2025 Blackshear Presidential Fellows
Varinder P. Singh
Varinder P. Singh is an associate in the Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department at Otterbourg P.C. in New York. His practice focuses on complex bankruptcy, restructuring, and receivership matters, where he represents debtors, creditors, committees, and court-appointed fiduciaries. He regularly advises on all aspects of chapter 11 proceedings, contested matters, adversary litigation, and claims administration.
Prior to joining Otterbourg, Varinder served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Alan S. Trust and Judge Jil Mazer-Marino of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, and to Judge John T. Gregg of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan.
He earned both his J.D. and LL.M. in Bankruptcy from St. John’s University School of Law, where he now serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Bankruptcy Studies. Varinder is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER). His writing has been published in the ABI Journal and the NAFER Journal, and he co-authored an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Kelley v. BMO Harris Bank N.A.
Dominique A. Douglas
Dominique advises clients on a range of business and financial matters, including debt restructuring, insolvency, and commercial transactions. Dominique distinguishes herself through exceptional client service, leveraging her strong interpersonal skills and proactive approach to drive successful outcomes.
Prior to joining Dykema, Dominique served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Scott M. Grossman in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, where she demonstrated her passion for commercial transactions and corporate bankruptcy.
During law school, Dominique served as the Online Notes and Articles Editor for the Mississippi Sports Law Review. Her article Mission Impossible: Protecting Our Rich History While Fighting for Bowl Game Eligibility is published in the Houston Business Law and Tax Journal. Dominique was a member and Invitational Cup Chair of the University of Mississippi Negotiation and Arbitration Board. In addition, she interned with the Honorable Donald L. Graham in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Nicole McLemore
Nicole McLemore focuses her practice on complex corporate restructurings and reorganizations, both in and out of court. She represents a diverse range of clients, including debtors, foreign representatives, committees of unsecured creditors, and other stakeholders. Nicole provides counsel in transactional and litigation matters arising out of financial distress, with an emphasis on bankruptcy proceedings under chapter 11 and chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Pro Bono Subcommittee, Business Bankruptcy Committee, American Bar Association and is the Immediate Past-President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida. Nicole is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute and The Florida Bar Business Law Section (Fellow, 2020–2022). Nicole was recently named a Woman to Watch (2025 Impact Awards) by the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. She is also an alumni of the 2024 NextGen Program of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and recipient of the 20/20 Partners Rising Young Leader Award from the American Bar Association Business Bankruptcy Committee.
Before joining DLA Piper, Nicole was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Mindy A. Mora in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Nicole earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law and holds a B.S. in Political Science and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, cum laude, from Florida State University. During law school, Nicole was a Louis Phillips Miami Scholar, member of the Duberstein Moot Court Team (Semi-Finalists, 2018), student advocate for the Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic, and Staff Editor for the UM Race and Social Justice Law Review.
Reginald Sainvil
Reginald Sainvil is a member Moore & Van Allen PLLC. He regularly represents corporate debtors, financial institutions, indenture trustees, investors, and secured and unsecured creditors in domestic and international corporate restructurings, liquidations, and distressed financings and acquisitions.
Reginal is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD) (2015) and University of Miami (BBA Finance) (2011).
Stephon Woods
Stephon Woods is an Assistant Attorney General in the Commercial Division for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia where he has practiced since 2024. Stephon was nominated by our own Elizabeth Gunn of the District of D.C. who stated in her nomination letter that “Stephon came to bankruptcy late – just in the past 15 month since joining the DC AG’s office – but he is a bankruptcy star on the rise. Since joining the office, he consistently has accompanied, assisted and now (just over one year later) is leading many of the AG’s efforts in my court on behalf of a variety of different agencies within the District of Columbia Government.” Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Stephon was a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel, where he was recognized in 2022 with HUD Secretary’s Award for Innovator of the Year for work on The Appraisal Taskforce, a group of federal agencies aimed as rooting out appraisal bias.