Hon. Paul M. Black

Hon. Paul M. Black is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, appointed in 2014. He previously practiced law in Richmond for several years, then returned to Roanoke and joined Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC, where he co-chaired its Bankruptcy and Creditor’s Rights practice group and focused his practice on commercial litigation, bankruptcy, and banking and finance law. Judge Black was named to The Best Lawyers in America in multiple areas related to finance and insolvency, to “Virginia’s Legal Elite” by Virginia Business magazine in both Civil Litigation and Bankruptcy Law, and as a Virginia SuperLawyer in the field of Bankruptcy Law. For many years, he was an active participant in the Boyd-Graves Conference of the Virginia Bar Association, which studies and makes recommendations to the Virginia legislature on improvements to civil practice in Virginia. Judge Black is a past chair of the Litigation Section of the Virginia State Bar, and also chaired the Bankruptcy Section of the Virginia Bar Association. In addition, he served as a member of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board from 2007-13. Judge Black is a frequent speaker at Virginia CLE seminars. He received his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University in 1982, studied at Cambridge University in England, and received his J.D. from the University of Richmond in 1985, after which he clerked for Hon. Blackwell N. Shelley of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.