Partner
Jennifer Lyday
Specialities
Business Insolvency, Commercial Bankruptcy
Bio
Jennifer is a partner at Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC. Prior to joining the firm, she was a partner at Waldrep LLP and an associate at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP, focusing on corporate Chapter 11 representations and related state court debtor-creditor representations.
Jennifer has represented secured creditors, distressed businesses, unsecured creditors’ committees, trustees, and buyers of assets in bankruptcy sales. She is currently on the panel of Subchapter 5 Chapter 11 Trustees for the Middle District of North Carolina. Jennifer has also counseled clients in complex civil litigation. Her civil litigation experience includes officers and directors’ liability, personal injury, premises liability, wrongful death, and professional negligence defense. Jennifer also has experience with managing the many legal challenges that arise in the operation of hospitals and assisted living facilities. She also handles various types of healthcare transactions.
Jennifer has significant pro bono experience, particularly in helping domestic violence victims obtain 50-B protection orders, working with Legal Aid of North Carolina. She also regularly represents parents of children abducted and taken into the United States in Hague Convention cases. Jennifer is also a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars.
- J.D. 2009 William & Mary School of Law | Lead Articles Editor, William & Mary Law Journal, 2008-2009
- B.A. 2006 Wake Forest University
- North Carolina, 2009
- United States District Court – Middle District of North Carolina, 2009
- United States District Court – Eastern District of North Carolina, 2009
- United States District Court – Western District of North Carolina, 2009
- Supreme Court of the United States, 2019
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2022
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2022
- American Bankruptcy Institute (4th Circuit Volo Author; Southeast Advisory Board; 40 Under 40 Steering Committee)
- International Women’s Insolvency and Reorganization Confederation (Vice Director of Member Services, 2024 Board of Directors; Mentor, 2023-2024 Mentoring Program; Vice Director of News, 2023 Board of Directors; Board Member and Former Communications Chair of the Carolinas Network)
- North Carolina State Bar
- North Carolina Bar Association (Member and Former Secretary of the Bankruptcy Section Council)
- Turnaround Management Association
- National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees
- Board of Directors, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Virtual Programming Co-Director, 2026
- Board of Directors, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, 2024-2025
- Member of Board of Trustees, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2023-2026
Board Member, Winston-Salem Symphony, 2023-2026 - Parish Council, Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Kernersville, NC, 2019-Present
- Board of Directors, The Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina, 2016-2022
- Local Advisory Board (Triad Region), Alexander Youth Network, 2016-2020
- Leadership Winston-Salem, Class of 2014
- “Bankruptcy as a Path Forward for Distressed Rural Hospitals,” The Governance Institute’s Rural Focus Newsletter, November 2024
- “LTL II and Imerys: Balloting and Solicitation in Mass Tort Cases,” American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Journal, February 2024
- “Proactively Assessing Your Organization’s Strategic Risk Profile,” The Governance Institute’s Rural Focus Newsletter, December 2023
- “Problems in the Code: Oversight Results in Uncertainty for Small Business Owners Converting to Subchapter V.,” American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Journal, June 2023
- “Key Advantages of Chapter 12 Bankruptcy for Struggling Family Farmers,” Journal of Corporate Renewal (JCR), Turnaround Management Association (TMA), December 2022
- “From Johns-Manville to LTL (and Beyond?): Do Mass-Tort Bankruptcies Have a Future – and Should They?” American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 2023 Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, Amelia Island, FL, July 21, 2023
- “Fraud, Deceit and Misrepresentation Are Not Excused as Zealous Representation (Canon 7) – Fraudulent Bankruptcy Examples, Public Perceptions of Litigation, the Bar & Bankruptcy Updates,” Plaintiffs Asbestos Litigation Seminar (PALS), Las Vegas, NV, May 10, 2023
- “Evidentiary Issues in Bankruptcy: Making Your Case,” American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) Annual Winter Leadership Conference, La Quinta, CA, December 9, 2022
- “Managing Privilege Issues in Bankruptcy,” 45th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Greensboro, NC, November 12, 2022
- “Show Me the Money: Practical Issues at the Intersection of Subchapter V Trustees and Estate Funds,” National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT) 2022 Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, June 9, 2022
- “What to Expect When You Are Consulting: An Exploration of How Appraisers Can Help Insolvency Attorneys Inside and Outside the Courtroom,” 11th Annual ASA (American Society of Appraisers) Equipment Valuation Conference, Virtual Event, May 24, 2022
