• 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" rated 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 and 2008.
• 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, 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.
• Author or co-author of over 75 articles, lecture outlines 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 Lawyer's 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).

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-present [Chair, 2001-present].
• 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-present. 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 State Bar [Member, Bankruptcy Section, 1999-present.]

Reported Cases

• 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).

 

Personal

• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America, 1973.
• 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" for 2007 by the Virginia State Bar.

Your lawyer should be

Board Certified.

          

 

         

 

            

 

*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.  CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks 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 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 Fellows membership totals 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.

Virginia's "Legal Elite" is published by Virginia Business magazine in cooperation with the Virginia Bar Association.  The selection process in 2006 involved polling over 19,000 attorneys for the best attorneys in over 60 practice categories.  Only 26 Virginia attorneys were selected in the category of "Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights" in 2006.