Melissa Davis Lowe - Irvine, CA

Melissa is a member of the firm's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Department and is a resident of the Irvine office. Melissa graduated magna cum laude from the Honors College at the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in business administration finance in 2003. Ms. Lowe earned her Juris Doctor in 2006 from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and earned her Master of Law in taxation from Loyola Law School in 2008. During law school, Ms. Lowe was a staff member of the Loyola Entertainment Law Review and a Scott Moot Court competitor and competed as a finalist in the American Bar Association Law Student Tax Challenge. She also held several leadership positions at the University of Arizona and at Loyola, including President of Phi Alpha Delta.

Ms. Lowe has represented nearly every type of party in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. She focused most of her early practice representing bankruptcy trustees but her practice now is more diversified. Ms. Lowe has prosecuted nearly 100 avoidance actions such as fraudulent transfer and preference actions for trustees, most of them settling before trial. She has also obtained multiple judgments denying the discharge of dishonest debtors for her trustee clients. Ms. Lowe also represents debtors and creditors in connection with financial restructurings in Chapter 11 cases, in California and other jurisdictions such as Delaware, New York and New Jersey. Ms. Lowe also has extensive experience assisting clients in out-of-court workouts and restructurings in order for her clients, both companies and individuals, to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

Ms. Lowe was selected for inclusion in Rising Stars in Southern California Super Lawyers Magazine annually from 2013 through 2016. Ms. Lowe is also active in the community. She is a member of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, serving as its president in 2013, and of the Orange County Bar Association. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Federal Bar Association, Orange County Chapter. She also volunteers with The First Tee of Orange County, coaches her kids’ sporting activities, and is active at her children’s school.

Ms. Lowe also co-authored articles entitled "Who's on First? How the Insolvency of a Construction Company Can Change the Priorities of a Secured Creditor - Even When It Has Fully Perfected Lien Rights!" which was published in the California Bankruptcy Journal in 2014 and "Subrogation in Bankruptcy: Inconsistencies in Treatment With Tax Claims" which was published in the California Bankruptcy Journal in 2008. Her co-authored article "A Discussion of the Effect of the Insolvency of a Construction Company on the Priorities of a Secured Creditor" was also published in Business Law News in 2016.

Ms. Lowe especially enjoys hiking and golfing and resides in Lake Forest with her husband Jerry, two children, and two golden retrievers.