Tag: Firm News

Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC attorneys John W. Backcock (Commercial Transactions / UCC Law in Triad), J. Dennis Bailey (Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants in Triad), and James Lanik (Litigation – Bankruptcy in Triad) were recently recognized by Best Lawyers as 2026 “Lawyer of the Year.”  

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this a significant and coveted accolade. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments. 

Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity. 

In addition to the “Lawyer of the Year” award, these attorneys were also listed in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the following practice areas: 

• John W. Babcock
  • Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) 
  • Commercial Finance Law 
  • Corporate Law 
  • Health Care Law 
  • Mergers and Acquisitions Law 
  • Tax Law 
• J. Dennis Bailey
  • Commercial Litigation 
  • Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants 
  • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants 
• James Lanik
  • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law 
  • Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law 

For more than four decades, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Lawyers are not required nor allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, recognition by Best Lawyers is considered a singular distinction. 

Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC is pleased to announce that three of its attorneys have been included in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. 

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America recognizes associates and other attorneys who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in practice in the United States. 

Attorneys recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America are divided by geographic region and practice areas. Candidates can only be considered for one recognition at a time, either “Ones to Watch” or the traditional Best Lawyers awards. “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” is not a seed list to “The Best Lawyers” and all hopeful candidates must be nominated, vetted by their peers, and undergo an authentication process before they are recognized by Best Lawyers. Attorneys are not required nor allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, recognition by Best Lawyers is considered a singular distinction. 

Waldrep Wall would like to congratulate the following attorneys recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America: 

• Zachary Malnik – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy 
• Jack O’Neal – Commercial Litigation 
• Peyton M. Pawlik – Health Care Law and Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants 

Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC is pleased to announce that 14 of its attorneys have been included in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Attorneys on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing. 

Waldrep Wall would like to congratulate the following attorneys named to 2026 The Best Lawyers in America list: 

• John W. Babcock – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Finance Law, Commercial Transactions / UCC Law, Corporate Law, Health Care Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Tax Law 
• J. Dennis Bailey – Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants 
• Kelly A. Cameron – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Litigation – Labor and Employment 
• Joseph T. Carruthers III – Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants 
• Michael L. Drye – Mergers and Acquisitions Law 
• Chris Haaf – Commercial Litigation 
• Diana Santos Johnson – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law 
• James Lanik – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, and Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law 
• Jennifer Lyday – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy 
• Ciara L. Rogers – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy 
• Kevin Sink – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy 
• Thomas W. Waldrep, Jr. – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law 
• James D. Wall – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law, and Health Care Law 
• Jan E. Yarborough – Health Care Law 

Partners Jim Lanik and Jennifer Lyday attended the 2025 Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, held July 24-27, 2025, at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Florida. The workshop brings together bankruptcy practitioners and judges for education and networking. 

The event featured sessions on business, consumer, and skills topics with continuing legal education from judges, academics, and practitioners. Sessions covered current developments in bankruptcy law, practical guidance on case management, and updates on recent court decisions and legislative changes. 

This year marked the workshop’s 30th anniversary. The American Bankruptcy Institute hosts the annual conference, which draws attendees from across the Southeast region. Waldrep Wall served as a sponsor of the event. 

Waldrep Wall partner Tom Waldrep recently appeared on the American Health Law Association’s Speaking of Health Law podcast, where he shared his experience with the financial and operational pressures facing rural healthcare institutions. The episode, sponsored by Stroudwater Associates, featured a discussion with Jeff Sommer, Managing Director at Stroudwater Associates.

Drawing on his extensive background as a former United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, Waldrep addressed the critical intersection of financial distress and strategic planning in the rural hospital sector. The conversation explored how healthcare organizations can identify early indicators of financial trouble and the various restructuring pathways available to distressed facilities.

The discussion highlighted Waldrep’s deep understanding of both bankruptcy law and healthcare industry dynamics, positioning him as a valuable resource for rural hospitals navigating complex financial decisions. His insights covered the strategic considerations that hospital leadership must weigh when evaluating partnership opportunities, restructuring options, and other alternatives to traditional bankruptcy proceedings.

“You don’t care who owns the hospital. You don’t care how much it sells for. What you care about is having an operating hospital that will serve the healthcare needs of your community for decades and generations to come,” Waldrep emphasized during the podcast, underscoring the critical importance of focusing on long-term community benefit rather than short-term financial considerations.

This industry recognition underscores Waldrep Wall’s commitment to providing sophisticated legal counsel to healthcare clients facing today’s challenging operating environment.

For more information about our healthcare practice or to speak with Tom Waldrep about rural hospital restructuring matters, contact twaldrep@waldrepwall.com.

You can listen to the full episode, “Rural Hospital Partnerships: Addressing Distress and Strategic Drift,” here or view the recording below.

