Practice Areas
- Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring
- Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions/Securities
- Financial Services & Insolvency Litigation
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 also focuses on representing lenders and corporations in workouts and bankruptcy proceedings.
Mr. Hawfield was instrumental in forming the North Carolina Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section and is a past chairman. He has long been recognized for his ability as a bankruptcy practitioner in Woodward/White, Inc.’s 2007 The Best Lawyers in America (Bankruptcy) and in Business North Carolina magazine’s “Legal Elite” (Bankruptcy) 2006-2007.
Representative Matters
- Birmingham Steel Corporation ( Del.), where he represented the acquirer of $600 million in assets.
- Meadowcraft, Inc. ( Ala.), where he represented the senior lenders.
- J. A. Jones, Inc. and affiliates (N.C.), where he represented 50 debtor entities as local debtors’ counsel.
- NEGT Energy Trading-Power, L.P. ( Md.), where he represented one of the largest creditors/chair of the creditors’ committee.
- U.S. Airways Group, Inc. I & II ( Va.), where he represented a hub airport.
- Southaven Power, LLC (N.C.), owner of an 800-megawatt merchant power plant, where he was local counsel for the debtor.
- Nobex Corporation ( Del.), where he was special debtor’s counsel for sale of intellectual property and other assets.
- Ameritex Yarn, LLC II (N.C.), where he represented the unsecured creditors' committee.
Of Note
- Former officer, Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps
- Recognized for expertise in business and corporate law in 2006, 2007 and 2008 Law & Politics "North Carolina Super Lawyers" (Business/Corporate)
- Chairman, MVA management committee, 1992 through 2002.
Civic activities include:
- Queens University of Charlotte Board of Trustees and Executive Committee
- America’s Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, Inc. Executive Committee and Advisory Board
- Western North Carolina Conference Board of Pensions, Inc. Board of Directors
- Mecklenburg County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Advisory Board
- eFiling Advisory Group for the North Carolina Administrative Office of Courts
- Former member, Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association
- Former member, Board of Directors and Board of Advisors of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
News
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- North Carolina Bar Association: Board of Governors (2003-06); Bankruptcy Section, Past Chairman
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member