Offit | Kurman, Attorneys At Law

Attorneys > James M. Hoffman

James Hoffman



James M. Hoffman
Principal

Contact | Practice Areas | Practice Focus | Education | Bar and Court Admissions | Activities

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditors' Rights
Intellectual Property
Business Transactions
Business Formation and Governance
Business and Real Estate

Practice Focus

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.

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.

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 and was 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 joining 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.

Contact Info:

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