Chambers and Partners released its USA 2025 Legal Guide, and Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC was ranked as a leading firm, Band 2 in Bankruptcy/Restructuring and Band 3 in Healthcare. Eight Waldrep Wall attorneys were also individually ranked.

Chambers and Partners is the leading independent professional legal research company operating across 200 jurisdictions. It delivers detailed rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers and law firms based on in-depth interviews and objective research.

Ranked Practice Areas

Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 2 in North Carolina)

Led by Tom Waldrep, a former United States Bankruptcy Judge, the Firm’s bankruptcy practice provides solutions to debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, distressed businesses, trustees, and receivers. Waldrep Wall attorneys guide clients in all types of business bankruptcies, corporate restructurings, insolvencies, workouts, and related issues. The firm regularly represents companies in distress, both in out-of-court workouts and as debtors in the Chapter 11 process. The firm also helps companies regarding receiverships, plans of arrangement, loan forbearance and extension agreements, deeds in lieu, guaranty and foreclosure litigation, and other non-bankruptcy workouts and restructurings. The firm routinely represents official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, and the bankruptcy partners often serve as trustees and as general and special council to Chapter 11, Chapter 7, and plan trustees.

“Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey stands out in the industry due to its combination of deep legal expertise, personalized client service and innovative problem-solving.” Bankruptcy/Restructuring Client Feedback Chambers USA 2025

Healthcare (Band 3 in North Carolina)

Waldrep Wall works to keep physicians, dentists, medical practices, management companies and clinical research entities compliant. The firm also assists providers and managed care entities in negotiating managed care agreements and related regulatory compliance. Its healthcare lawyers typically represent hospitals and physician practices in managed care disputes. They also have broad experience with practice acquisition, provider licensure, and in representing carriers and insurers with respect to North Carolina insurance regulatory matters. The firm routinely assists clients in matters relating to regulatory compliance, physician employment agreements, healthcare contracts, licensure board investigations, healthcare restructuring and insolvency, corporate practice of medicine, and long-term care and senior housing. In healthcare, the firm is led by Jim Wall, who has provided healthcare legal guidance for decades.

“The team bounces things off of each other, giving clients expert advice across many areas of law and business.” Healthcare Client Feedback Chambers USA 2025

Ranked Attorneys

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

• Ciara L. Rogers (Up and Coming in North Carolina)
• Jennifer Lyday (Band 3 in North Carolina)
• Jim Lanik (Band 3 in North Carolina)
• Kevin Sink (Band 3 in North Carolina)
• Tom Waldrep (Band 1 in North Carolina)

Corporate/M&A

• John Babcock (Band 3 in North Carolina)

Healthcare

• Jan Yarborough (Band 3 in North Carolina)
• Jim Wall (Band 2 in North Carolina)

Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC is proud to announce that partner Ciara L. Rogers has been profiled by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) in an article authored by Rachel Kinzer of Moore Colson. The profile titled “Ciara L. Rogers: A Legacy of Service, Empathy and Entrepreneurial Spirit” highlights Ciara’s journey and her impactful work in bankruptcy law.

A first-generation attorney with deep personal ties to the entrepreneurial spirit, Ciara brings a unique perspective to the practice of bankruptcy law. Her journey—from helping her father run a food truck in central Virginia to representing complex corporate debtors—is a testament to her compassion, skill, and commitment to service.

In the ABI article, Ciara reflects on how her upbringing and life experiences help her connect with clients facing financial distress:

“There are certain clients I’m able to connect with because we have certain things in our background in common that make it easier for them to talk to me about the difficulties they’ve had or what could be perceived as failures,” she said.

That empathy, coupled with her legal acumen, has led to meaningful, long-term impact. In one memorable case, Ciara helped a struggling company restructure just in time to avoid holiday-season layoffs. Years later, the business is still thriving.

“It felt good to see the name still on the building,” she shared.

Beyond her legal practice, Ciara also serves as the director of the Stubbs Bankruptcy Clinic at Campbell University School of Law, where she mentors law students providing pro bono legal services to low-income individuals. Her leadership has inspired students to pursue clerkships and careers in bankruptcy law.

Ciara is certified as a Business Bankruptcy Law Specialist by the North Carolina State Bar and is licensed to practice in all Federal and State Courts in North Carolina and Virginia, as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a member of the North Carolina and Virginia State Bars and has been recognized by various organizations for her contributions to the field.

The full article is available for ABI members here.

Waldrep Wall attorneys Tom Waldrep, Jennifer Lyday, and Chris Haaf attended the Plaintiffs Asbestos Litigation Seminar (PALS) in Las Vegas, NV, on May 15, 2025. Tom and Chris presented a session titled “Bankruptcy Update and Review,” an overview of recent Chapter 11 bankruptcies that attempt to limit the asbestos liability of large companies, to an audience of lawyers who represent asbestos victims in the tort system and whose clients are often thwarted by these bankruptcies as they seek compensation for injury or death.