Richard F. Holley
Richard Holley is an experienced business lawyer, helping clients throughout Nevada and elsewhere in the U.S. with difficult bankruptcy and related commercial litigation. His primary focus is bringing value to the clients he serves. Open communication, collaboration, transparency, assigning the right lawyer with precisely the right skill-set and reducing client frustrations are the foundation of the enduring and successful relationships Richard has with clients. He recognizes that litigation is often the action of last resort and rarely adds profit to the bottom line. For this reason, Richard views litigation on a continuum, believing that cases have natural breaking points at which strategy can and should be reevaluated in order to maximize recovery where possible and minimize loss where appropriate.
Regardless of the location of his clients’ operations or aspects of the case, Richard has a trusted reputation among banks and lenders, creditors, receivers, charter schools and others facing insolvency and adversarial claims and disputes. In addition, he is known in the real estate sector, particularly for matters involving thorny landlord-tenant issues and retail properties.
Clients appreciate the depth and variety of Richard’s practice. When the economy is strong, Richard actively supports his banking and other clients in realizing their goals and objectives. In a downturn, creditors and receivers seek Richard’s representation in contentious bankruptcy proceedings and related state court litigation. For example, the receiver for the first charter school in Nevada to be placed into receivership turned to Richard and his team to navigate and address difficult financial, employment and administrative issues. This resulted in a second appointment as receivership counsel for another Nevada charter school. These representations have positioned Richard and his team to assist charter schools outside of the receivership context with their operational, employment and administrative needs and challenges.
In his bankruptcy practice, Richard – elected as a fellow of the prestigious American College of Bankruptcy – focuses on creditor representation, including financial institutions, in complex Chapter 11 cases and in pre-bankruptcy workouts. He also represents bankruptcy trustees in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 cases. The pre-bankruptcy workouts frequently involve state court enforcement actions, such as:
- Actions to appoint receivers for commercial real estate and businesses
- Actions to recover personal property collateral
- Breach of contract-related claims
- Deficiency actions against borrowers and guarantors
Richard is a member of the Holley Driggs executive management committee. He also writes and speaks on current business law topics, serves as a volunteer lawyer for Legal Aid of Southern Nevada, where he frequently represents low income individual debtors and serves as a child advocate in family court. He is a founding and current member of the Pro Bono Project Mid-Case Bankruptcy Committee and serves as a member of the Pro Bono Committee for the American College of Bankruptcy, which administers and awards of $300,00 in annual grants to qualified organizations throughout the U.S.
Mr. Holley was a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 2003 through 2005. During this time he served as Co-Chair of the Nevada Delegation and member of the Lawyer Representative Coordinating Committee, the Admission Fund Committee and the Federal Court Security Committee. While serving as a Lawyer Representative, Mr. Holley made presentations to the annual Circuit Bankruptcy Judges Conference and to the Ninth Circuit Committee on Pro Hac Vice Representation regarding representation of pro se litigants in contested matters and adversary proceedings before bankruptcy courts.
In 2010, Mr. Holley was a member of the Magistrate Selection Committee for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Mr. Holley worked with other Committee members to screen applicants and submit recommendations to the Court to select replacement Magistrate Judges for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
In 2010 and 2011, Mr. Holley served as the treasurer for the Bankruptcy Section of the Nevada Bar Association and served as Finance Co-Chair in 2012.
Mr. Holley currently serves as a member of the Pro Bono Committee of the American College of Bankruptcy. The Committee evaluates applications and awards grants for pro bono projects throughout the United States. He is also an Affiliate Member of the Special Assets Management Association (SAMA).
Mr. Holley maintains membership in the State Bar of Nevada, the Clark County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
- Best Lawyers, Bankruptcy & Debtor-Creditor Rights 2007-2022
- Nevada Business Magazine Legal Elite, 2013
- Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyer, 2021-2022
- AV Preeminent Peer Review, Martindale Hubble
- Mountain States Super Lawyers, Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Rights 2007-2021
- American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow 2011
- American College of Bankruptcy, Fellow 2020
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
