Lisa has been helping creditors protect and enforce their rights in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for more than two decades by structuring deals to avoid risk and maximize recovery, pursuing effective collection strategies, and defending against lender liability claims. Clients seek Lisa’s counsel to appoint receivers on behalf of creditors, evaluate the option of an involuntary bankruptcy, or for guidance in out-of-court workouts, loan modifications and forbearance agreements. In bankruptcy cases Lisa’s clients frequently engage her to prosecute contested claims, seek stay relief, negotiate and challenge Chapter 11 plans, defend preference, fraudulent transfer and other adversary proceedings, oppose discharge of debts incurred through fraud or for student loans, and represent buyers seeking to purchase a debtor’s assets through the Section 363 sale process.
Recognizing that litigation isn’t always her client’s best option, in the area of alternative dispute resolution Lisa has participated in numerous successful mediation conferences and completed training in the collaborative law process pursuant to the NC Collaborative Law Act.
Duke University, J.D., 1994
University of North Carolina, B.A., 1991, magna cum laude
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
- Member, Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Co-Chair of Secured Creditors’ Subcommittee, American Bar Association, Business
- Law Section, Committee on Business Bankruptcy
- Past President and current Board Member, Turnaround Management Association, Carolinas Chapter
- Former Council Member, North Carolina Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section
- Former President, Carolinas Network, International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
- Member, North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association
- Advisory Board Member, Foundation of Hope
- Recognized by Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, North Carolina 2014-2020
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/ Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Since 2013;
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America for "Lawyer of the Year" for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law in Raleigh in 2016
- Ranked among Super Lawyers magazine's North Carolina "Super Lawyers" (Bankruptcy), 2014-2020; "Rising Stars" (Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights), 2009; Top 50 Women North Carolina "Super Lawyers", 2016-2018
- Ranked in Business North Carolina magazine's "Legal Elite" (Bankruptcy), 2010-2012, 2014, 2015, 2017-2019
- ABA Section of Business Law, Kathryn R. Heidt Memorial Award recipient, 2012
Overview
Lisa has been helping creditors protect and enforce their rights in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for more than two decades by structuring deals to avoid risk and maximize recovery, pursuing effective collection strategies, and defending against lender liability claims. Clients seek Lisa’s counsel to appoint receivers on behalf of creditors, evaluate the option of an involuntary bankruptcy, or for guidance in out-of-court workouts, loan modifications and forbearance agreements. In bankruptcy cases Lisa’s clients frequently engage her to prosecute contested claims, seek stay relief, negotiate and challenge Chapter 11 plans, defend preference, fraudulent transfer and other adversary proceedings, oppose discharge of debts incurred through fraud or for student loans, and represent buyers seeking to purchase a debtor’s assets through the Section 363 sale process.
Recognizing that litigation isn’t always her client’s best option, in the area of alternative dispute resolution Lisa has participated in numerous successful mediation conferences and completed training in the collaborative law process pursuant to the NC Collaborative Law Act.
- Member, Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Co-Chair of Secured Creditors’ Subcommittee, American Bar Association, Business
- Law Section, Committee on Business Bankruptcy
- Past President and current Board Member, Turnaround Management Association, Carolinas Chapter
- Former Council Member, North Carolina Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section
- Former President, Carolinas Network, International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)
- Member, North Carolina Civil Collaborative Law Association
- Advisory Board Member, Foundation of Hope
- Recognized by Chambers USA, Bankruptcy/Restructuring, North Carolina 2014-2020
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/ Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Since 2013;
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America for "Lawyer of the Year" for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law in Raleigh in 2016
- Ranked among Super Lawyers magazine's North Carolina "Super Lawyers" (Bankruptcy), 2014-2020; "Rising Stars" (Bankruptcy and Creditor/Debtor Rights), 2009; Top 50 Women North Carolina "Super Lawyers", 2016-2018
- Ranked in Business North Carolina magazine's "Legal Elite" (Bankruptcy), 2010-2012, 2014, 2015, 2017-2019
- ABA Section of Business Law, Kathryn R. Heidt Memorial Award recipient, 2012
Speaking & Writing
- Christy Myatt and Lisa Sumner named to Top 50: 2019 Women North Carolina Super Lawyers list
January 24, 2019 - Nexsen Pruet announces 2018 Julian Nexsen Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award recipient
January 7, 2019 - Pro Bono Champion: Lisa Sumner - Legal Aid of North Carolina's Lawyer on the Line
October 11, 2018 - 2018 Legal Elite: Eight Nexsen Pruet Attorneys Selected
January 5, 2018 - Nexsen Pruet Continues Raleigh Expansion
May 2, 2017
- What's the Deal? Bankruptcy Tips and News
March 18, 2021 - Using Collaborative Law to Resolve Business Disputes - It's Not Just for Divorce Anymore!
March 15, 2021 - Administrative Wage Garnishment
November 20, 2020 - What’s the Deal? Bankruptcy Tips and News
July 24, 2020 - Farm Credit Tips
July 24, 2020 - COVID-19 Next Steps: What are Next Steps as Businesses Begin to Re-open Amid the Crisis?
May 19, 2020 - Will Bankruptcy Preference Lawsuits Decline due to Statutory Changes?
November 12, 2019 - Multiple Factors to Drive Increase in Family Farmer Bankruptcy Filings
October 28, 2019 - Involuntary Bankruptcy: Creditor’s Tool to Be Used with Caution
October 16, 2018 - Comparison: Chapter 11 vs Chapter 12 vs Chapter 13
January 8, 2018
Presentations:
"Go Your Own Way" v. "I Fought the Law and the Law Won" - Intercreditor Agreements and the Bankruptcy Code, NC Bar Association, 41st Annual Bankruptcy Institute (November 2018)
"From Franchise Disclosure Agreements to Chapter 11 Disclosure Statements" Program Chair, ABA Section of Business Law, Spring Meeting (April 2018)
"Target Practice: Lenders in the Crosshairs" - NC Bar Association 2015 Bankruptcy Institute (October 2015)
"Legal Malpractice Landmines" - Lawyers Mutual CLE series, Spring 2015
Student Loan Debt: Innovative Solutions in Bankruptcy, 2015 Festival of Legal
Learning, UNC Chapel Hill (February 13, 2015)
This Could Happen to You: Avoidance and Mitigation of Malpractice Claims in
Bankruptcy, NC Bar Association, Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Asheville, NC (November
2014)
Second Annual Constitution Day Legal Forum, Student Loan Law, Columbia, South Carolina (September 17, 2014)
"Risk Management and Best Practices for Lenders in Real Estate Workouts" (USLAW EduNet Telephone Seminar, 2014)
Publications:
Student Loan Primer and Flowchart, U. S. Bankruptcy Court, District of South Carolina website, court Initiative on Financial Education (Launched March, 2015)
Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Restructuring Payment of Past Due Accounts to Avoid Bankruptcy Preference Liability (USLAW Magazine, 2012, pg 34)
Outside Nexsen Pruet
When I’m not in the office I’d rather be outside - whether that’s walking my dogs, Nero and Bacio, working in the yard, riding a horse or hiking a trail. Otherwise my three children, Max the Hahn’s macaw (hatched in 1992, pre-dating the children by far), and a pet rabbit get most of my attention.
