James M. Hoffman, Principal

Bankruptcy Law And Business Litigation

Email:	jhoffman@offitkurman.com
Office Phone:	240.507.1710
Fax:	240.507.1735
Mailing Address:	4800 Montgomery Lane 9th Floor Bethesda, MD 20814
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Practice Areas

Awards

Practice Focus

As a bankruptcy lawyer, business attorney, and expert in trademark law, Mr. Hoffman focuses his practice in the areas of representing various business types, particularly closely held businesses. He also has a broad base of experience representing creditors, trustees and debtors in bankruptcy cases and litigation. Mr. Hoffman has represented seven different Chapter 7 trustees, and several Chapter 11 trustees and receivers. He has been involved in handling a broad range of litigation before state courts, including disputes involving complex commercial litigation, breach of contract actions, and collection actions. Mr. Hoffman also brings his extensive experience as a real estate attorney to the table.

Education

• J.D., University of Maryland, 1985
• B.A. (cum laude), James Madison University, 1982

Bar and Court Admissions

• Maryland
• United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• District of Columbia

Points of Distinction

Mr. Hoffman has experience handling matters on behalf of creditors in many states. He is litigation counsel for a client that transacts business in 14 states as well as other clients that do business in multiple states involving diverse issues. For example:

• In August 2011, Mr. Hoffman expedited injunctive relief on behalf of Jerry’s Subs and Pizza (“Jerry’s”) before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Jerry’s alleged in the Complaint that a former franchisee had, among other things, violated federal trademark law, engaged in unfair competition, and violated the franchise agreement. The order granting injunctive relief was entered less than one (1) month after the filing of the Complaint and pleadings with the Court, and the Office of the U.S. Marshals were available to assist Mr. Hoffman and Jerry’s enforce the Court’s order.
• He is corporate counsel and litigation counsel to the largest private vendor of one call notification services in the United States. The vendor performs services in fourteen (14) states to help prevent excavation accidents involving utilities.
• He represents a Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee in the pursuit of assets and the investigation of hundreds of millions of dollars of claims in an ongoing case. The bankruptcy trustee commenced the case with no liquid assets. Creditors will be paid at least 90% of all of their allowed claims.
• In 2009, he and another member of Offit Kurman assisted a corporate client to acquire a judgment having a value of more than $3.1 million. The case thereafter resolved amicably.
• He represented two (2) different Chapter 7 trustees and a Chapter 11 trustee in connection with a complex bankruptcy proceeding of an attorney. Ultimately, the Court authorized the removal of the attorney, his family, and all personal property from the family home and more than ten (10) acres of land in Montgomery County, Maryland. The U.S. Marshals and local police assisted counsel in the removal of the individuals and the disposal of all the personal property. The real property was liquidated, the Court awarded sanctions of more than $70,000 against the attorney and his family in favor of the bankruptcy trustees and the Court denied the debtor his discharge.

Mr. Hoffman was also named to the "Best Lawyers in America" listing in 2013 and 2014.

Activities

Mr. Hoffman is a director for two local businesses. He has served as a director of the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland for three years, he was chairman of the Chapter 13 Committee for the same Association for three years, and he holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating as legal counsel.

Publications/Speeches

Mr. Hoffman was quoted in the October 2011 issue of Baltimore SmartCEO in its "Attorney of Roundtable" section, which includes Baltimore's top lawyers. He is the co-author of “Proper Use and Abuse of Family Limited Partnerships,” published in the Journal of the American Society of CLU & ChFC, July 1998 and “Guiding the Court – Don’t Underestimate Bankruptcy Clauses in Commercial Leases,” published in Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy, April 1997.

In 2008, he was a panelist with a local judge and three other practitioners at the 2008 Bankruptcy Bar Association Fall Program on Property of the Estate/Exemptions. During the past decade, he participated regularly as a speaker at the Women in Business Conferences in 2007, 2004, 2001, and 2000 hosted by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce. He was also a speaker at the Annual Spring Break Continuing Legal Education Weekend, May 2000, sponsored by the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland.

Previous Work

Prior to bringing his expertise as a bankruptcy lawyer to Offit Kurman, Mr. Hoffman had been a senior partner within the largest law firm in Montgomery County, Maryland, before leaving after a twenty-year tenure to become a named partner in a smaller firm.