Alana L.
Porrazzo
About Alana L. Porrazzo
Alana Porrazzo is a commercial litigator whose primary practice areas include fidelity and surety law and construction law. Her practice emphasizes defending bond claims and bad faith allegations, litigating performance defaults, prosecuting subrogation and indemnity claims, and representing sureties in principal and Indemnitor bankruptcies.
Alana began her legal career at a private law firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she represented sureties and contractors in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitrations, mediations, and administrative hearings. She joined Jennings Haug Keleher McLeod in April 2018.
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Arizona
- U.S. District Court District of Arizona
- United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- New Mexico
- Louisiana
- Eastern District of Louisiana
- Western District of Louisiana
- Middle District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Alana L. Porrazzo
Education
- Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana J.D. (2016), cum laude
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut B.A. (2009)
Honors & Awards
- ABA Forum on Construction Law Student Writing Competition (winner), 2017
- Ray Forrester Award for Constitutional Law, 2014
languages
- French and beginning Croatian
Classes & Seminars
- Speaker, “Bonded Contractors and Bonded Construction Contracts in Bankruptcy Court,” State Bar of Arizona Construction Law Section (December 2021)
- Speaker, “Far Away From Neutral Shores: Initial Decision Maker Maladministration,” Midwest Surety and Construction Claims Conference (July 30, 2021)
- Speaker, “Just Answer the Question! The Surety’s 30(b)(6) Deposition,” Western States Surety Conference (June 25, 2021)
- Speaker, “Taking the Sting Out of Bankruptcy: Practical Scenarios Faced by the Contract Surety,” ABA Fidelity and Surety Law 2021 Virtual Midwinter Conference: Construction Lawyer as Disaster Artist (February 4, 2021)
- Speaker, “Apologies from Arizona: Thirty Years after Dodge,” Western States Surety Conference (Seattle, April 26, 2019)
- Speaker, “Construction Law: Advanced Issues and Answers,” National Business Institute (New Orleans, March 2018)
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
State Bar of Arizona
- Construction Law Section, Member and Young Lawyer Division Representative to Executive Committee (2021-22 term)
American Bar Association
- Fidelity and Surety Law Committee (2018–present), Law Division Bankruptcy Subcommittee Co-Chair and YPS co-chair (2020-present)
- Member, Forum on the Construction Industry (2017–2019)
Published Works
- Co-Author, “When the SEC or State Securities Regulators Want Your Records and Your Testimony” (May 2022)
- Co-Author, “Two Important Eye-Opening Surety Bankruptcy Issues,” (Part 4 of 4), Surety Bond Quarterly (Summer 2021)
- Co-Author, “The Commercial Account Bankruptcy Case Lesson: Sureties Must Be Diligent Throughout the Process,” (Part 3 of 4), Surety Bond Quarterly (Winter 2021)
- Co-Author, “The Surety Faces Unique Risks When Its Contract Account Files for Bankruptcy,” (Part 2 of 4) Surety Bond Quarterly (Spring 2021)
- Co-Author, “Bankruptcy Basics for the Surety Industry: Cash and letters of credit held by sureties receive special legal status when an estate falls into bankruptcy,” (Part 1 of 4), Surety Bond Quarterly (Fall 2020)
- Editor, The Quick Reference Guide to Western States Surety & Fidelity Law, WSSC, LLC (2020; 2021)
- Co-Author, Fifteen Years of Chapter 15 for the Surety, ABA TIPS FSLC Newsletter (Spring 2020)
- Co-Author, Surety Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice (2021)
- Author, Confessions of Judgment: New Year, New Rules in New York (January 2020)
- Author, A New Subchapter for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, The Monitor (Fall Conference Issue, 2019)
- Author, Cause to Revisit Liquidated Damages in your Equipment Finance Leases? (February 2019)
- Author, Arizona’s Judgment Validity and Renewal Deadline Extended from Five to Ten Years (August 2018)
- Author, “Default Interest Held Unenforceable Penalty: In re Altadena Lincoln Crossing LLC”(September 25, 2018)
- Author, When Prevailing Wages Do Not Prevail: The Davis-Bacon Act in the Context of Public-Private Partnerships after CityCenterDC, The Construction Lawyer (Winter 2018)
- Author, Multimillion-Dollar Commas and ‘Magic Words’: The In re Deepwater Horizon Additional Insured Dispute, Tulane Maritime Law Journal (2016)
- Author, The Rise of the Exoneration Clause: The Second Circuit Holds a Downstream Covenant Not to Sue Enforceable in Sompo Japan Insurance Co. of America v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., Tulane Maritime Law Journal (2015)