Practice Areas
- Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring
- Corporate
- Financial Services & Insolvency Litigation
- Mergers & Acquisitions
Education
- A.B., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1969; Phi Beta Kappa; Morehead Scholar
- J.D., Stanford University, 1972
Bar & Court Admissions
- North Carolina, 1972
W. B. (Ben) Hawfield, Jr.
Ben Hawfield advises Moore & Van Allen corporate clients in acquisitions and financing transactions, particularly those involving a compromise or restructure of debt. He has significant experience in representing corporations, individuals and lenders in workouts and bankruptcy proceedings.
Representative Matters
Bankruptcies
- Ameritex Yarn, LLC II (M.D.N.C.): Representation of Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which was successful in obtaining a 100% recovery, plus interest, for unsecured creditors in involuntary chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Birmingham Steel Corporation (Del.): Representation of acquirer of $600 million in assets, which were purchased through a confirmed bankruptcy plan.
- J. A. Jones, Inc. (W.D.N.C.): Local debtors’ counsel for 50 debtor entities in successful liquidation of construction businesses.
- Meadowcraft, Inc. (N.D. Ala.): Representation of senior lenders in successful chapter 11 bankruptcy where senior debt was consensually restructured.
- NEGT Energy Trading-Power, L.P. (Md.): Representation of one of the largest creditors/chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in connection with pursuit of claim arising under an offtake tolling agreement.
- Nobex Corporation (Del.): Debtor’s special counsel for sale of U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications.
- Qimonda Richmond, LLC (Del.): Representation of indenture trustee for loan participants that extended over $150 million in leveraged lease equipment financing in connection with lease to semiconductor manufacturer.
- Southaven Power, LLC (W.D.N.C.): Local counsel for debtor in the successful chapter 11 bankruptcy of owner of an 800-megawatt merchant power plant.
- U.S. Airways Group, Inc. I & II (E.D. Va.): Representation of hub airport with claims arising from leases, landing fees and bond financing.
Workouts
- Counsel to individual investor in orderly liquidation of $55 million of multi-state secured real estate investments.
- Counsel to individual investor with $30 million investment in a Florida aqua-culture business undergoing an orderly wind-down process.
Of Note
- Member, Advisory Board, Mecklenburg County Council of the Boy Scouts of America
- Member, Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, Queens University of Charlotte
- Member, Executive Committee and Advisory Board, America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, Inc.
- Permanent Member, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
- Former Chairman, MVA Management Committee (1992 - 2002)
- Former Chairman, Bankruptcy Section, North Carolina Bar Association (1978 - 1979)
- Former member, Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
- Former member, Board of Governors, North Carolina Bar Association (2003 - 2006)
- Former member, Board of Directors, Western North Carolina Conference Board of Pensions, Inc.
- Former officer, Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps
- Included in Business North Carolina's Legal Elite list, 2006 - 2008. His primary area of practice is Bankruptcy.
- Selected for inclusion to the North Carolina Super Lawyers list in 2006 - 2012. His primary area of practice is Business/Corporate.
- Named as Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Lawyer of the Year in Charlotte by Best Lawyers in America, 2012.
- Included in Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, 1987 - 2012.
News
- MVA Attorneys Named Charlotte Lawyers of the Year
- MVA attorneys honored by NC Super Lawyers
- Thirty-six Moore & Van Allen Attorneys Named to North Carolina Super Lawyers 2010
- Thirty-two MVA Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America
- Twenty-five MVA attorneys named NC Super Lawyers
Professional Affiliations
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- North Carolina Bar Association