NORFOLK, VA, Dec 14, 2011 --Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRAA), a specialized financial and business services company and market leader in the consumer debt purchase and collection industry, today announced that Judith Scott has been named to the 2011 Virginia Business Legal Elite, a listing of Virginia attorneys selected as outstanding representatives of their profession.

Ms. Scott is executive vice president and general counsel of Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA). She founded PRA's Office of General Counsel in 1998 and has since expanded the office to encompass a team of 11 attorneys and five professional staff responsible for general business law, corporate governance, corporate finance, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, government relations, and litigation.

Ms. Scott earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Virginia State University, a post baccalaureate degree in Economics from Swarthmore College, and a J.D. from the Catholic University School of Law.

Electronic ballots for the 2011 Legal Elite were emailed to 11,580 attorneys throughout Virginia, and were available online. Virginia Business received 1,483 completed ballots nominating nearly 3,900 lawyers. Of that number, 811 attorneys, roughly 20 percent, made the cut for the Legal Elite. The full list of this year's recipients is published in the December 2011 issue of Virginia Business, and is also available online.

About Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc.

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. (PRA) is a specialized financial and business services company. A market leader in the consumer debt purchase and collection industry, PRA also provides through its subsidiaries a broad range of fee-based services, including revenue enhancement for local governments; vehicle location, skip-tracing and collateral recovery for auto lenders; and filing of class action claims on behalf of institutional investors and non-securities clients. PRA has a longstanding culture of compliance, engaging collaboratively with its more than 27 million customers to create realistic, affordable repayment plans. The Company has operations in 10 states, and more than 2,500 employees.

PRA has been named to the Forbes 100 Best Small Companies in America annual rankings list for five consecutive years (2007 - 2011). It was ranked as one of BusinessWeek's 100 Hot Growth Companies in 2003, 2004 and 2007, and was recognized by Fortune as one of America's Top Small Businesses in 2006 and 2007. The Company's shares are publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "PRAA." Additional information about Portfolio Recovery Associates is available at www.portfoliorecovery.com.

SOURCE: Portfolio Recovery Associates