council, Boy Scouts of America, 2001-2009. Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, 1995-1998. Virginia Skyline Girl Scout Council, 1993-present.

Bar Memberships

• American Bankruptcy Institute
• American Bar Association
• Roanoke Bar Association
•      President, 2005-2006
• Personal Injury Litigation Lawyers Association of Roanoke (PILLAR)
•      Chairman, 1995-1996
• Virginia Bar Association
• Virginia Creditors Bar Association
• Virginia State Bar [Member, Bankruptcy Section, 1999-present.]

Reported Cases

• 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).
• 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).
• Shelton v. Overstreet (combined on appeal with Benefiel v. Walker), 244 Va. 488, 422 S.E.2d 773, 1992 Va. LEXIS 123 (1992).

 

Unreported Cases

• In re Martin, No. 07-50100 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 2010).
• 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 Court of Appeals., 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., 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 2007).
• In re WDRL-TV, Inc., No. 06-61051 (Bankr. W.D. Va., 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), 2009.
• Girl Scout Gold Award Dad, 2006.
• Outstanding Young Man of America, United States Jaycees, 1984.
• 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

Board Certified.

                   

                                  

                       

 

                                           

         

Bankruptcy practice limited to representing creditors. *The American Board of Certification is accredited by the American Bar Association to certify lawyers in the areas of bankruptcy law and creditors' right law.  There is no procedure in the Commonwealth of Virginia for approving certifying organizations.

If a business has been Accredited by the Better Business Bureau, it means that the BBB has determined that the business meets BBB accreditation standards.  BBB Accredited Businesses pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.  BBB accreditation does not mean that the business' products or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB, or that BBB has made a determination as to the business' product quality or competency in performing services.  Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.

Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards. AV® Preeminent ™ is the highest rating available, and is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Icon is a service mark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under permission from Reed Elsevier Properties Inc. in accord with the terms and conditions established by Martindale-Hubbell.

The American Bar Foundation was established in 1952 by the American Bar Association, and is now recognized as the premier institute for social science research on law in the country.  Membership in The Fellows is limited to one-third of one percent [0.00033%] of the lawyers in America.  The current number of The Fellows in Virginia is approximately 197.

The Virginia Law Foundation was established by the Virginia State Bar in 1974 to improve and promote the administration of justice in Virginia. Fellows membership is limited to 1% of the active and associate membership of the Virginia State Bar. The current number of Fellows is approximately 350.

The Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary is established as a lawyer honorary reflecting, according to the organization, "the best in law among its membership, as selected by clients, lawyers, judges and business leaders throughout the United States."  Membership is limited to a total of 3,500 Fellows nationwide, representing fewer than one-half of one percent of American attorneys, “carefully selected based upon evaluations of effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, and superior ethical reputation,” according to the LCA.

Virginia "Super Lawyers" is published annually by Law and Politics and Richmond Magazine.  Only 5% of Virginia attorneys are selected as Super Lawyers.  The selection procedure involves nominations from other lawyers, independent research on nominated candidates, and evaluation by a blue ribbon panel of preeminent peers in their practice areas.