ABI is pleased to announce that Jack F. Williams and Margaret Howard have been named as the Institute's first Resident Scholars. In the newly created program, these outstanding bankruptcy academics will serve in ABI's Alexandria, Va., offices during a break from full-time teaching. Prof. Williams will begin his residency in May and will serve until December, while Prof. Howard will begin her semester residency in January 2002.

"The ABI is very honored to have these two highly distinguished academics join us as our first Resident Scholars," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "Each has a remarkable record of teaching, writing and scholarship which will immediately assist ABI's research capability."

Prof. Williams teaches at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta, where he instructs a myriad of courses, including an advanced bankruptcy seminar, bankruptcy and insolvency taxation, and business bankruptcy. Last year, he was a visiting professor at St. John's University School of Law in its LL.M. program. He has also taught at The New York University School of Law and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for ABI's Law Review and is a consultant to BDO Seidman. He has held positions as the Dean of Faculty for the American Board of Certification, as well as Chairman of the Tax Advisory Committee for the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, and was a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge William J. Holloway (Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit).

Prof. Williams received his Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Oklahoma and his J.D. from the National Law Center at George Washington University. He is the author or co-author of such books as Kennedy, Countryman, and Williams on Bankruptcy Law & Procedure, McQueen & Williams on Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, and Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy. A prolific writer and speaker, he has written more than two dozen published articles and delivered numerous CLE and CPE presentations to lawyers and accountants.

"This opportunity is very attractive to me because of the great possibilities of the program, particularly at this time," he said. "The residency will be a three-fold mission for me. I'll be able to complete a book that I'm working on with ABI, St. John's and the ABA on bankruptcy ethics and professionalism, it will help me to develop statistical techniques to use in analyzing cases and data, and it will allow me to study and compare bankruptcy ethics and bankruptcy claims."

Prof. Howard will be teaching bankruptcy, secured transactions and contracts at Washington & Lee University School of Law in the fall. She has taught for the last nine years at Vanderbilt University School of Law. She also served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School (2001), Washington University School of Law (1999), Duke University School of Law (1998), University of North Carolina School of Law (1992) and Emory University School of Law (1990).

She currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice. Prof. Howard has served on several other Editorial Advisory Boards, including the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, Business Law Today and the Business Lawyer. She was a member of the Board of Directors for the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification and the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute. She was also a member of the Missouri Bar and American Bar Association as well as a member of AALS Sections on Commercial and Related Consumer Law.

Prof. Howard received her Bachelor's degree from Duke University in psychology and earned her Master's degree in social work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. She received her J.D. from the Washington University School of Law and her LL.M. from Yale Law School. With Prof. Peter Alces, she is the editor of Bankruptcy: Cases and Materials (West) as well as dozens of law review articles, including "Shifting Risk and Fixing Blame: The Vexing Problem of Credit Card Obligations in Bankruptcy," "A Bankruptcy Primer for the Family Lawyers" and "Secured Claims in Bankruptcy: An Essay on Missing the Point."

During their residencies, both scholars will be involved in a range of projects, including:

• Assisting in the development of ABI's written position before Congressional committees, participating in legislative briefings and responding to requests for legislative analysis assistance from Capitol Hill staff;
• Assisting in the development of one thematic issue of the ABI Law Review and articles in the monthly ABI Journal;
• Assisting with a substantive area of the ABI web site, such as by leading a moderated forum or topical discussion board; and
• Participating as a speaker at an ABI conference or seminar and working with ABI committees to develop topics and speakers for semi-annual programs.