Previous Law Firm Name

• Deckelbaum, Ogens, Reiser, Shedlock & Raftery, Chartered, 2001

Law Firm Overview

The law firm of Deckelbaum, Ogens & Raftery, Chartered is a full service law firm practicing in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia, whose history spans more than forty-five years. The Firm has a reputation for being among the premier bankruptcy and insolvency law firms in the nation and has handled many notable cases in the past. Most recently, the Firm has represented the Columbia Hospital For Women, In Re: Columbia Hospital For Women Medical Center, Inc. , one of the largest health-care bankruptcy cases in the history of the District of Columbia, and one of the two largest secured creditors in In re: Best Products Co. , the largest recent bankruptcy case to be filed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Firm also enjoys a national reputation in two of our principal practice areas: Landlord/Tenant and Commercial Law and Collections. The Firm is a member of the National Attorneys Network, the National Association of Retail Credit Attorneys, and the Commercial Law League of America. Our experienced collection attorneys and staff take pride in their ability to offer prompt and effective legal services and our clients are able to take advantage of the numerous other services offered by the Firm in other practice areas, including commercial and general civil and appellate litigation, real estate and other commercial transactions, leasing, construction disputes, employment law, personal injury, general contracts, software licensing, and corporate law.

The Firm represents a large number of property management clients in landlord-tenant affairs and related areas, including leasing, protection of landlords in bankruptcy, and other forms of litigation and contract work. The Firm represents major landlords, developers, and management companies in the area of both commercial and residential leasing, management issues, and collections. The Firm is an associate member of the Apartment and Office Building Association ("AOBA"), and was selected as one of the "Friends of Chapter 8 of the Institute of Real Estate Management ("IREM").

In addition, the Firm is one of the most respected domestic relations and family law firms in the Washington Metropolitan Area, counseling clients in the negotiation and litigation of divorces, alimony, custody, child support, equitable distribution of marital property, domestic violence and other matters related to family law. The Firm also is actively involved in mediation and arbitration of family law disputes.

Another major practice area of the Firm is its representation of clients in all aspects of the acquisition, development, financing, construction, operation, management and leasing of various commercial real estate projects, including hotels, shopping centers, apartment buildings, warehouses, office buildings and large residential development projects to name a few.

The Firm holds an "AV" rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest rating given to firms by that publication. For a more detailed description of the Firm's activities, see the detailed descriptions of each Practice Area and/or each Attorney's biography.

Areas of Practice

• Business & Commercial Law 25%
• Family Law 50%
• Real Estate Law 25%

Representative Clients

• A.J. Dwoskin & Associates
• B.F. Saul Company
• Bernstein Management Company
• Branch Banking & Trust Co.
• Cabot Industrial Properties, LP
• The Chalres E. Smith Companies
• Colombo Bank, F.S.B.
• Gates, Hudson & Associates
• Gelman Management Corporation
• Georgetown Park Associates, Inc.
• Grady Management, Inc.
• House Market Research, Inc.
• Janier Enterprises, Inc.
• Moore & Associates, Inc.
• The Mark Winkler Company
• Trammell Crow Company

Representative Cases

• FDIC v. Bender, 182 F.3d 1 (C.A.D.C. 1999)
• Wallace v. Wallace, 429 A.2d 232 (Md. 1981)
• Wallace v. Wallace, 416 A.2d 1317 (Md. App. 1980)
• In Re: Columbia Hospital For Women Medical Center, Inc.
• In Re: Best Products Co.

West Practice Categories

Foreclosure & Alternatives, Bankruptcy Law, Collections & Repossessions, Commercial Bankruptcy, Creditors' Rights, Debt Discharge, Foreclosures, Garnishment, Reorganizations & Restructuring, Workouts, Business & Commercial Law, Commercial Leasing, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Franchising, International Transactions, Joint Ventures, Secured Transactions, Transactions, Business Organizations, Directors' & Officers' Liability, Formation & Business Planning, Limited Liability Companies, Reorganizations, Eminent Domain, Family Law, Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Child Support, Childrens' Rights, Collaborative Law, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Domestic Violence & Neglect, Juvenile Law, Paternity, Prenuptial Agreements, Title Insurance, Real Estate Law, Commercial Real Estate, Condemnation, Condominiums & Cooperatives, Conveyancing, Land Use & Zoning, Landlord/Tenant, Residential Real Estate