Practice Areas: Ms. Hillman litigates in the following areas: Alternative Dispute Resolution Complex Commercial Litigation Bankruptcy Creditors' Rights

Representative Matters:

• Managed national arbitration program. Serves as lead counsel in arbitration matters arising throughout the United States for worldwide office equipment corporation.
  
  
• Represented a worldwide office equipment corporation in bankruptcy matters throughout the United States.
  
  
• Represented official committee of unsecured creditors in a multimillion dollar bankruptcy proceeding for a chain of retail stores across the United States.
  
  
• Represented trustee for a transportation company in a multimillion dollar bankruptcy proceeding pending in the Northern District of Georgia. Prosecuted litigation for collection of over $10 million of receivables owed to the bankruptcy estate.
  
  
• Represented national bank in disputes under Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code relating to check fraud and presentment issues.
  
  
• Represented large southeastern bank in breach of contract, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters in both federal and state courts in Georgia.
  
  
• Represented international finance company in litigation matters throughout Alabama. Litigated over one hundred matters in federal and state courts and served as lead trial counsel on jury and non-jury matters.
  
  
• Represented international finance company in bankruptcy matters throughout the State of Alabama.
  
  
• Represented nationwide finance company in the manufactured home industry in breach of contract matters, customer disputes and all bankruptcy matters pending throughout the State of Alabama.
  
  
• Represented several commercial landlords in bankruptcy proceedings pending throughout the United States. Successfully pursued claims for administrative rent and compelled assumption or rejection of lease agreements.
  
  
• Litigated class action cases involving the Truth-in-Lending Act, Regulation Z and various other consumer protection and fraud claims.

Education:

• University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
  Juris Doctor, 1994
  
  
• Honors:
  • Best Paper, Individual Rights in the Employment Relationship
    Counsel, Alabama Public Interest Law Association
    Best Brief, Best Oral Advocacy Team in Class, First Year Moot Court Competition
    
    
• Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
  B.S., magna cum laude, 1991
  Major: Political Science
  
  
• Honors:
  • Phi Kappa Phi
    President, Pi Lamba Sigma, Pre-law honorary
    
    
  • Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Lauderdale County, Florence, Alabama.
    Judicial Law Clerk to Hon. Donald Patterson and Hon. Larry M. Smith, 1994-1995

Professional Activities and Publications:

• Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Programs Committee, International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation
  
  
• Member, Women's Finance Exchange
  
  
• Member of the State Bars of Alabama and Georgia
  
  
• Admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; the United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama and the Northern District of Georgia; and the Supreme Courts and Court of Appeals of Alabama and Georgia
  
  
• Author & Faculty, Complying with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, National Business Institute (December 1998)
  
• Author & Faculty, Overview of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Birmingham Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (March 1999)
  
  
• Author & Faculty, Successful Judgment Collections in Alabama, National Business Institute (October 1999)
  
  
• Author & Faculty, Collections Law Seminar, Alabama Institute for Continuing Legal Education (October 2001)

Published Decisions:

• Brown v. Lanier Worldwide, Inc., 124 S.W.3d 883 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004)
  
  
• Lanier Worldwide, Inc. v. Clouse, Civil Action No. 1:01-CV-1194, 2003 WL 22026377 (Ala. August 29, 2003)