Bio

Steve’s four decades of experience, advising and representing creditors, debtors, trustees and committees in bankruptcy cases and workouts, sets him apart from the crowd. He regularly appears before the bankruptcy and other federal and state courts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Much of his practice involves identifying and implementing non-bankruptcy solutions to financial challenges and distress. Applying his wealth of real-world experience in academia, Steve served for over two decades as an adjunct professor of bankruptcy law at American University’s law school in Washington, D.C., and as a member of the adjunct faculty of The Catholic University of America’s law school. Steve is a former Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee and a past chair of the District of Columbia Bar’s Business Bankruptcy Committee. He serves on the panel of mediators of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, and has acted as a court-appointed and private mediator in numerous bankruptcy cases in the Washington, D.C. area. Prior to joining Hirschler Fleischer, Steve was a partner with Venable LLP, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, and Tucker Flyer PC, in addition to having maintained his own firm, Leach Travell, for many years. Steve began his legal career in the public sector, serving in the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney and with the FTC as a trade regulation attorney.