Ms. Mary Joanne Dowd

Mary Joanne Dowd is a partner in the Bankruptcy & Financial Restructuring Group of ArentFox Schiff LLP in Washington, D.C., where she represents chapter 11 debtors as well as entities with loans, contracts, real estate leases, intellectual property licenses, supply agreements, franchise agreements, and other business relationships with debtors or potential debtors. She has particular experience in the intersection of bankruptcy and automotive, broadcast, construction, cryptocurrency, intellectual property, real estate and nonprofit law Ms. Dowd litigates a wide variety of bankruptcy and commercial matters, including lift stays, plan confirmations, claim objections, contract and lease assumptions and rejections, preferences, fraudulent transfers, withdrawals of reference and guarantee claims. She has served as a court-appointed chapter 11 trustee and on the chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee panel. Ms. Dowd represented a nationwide coalition of automotive dealers in their successful effort to have federal legislation enacted in the wake of the Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcy cases. She also represented several Canadian debtors in the transportation industry in ancillary bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., and represented the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in bankruptcy cases. Previously, Ms. Dowd clerked for the U.S. bankruptcy judges for the Western District of New York. She also worked at a major New York law firm. She has served on the Advisory Committee on Local Bankruptcy Rules for the District of Columbia and the advisory board for ABI?s Views from the Bench program. Ms. Dowd is a member of the Walter Chandler Inn of Court and was an adjunct professor of bankruptcy at the Georgetown University Law Center. In addition, she has served on the Dean?s Advisory Council for the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School for over 15 years, and, since its inception in 2015, she has been a mentor to an incoming attorney at the D.C. Affordable Law Firm. Chambers USA has recognized Ms. Dowd as a leading bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer in Washington, D.C., annually since 2006. She also has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America annually since 2006; in 2023, the publication named her ?Lawyer of the Year? for Litigation ? Bankruptcy, Washington, DC. In addition, Washingtonian magazine has named her a ?Top Lawyer? in bankruptcy law. Ms. Dowd lectures on asset sales in the insolvency context, treatment of intellectual property licenses in bankruptcy, individual chapter 11 bankruptcy issues, ethics and evidentiary issues in bankruptcy litigation. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, New York and Virginia.