- Expert Panelist, International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation’s (IWIRC) 19th Annual Spring Conference, Washington D.C., April 27-28, 2022
- “Consumer Hot Topics,” Middle District of North Carolina 42nd Annual Bankruptcy Seminar, Aberdeen, NC, April 22, 2022
- “Bankruptcy and Small Business: A Practical Course for Newcomers,” Wake Forest Law and Thomson Reuters, on-demand web series, August 2020
- “Ethics Quick Hits,” American Bankruptcy Institute Southeast Virtual Bankruptcy Workshop, July 24, 2020
- “Bankruptcy Remote Entities: Brilliant Strategy or Wasted Effort?” 42nd Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Wilmington, NC, November 22-23, 2019
- “Icing on the Cake or Adding Insult to Injury – The Secured Lender’s Right to Default Interest and Attorneys’ Fees,” 39th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, New Bern, NC, November 18-19, 2016
- “Absolutely Unanswered Questions from Maharaj,” 2016 South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association Annual Seminar, Hilton Head Island, SC, May 2016
- “Taking a Second Bite at the Apple: What Debtors and Creditors’ Counsel Need to Know About Serial Chapter 11 Filings,” 37th Annual Middle District Bankruptcy Seminar, Durham, NC, April 15-16, 2016
- “Case Update,” 38th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Pinehurst, NC, November 6-7, 2015
- “Filing and Litigating a Hague Convention Child Abduction Case in Federal Court,” Middle District of North Carolina Federal Bar Association CLE, Greensboro, NC, October 26, 2015
- “Spoken in Your Office, Read in the Courtroom: What Corporate Officers and Trustees Need to Know About Waiver of the Attorney Client Privilege,” 36th Annual Middle District Bankruptcy Seminar, Aberdeen, NC, April 24-25, 2015
- “Case Update,” 37th Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Asheville, NC, November 7-8, 2014
- “Middle District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Case Summaries, The Disclosure Statement,” Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016
- Represented family farmers in Chapter 12 reorganization proceedings, guiding agricultural debtors through plan confirmation and successful emergence from bankruptcy.
- Represented a hospital system in complex Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings, navigating
operational challenges, stakeholder negotiations, and plan confirmation efforts. - Advised a debtor-in-possession lender in contested bankruptcy proceedings, structuring
financing arrangements designed to maximize recoveries and mitigate transactional risk. - Represented a stalking horse bidder in a bankruptcy asset acquisition, negotiating bid
protections and purchase agreements to secure favorable terms in a competitive sale process. - Represented official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings, advocating
for creditor interests in plan negotiations, asset sales, and distributions to maximize recoveries. - Served as a Subchapter V Trustee in multiple small business Chapter 11 cases, facilitating plan
confirmation and administering distributions in accordance with confirmed plans of
reorganization. - Defended corporate and individual clients in preference and fraudulent transfer actions,
negotiating favorable resolutions that substantially reduced or eliminated alleged avoidance
liability. - Prosecuted nondischargeability actions under Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code, successfully
establishing that debtor obligations were excepted from discharge. - Obtained dismissal of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on bad-faith grounds, protecting creditor
interests against improper use of the bankruptcy process. - Represented tort claimants holding silicosis-related personal injury claims in complex bankruptcy
proceedings, advocating for maximum recovery through creditor trust mechanisms and plan
distributions. - Served as court-appointed receiver for a waste management company in a North Carolina
receivership proceeding, overseeing ongoing operations and directing the successful sale of the
business as a going concern.
North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, 2022
Pro Bono Award for the Bankruptcy Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, 2022
The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) “40 Under 40” Honoree, 2021
Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Band 3, 2019-present
Best Lawyers in America®, 2023-2024
“Legal Elite” in Bankruptcy Law in North Carolina, Business North Carolina, 2024
North Carolina Super Lawyers® – Business Bankruptcy, 2023-2024
North Carolina Super Lawyers® Rising Star – Business Bankruptcy, 2016-2022
North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyer Pro Bono Award, 2013
Awards & Recognition:
- North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, 2022
- Pro Bono Award for the Bankruptcy Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, 2022
- The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) “40 Under 40” Honoree, 2021
- Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Band 3, 2019-present
- Best Lawyers in America®, 2023-2024
- “Legal Elite” in Bankruptcy Law in North Carolina, Business North Carolina, 2024
- North Carolina Super Lawyers® – Business Bankruptcy, 2023-2024
- North Carolina Super Lawyers® Rising Star – Business Bankruptcy, 2016-2022
- North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyer Pro Bono Award, 2013
