Jason Robert Watkins

Jason Robert Watkins, one of the founding partners of O’Hara Watkins, has been practicing in Alabama courts throughout for over 17 years. During this time, Mr. Watkins has represented a variety of businesses from manufacturers and insurers to banks, in litigation, trials, and arbitration.

Whatever the case may be, in every case, Mr. Watkins starts by identifying the legal issues and immediately implementing a strategy for resolution. Ultimately, the facts direct any legal strategy but with his trial and litigation experience, he can provide clients with a quick legal roadmap of the dispute which allows them to react immediately and appropriately.

Although representing creditors and insurers has been Mr. Watkins’ primary focus, in his legal career he has represented a variety of clients including airplane and trucking companies, product manufacturers, builders, and restaurant owners.

Mr. Watkins has tried several cases to verdict before various courts in Alabama. Recently, he represented various financial institutions in offensive litigation where the banks recovered funds that were fraudulently transferred to avoid the reach of creditors.

Mr. Watkins’ last two jury trials included defending a national bank in a lender liability lawsuit and a regional trucking company in a negligent/wantonness lawsuit. In one case, he obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national insurance company in an intentional interference lawsuit.

Mr. Watkins handles all aspects of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, including workouts, fraudulent conveyance actions, alter-ego claims, corporate veil piercing, and post-judgment collection. He has recovered several six-figure judgments or settlements for various creditors throughout Alabama.

On any given week, Mr. Watkins is usually involved in some aspect of bankruptcy litigation, from the large chapter 11, with related adversary proceedings to the routine consumer case. He routinely counsels large and small banks concerning workouts and loan restructuring and advises creditors in bankruptcy cases regarding preference actions, administrative expenses, executory contracts, and the automatic stay.

Mr. Watkins has handled a seven million dollar “stalking horse” asset purchase of a debtor trucking company which helped the new entity obtain the assets free and clear from creditors. He has worked on various unsecured creditor committees and was involved in a Chapter 9 municipality bankruptcy, one of few in the state of Alabama. Mr. Watkins also counsels businesses who may need to restructure debt to stay in business.

Mr. Watkins is a graduate of The University of Alabama School of Law where he won various writing awards and began his career as a federal law clerk for Chief Judge Randolph Baxter, United States Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of Ohio.

He maintains a diverse portfolio of cases, including:

• Bankruptcy (creditor’s rights involving plan objections, lifting the automatic stay, valuation issues, prosecuting adversary proceedings, contested matters)
• Personal injury/insurance defense
• Insurer bad faith lawsuits
• Loan workouts
• Compliance with federal and state banking laws and regulations, including TILA, RESPA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), and new mortgage servicing rules
• Employment law, ERISA, ADA, and EEOC Compliance
• Lender liability suits