Alicia M. Bendana

Fishman Haygood Special Counsel Alicia Bendana maintains a national practice focused on complex bankruptcy and commercial litigation. She represents trustees, debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, receivers and liquidators in high-stakes matters involving officer and director liability, professional negligence, fraud, RICO, fraudulent transfers, and business dissolutions.

A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Alicia is also board certified in business bankruptcy law by both the American Board of Certification and by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization. Her experience and insight have made her a trusted lead and co-lead counsel in some of the most challenging bankruptcy-related cases across multiple jurisdictions, including Texas and Delaware.

As noted by Chambers and Partners, which ranks her Band 2 in Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Alicia “combines strong subject matter expertise with practical intelligence.” She is also recognized among the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers. Super Lawyers ranks her in its Top 50 Lawyers in Louisiana (2025) and Top 50 in New Orleans (2025), as well among the Top 25 Women Lawyers in the state (since 2023). She is also featured by New Orleans Magazine among the “Top Women in Law” and “Best Lawyers in New Orleans.”

In addition to her practice, Alicia serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Trial Advocacy for Tulane University Law School, where she shares her courtroom knowledge with the next generation of litigators. A respected thought leader, Alicia has authored numerous articles for professional publications and presents at continuing legal education seminars nationwide.

Alicia is very active in professional organizations locally, statewide, and nationally. She is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, where she served as Co-Chair of the Asset Sales Committee (2021-23) and currently sits on both the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee and Commercial Fraud Committee. She is a board member of the American Board of Certification where she serves on the Marketing Committee. Alicia is also very involved with the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), having been the founding co-chair of IWIRC’s Louisiana Network (2011-15) and a Director at Large on two separate occasions.

Alicia was co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Fraud Litigation Subcommittee from 2016 through 2018, having previously served as co-chair of the Fiduciary Duty Litigation Subcommittee (2016–17). She is also a member of the Federal Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section. She is part of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Law Section and formerly served as part of the House of Delegates and the Committee on the Profession, the latter of which she co-chaired. Alicia also served as President of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization’s Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission from 2020-21.

She has held several positions with the New Orleans Bar Association, including Bankruptcy Committee (Chair, 2018–19, 2024); Business Litigation Committee (Chair, 2015–17); and Women in the Profession Committee (Chair, 2014–16). Alicia is also a member of the Judge Jerry A. Brown Louisiana Bankruptcy American Inn of Court.