One of our newest committees, the Pensions and Benefits in Bankruptcy Committee, studies the effect of bankruptcy cases on pensions and employee/retiree benefits and is co-chaired by Judy D. Thompson and Prof. G. Ray Warner.

Ms. Thompson is a partner at Poyner & Spruill LLP in Charlotte, N.C, where she is chair of the firm's bankruptcy and creditors' rights section. She represents lenders, unsecured creditors, lessors and creditors' committees in business bankruptcy cases and workouts. She also advises national consumer lenders on bankruptcy and debt-collection practices and policy, and serves as an arbitrator and mediator in commercial and bankruptcy litigation. Ms. Thompson is very active at ABI and she is a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's On the Edge and a frequent speaker at ABI conferences. She served on ABI's Board of Directors and is a past Vice President for Education. Ms. Thompson received the ABI Award for Outstanding Contribution in 1998. She earned her B.A. from the University of Florida, her M.S. from Florida State University and her J.D. with honors at the University of Houston.

Prof. G. Ray Warner is a professor of law and the director of the bankruptcy master's degree program at St. John's University School of Law in New York—the nation's only structured bankruptcy LL.M. program—and is of counsel to Greenberg Traurig LLP. Prior to joining the St. John's faculty, Prof. Warner was the William P. Boreland Distinguished Scholar and professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He has served as an ABI Robert M. Zinman Resident Scholar and has published numerous articles in the bankruptcy, commercial law and consumer law areas. Prof. Warner is an editor of ABI's Delaware & Third Circuit Decisions Update and founded the ABI Journal's "Lien on Me" column. He is a multiple recipient of law school teaching awards and is a frequent seminar speaker. Prof. Warner is a member of the Board of Directors, the former chair and a founder of the American Board of Certification, a former Secretary and Director of ABI, a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, a founding member of the International Insolvency Institute and the chair of the Association of American Law Schools' section on post-graduate legal education. He serves as co-advisor to the ABI Law Review and helps supervise the Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition, both of which are co-sponsored by St. John's and ABI. Prof. Warner holds an LL.M. in corporation law from New York University School of Law, a J.D. cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Emory University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa.

More Members in the News

ichael A. McConnell recently became a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP in Fort Worth, Texas. A former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, he will focus his practice in business reorganization and bankruptcy law. He has been an ABI member since 2002.

Curtis A. Hehn, James E. O'Neill and Nina L. Hong are new partners at Pachulski, Stang, Ziehl, Young, Jones & Weintraub PC. Mr. Hehn represents debtors, creditors' committees, liquidating agents and trustees in chapter 11 cases. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Rutgers University Law School. He is a resident in the firm's Wilmington, Del., office. Mr. O' Neill has experience representing debtors, unsecured creditors and creditors' committees. He served on the panel of chapter 7 trustees for the Districts of Delaware, New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He also assisted in developing an ADR system for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mr. O'Neill is a graduate of Georgetown University and earned his J.D. at Villanova University Law School. He is also resident in the firm's Wilmington, Del., office. Ms. Hong practices corporate and securities law and represents clients in mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, debt and equity financings and general business matters. She is a member of the California State Bar, speaks fluent Mandarin and was a Harlan Fiske Scholar. Ms. Hong is a summa cum laude graduate of Columbia University and earned her J.D. at Columbia Law School. She is a resident in the firm's Los Angeles office.

Morris Anderson & Associates Illinois office has moved to 55 West Monroe St., Suite 2500, Chicago. ABI members include: Cheri Anderson, David I. Anderson, David M. Bagley, Andrew G. Barnett, Michael Cavan, Anthony J. Collura, Daniel F. Dooley, Alan J. Glazer, Mike Jakolat John S. Kokoska, Daniel M. Morris, Robert A. Morris, Howard J. Mullin, Eric Murray, James P. Ross, Dennis Skogsberg, Frederick Slamin, Baker A. Smith, Robert J. Starzyk, Robert F. Troisio, Thomas F. Walker and Charlene Zielinski.

