Lance P. Martin
North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law
T 828.348.6011
F 828.348.6077
E lpm@wardandsmith.com
O Asheville, NC
Practice Areas:
Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights, Foreclosures, Fraud and Ponzi Schemes, Commercial Receiverships
Lance P. Martin
North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law
Lance represents creditors, trustees, and other stakeholders in bankruptcy, collections, foreclosures, receiverships, and workouts.
Lance is certified by the American Board of Certification and the North Carolina State Bar as a Board-Certified Specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law. He litigates in state and federal court, with an emphasis on adversary proceedings and contested matters in commercial bankruptcy cases. He has served as a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee and a Chapter 11 Subchapter V Trustee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Honors and Distinctions
- Top 100 North Carolina Super Lawyer, Creditors Debtors Rights, North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2026
- “Super Lawyer,” Creditors Debtors Rights, North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2015-2026
- “Best Lawyer,” The Best Lawyers in America®, 2015-2026
- “Legal Elite,” Business North Carolina, Bankruptcy, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2024-2026. Inducted into the “Legal Elite Hall of Fame” for Bankruptcy Law, 2026
- Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring-North Carolina, 2022-2025
- “Lawyer of the Year,” Best Lawyers®, 2025
- “Readers’ Choice Top Author,” JD Supra, 2023
- “Lawyer of the Year,” The Best Lawyers in America, 2023
- 2019 North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society
- “Go To Thought Leader,” National Law Review, 2019
- NC Attorney Pro Bono Honor Society Inductee, NC Pro Bono Resource Center, 2020, 2019
Please see the following websites for an explanation of the membership standards for the following recognitions: www.bestlawyers.com; businessnc.com/special-sections/legal-elite/; and www.superlawyers.com/north-carolina.
- J.D., magna cum laude, Tulane University Law School, 1995. Order of the Coif.
- B.S., summa cum laude, Spring Hill College, 1992
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- North Carolina, 2000
- Tennessee, 2005
- Louisiana, 1995
- All state courts in North Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee
- Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation
- United States Bankruptcy Court and District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Fifth Circuits
- United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana
Representative Experience
- Assisted client in Chapter 11 reorganization and 363 sale of lumber mill operation
- Assisted client in recovery efforts related to fraudulent activity in factoring relationship
- Assisted client in placing hotel under receivership and then selling hotel operations
- Assisted client in the sale and assignment of loan documents, negotiable instruments, and commercial paper
- Assisted client in defense of lender liability claims based on negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, RICO, and the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act
- Assisted client in recovery of embezzled funds through money-tracing and setting aside of multiple fraudulent transfers
- Assisted client in foreclosure and sale of trailer-park operations in multiple counties
