Lei Lei Wang Ekvall

LEI LEI WANG EKVALL was a partner of Smiley Wang-Ekvall, LLP.  She received her undergraduate degree in information and computer science in 1988 from the University of California, Irvine and her law degree in 1992 from the University of Southern California.  Ms. Wang Ekvall served a judicial clerkship to the Honorable Alan M. Ahart, William J. Lasarow, Kathleen T. Lax, Kathleen P. March, and Vincent P. Zurzolo, United States Bankruptcy Judges, from October 1992 to September 1993.  From September 1993 to September 1994, she served a judicial clerkship to the Honorable Kathleen P. March, United States Bankruptcy Judge.

Ms. Wang Ekvall was a leader in Southern California’s legal community.  She served as the Vice-Chair of the Central District of California Attorney Discipline Committee, secretary of the Masters Division of the Orange County Bar Association, and a board member of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum.  After serving on the board of the Orange County Bar Association for several years, she was elected and served as the 2010 President of the Orange County Bar Association. She served on the board of the Orange County Bar Association Charitable Fund and served as its President in 2011. Ms. Wang Ekvall also chaired various committees and sections of the Orange County Bar Association, including the pro bono committee, the resolutions committee, and the commercial law and bankruptcy section.  She was a past president and director of Community Legal Services SoCal, the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, and the Orange County Asian American Bar Association, and has served as a co‑chair and member of the Central District of California Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.

Among other recognitions, in 2019, Ms. Wang Ekvall was selected as the Attorney of the Year by the Orange County Women Lawyers Association.  In 2015, she was selected by the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum as the recipient of its prestigious Honorable Peter M. Elliott Memorial Award, for her outstanding scholarship, ethics and service to the Orange County bankruptcy community.  She has a peer review rating of AV Preeminent from Martindale-Hubbell, and since 2008, she has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer, representing the top 5% of practicing attorneys in Southern California.  In 2011 and 2014, she was named a Top Bankruptcy Attorney by O.C. Metro magazine.  Ms. Wang Ekvall is a frequent speaker on the topic of bankruptcy law and receiverships and co‑authored Bankruptcy for Businesses, published in April, 2007 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc., and distributed by McGraw‑Hill.

Ms. Wang Ekvall concentrated her practice on insolvency and bankruptcy‑related matters including work-outs, business reorganizations, creditors’ rights, and trustee, committee, and receiver representation in diverse industries such as hospitality, medical, real estate, technology, entertainment, manufacturing, and retail.

Professional Activities

Speaking Engagements

• Podcast Speaker, Bankruptcy and Workout Choices in COVID-19 Time
  Daily Journal Podcast
  2020
  
• Speaker, The Neutrality of a Post-Judgment Receiver
  California Receiver's Forum Loyola VIII
  2020
  
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Fundamentals for Business Litigators
  Orange County Bar Association
  2019
  
• Speaker, The Rock, Paper & Scissors of ABC's, Bankruptcies & Receiverships
  California Receiver's Forum
  2018
  
• Speaker, Women Blazing Trails
  Women in Leadership Symposium, Orange County
  2018
  
• Moderator, Shark Tank: A Study of Recent Bankruptcy Decisions and Issues
  American Bankruptcy Institute Bankruptcy Battleground West Conference
  2018
  
• Moderator and producer, Receiverships of Professional Organizations
  California Receivers Forum Loyola VI
  2015
  
• Speaker, Women in Leadership: Rising Above the Ordinary
  Women in Leadership Symposium, Orange County
  2013
  
• Speaker, Receivership vs. ABC vs. Bankruptcy
  California Receivers Forum Loyola V
  2013
  
• Speaker, Going Once, Going Twice: Asset Sales in Bankruptcy
  Orange County Bar Association, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section
  2013
  
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Code Section 724: Realizing Value from Over-Encumbered Property
  Annual Bankruptcy Trustee Seminar
  2012
  
• Speaker, The Practical Ethics of Bankruptcy Practice
  Orange County Bar Association, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section
  2012
  
• Speaker, Protecting Your Firm From Preference Exposure on Pre-Petition Payments: How to Ethically and Optimally Structure Fee Arrangements in Debtors Engagements
  California Bankruptcy Forum
  2011
  
• Speaker, Bankruptcy Law for Non-Bankruptcy Lawyers
  Orange County Bar Association
  2011
  
• Speaker, The Allen E. Broussard Presentation on Professionalism and Civility
  Orange County Bar Association
  2011
  
• Speaker, What Do You Do When Employment Law and Bankruptcy Collide
  Orange County Bar Association
  2010
  
• Speaker, Handling Distressed Assets: A Lender's Guide
  Commercial Real Estate Women - Orange County Chapter
  2009
  
• Speaker, Issues in Client Confidentiality
  Federal Bar Association 6th Annual Bankruptcy Ethics Symposium
  2009
  

Publications

• Co-Author, Bankruptcy for Businesses: The Benefits, Pitfalls and Alternatives
  Entrepreneur Press (Distributed by McGraw-Hill)
  2007