Richard L. Wasserman

Richard focuses his practice in matters involving bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related litigation, creditors' rights, secured transactions, workouts, reorganizations and restructurings. He has been recognized as the 2025 Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy in Norfolk. Richard has extensive experience representing clients in major business, commercial and real estate bankruptcy, workout and reorganization matters and has also served as a Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Trustee, as a court appointed Examiner and as a mediator in bankruptcy adversary proceedings and claims resolution proceedings. He is available to mediate complex bankruptcy, business and commercial dispute matters.

Richard has also been honored by being selected as a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy where he is a Fellow and past member of the Board of Directors. 

A wealth of experience with different types of businesses enables Richard to offer clients impressive knowledge together with proven successful performance. Richard's work includes the full range of bankruptcy and workout representation of creditors (secured and unsecured), creditors' committees, trustees, Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession, troubled companies, and prospective purchasers of assets from companies in bankruptcy.

Significant cases include Richard's role as counsel to the stalking horse purchaser and successful acquiring party in a contested 363 sale of First Mariner Bank in the bank holding company’s Chapter 11 case, his role as special litigation counsel to a Chapter 7 Trustee in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia with respect to fiduciary duty claims against former directors and officers of the debtor company and aiding and abetting claims against the debtor's parent company his service as a Chapter 11 trustee in eighteen real estate-related cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (In re New 118th LLC, et al.), his role representing the Enron bankruptcy estate as special litigation counsel and representing creditors' committees in cases in the Eastern District of Virginia (In re Workflow Management, Inc.) and the Northern District of Texas (In re DLH Master Land Holding, LLC), and his service as a mediator in various Circuit City preference avoidance actions and disputed claims resolution matters.

In addition to extensive experience in high profile bankruptcy litigation matters, Richard has experience with real estate, financial products and services, construction, telecommunications, health care, hospitality, retail, marketing, distribution, telemarketing, government contracts and technology companies in bankruptcy and workouts.

Richard also provides experience advising corporate boards on significant reorganization and restructuring alternatives and working together with corporate management and other outside advisors including investment bankers, accountants, and public relations consultants.

Richard has been involved in numerous reported court decisions including:  

• In re New 118th, Inc., 398 B.R. 791 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2009)
• In re Enron Corp. (Enron Corp. v. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.), 325 B.R. 671 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005)
• In re Enron Corp. (Enron Corp. v. Credit Suisse First Boston International), 328 B.R. 58 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005)
• In re Criimi Mae Inc., 251 B.R. 796 (Bankr. D. Md. 2000)
• Culver v. Musika (In re Arnold), 305 B.R. 436 (D. Md. 2003), aff'd, 84 Fed. Appx. 294 (4th Cir. 2003)
• Wasserman v. Village Associates (In re Freestate Management Services, Inc.), 153 B.R. 972 (Bankr. D. Md. 1993)
• In re Arundel Housing Components, Inc., 126 B.R. 216 (Bankr. D. Md. 1991)
• In re Constant Care Community Health Center, Inc., 99 B.R. 697 (Bankr. D. Md. 1989)