Ralph R. Mabey has joined Stutman, Treister & Glatt PC in Los Angeles as senior counsel. Mr. Mabey served with distinction as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge from 1979-83, and his judicial opinions are cited frequently by courts and scholars. Mr. Mabey is the immediate past chair of the American College of Bankruptcy. He previously served as an appointee of the Chief Justice of the United States to the U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on the Bankruptcy Rules. Mr. Mabey has also served as the managing editor of the Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser, sits on the editorial advisory board of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and currently serves as a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy. Mr. Mabey is a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference's Executive Committee, the American Law Institute and the American Bar Association's Select Advisory Committee on Business Reorganization (SABRE). He teaches bankruptcy-related subjects at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Mr. Mabey has served as mediator, arbitrator, examiner or trustee in Alaska, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, D.C. An ABI member since 1987, he is a member of the New York and Utah Bars. Mr. Mabey earned his J.D. at Columbia University, where he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Damon & Morey attorney William F. Savino is the co-author of the Commercial Law Section of the Syracuse Law Review. With a subscriber base of 27,000, this annual publication is a survey of the developments and trends in New York State Law. It is commonly used as a reference by both the bench and bar. Written by commercial lawyers for commercial lawyers, the volume pays special attention to the possible changes in commercial law from both a judicial and legislative perspective. Mr. Savino is a senior partner at Damon & Morey LLP and chairman of the firm's Business Litigation and Insolvency Department. His responsibilities include matters involving business litigation and insolvency (both debtor and creditor), with an emphasis on reorganizations. He is admitted to practice in New York and Ohio as well as the Second and Eleventh Circuit Courts. An ABI member since 1989, he was named to Business First of Buffalo's "Who's Who in Law List," as well as the 2007 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. He received his B.A. with high distinction from the University of Rochester and his J.D. cum laude from State University of New York at Buffalo.

Miami attorney John W. Kozyak, a founding partner of Miami law firm Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton, has been named a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier professional organizations composed of the best trial lawyers in the United States and Canada. Mr. Kozyak heads the bankruptcy practice of his firm, which specializes in complex commercial litigation matters. In addition to becoming a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Kozyak has been a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy since 1992. Mr. Kozyak, who has been practicing in Miami for 31 years, has been a corporate bankruptcy specialist for more than 25 years. He regularly plays a major role in bankruptcy courts across the country and has served as a trustee and receiver in major cases. In addition, he has frequently written and lectured on bankruptcy and workout issues. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, in which he has been listed in every edition since it was first published in 1983, which is also when he joined the ABI. In addition, Mr. Kozyak is ranked as one of the eight best bankruptcy lawyers in Florida by Chambers USA, which bases its objective rankings on extensive interviews with clients, lawyers and judges. He is an alumnus of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, and holds an honorary degree from the University of Miami School of Law.

Bankruptcy specialists David Jennis and Chad Bowen have added a new partner to their firm, Michael P. Brundage. The new firm will be called Jennis Bowen & Brundage, P.L. and will continue to focus its practice in business reorganizations, bankruptcy, state law insolvency proceedings and commercial litigation transactions. Mr. Brundage, the former head of the bankruptcy and creditors rights practice area at the Tampa law firm of Hill Ward & Henderson PA, will serve as COO of Jennis Bowen & Brundage. Mr. Brundage brings to the firm nearly 20 years of experience handling bankruptcy reorganizations, debtor/creditor rights, troubled business transactions and other complex commercial litigation and transactions. He is a graduate of Stetson University College of Law and Florida State University. He is board-certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and is a member of the Florida, Tampa Bay Bankruptcy and the American Bar Associations. He volunteers as a pro bono attorney for the Hillsborough County Guardian Ad Liten program and has been an active member of various educational and charitable boards.

Jennis Bowen & Brundage also recently welcomed Andrew Lennox to their growing firm. Prior to joining Jennis Bowen & Brundage, Mr. Lennox practiced with the law firms of Klett, Rooney, Lieber & Schorling (Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del.), and Battaglia, Ross, Dicus & Wein (St. Petersburg, Fla.). He has expertise in business litigation, civil litigation, bankruptcy and commercial litigation. Mr. Lennox is a graduate of DeSales University and Villanova University School of Law. He was awarded the Best Oral Advocate award at the Gabrielli National Family Law Competition and won the prestigious National First Amendment Competition hosted by Vanderbilt University School of Law.

Chanin Capital Partners recently announced that Alan B. Miller, a leader in the field of restructurings and business reorganizations, has joined its Advisory Board. Until December 2005, Mr. Miller served as a senior partner and was a co-founder of the business finance and restructuring practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York. Mr. Miller has concentrated in business reorganizations, including chapter 11 reorganizations, out-of-court debt restructurings, secured financings and investments in troubled companies for more than 30 years.

Hon. Patrick M. Flatley was sworn in as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in March. Judge Flatley's new address is P.O. Box 70, Wheeling, WV, 26003. He can be reached at (304) 233-1655 and [email protected].