ABI's Health Care Committee focuses on issues unique to insolvency and restructuring efforts in the health care industry and is co-chaired by William W. Kannel and Samuel R. Maizel.

Mr. Kannel is a member at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC in Boston in its bankruptcy, restructuring and commercial law sections. He practices primarily in the areas of commercial law, workouts and corporate reorganization and has represented various institutional lenders, indenture trustees, bondholders, other creditors, debtors and trustees in all manner of insolvency proceedings in courts throughout the United States.ÊHis practice also includes addressing bankruptcy and documentation issues in securitizations, receivable sales, bond transactions and structured financings, generally. Mr. Kannel is a member of the Banking and Commercial Law Section of the American Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association, and is a former chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the Boston Bar Association. He frequently lectures and writes on insolvency issues in front of these groups and numerous other bar, trade and industry groups, including the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and the Association of Insolvency Accountants. He is a co-editor of the second edition of ABI's Health Care Insolvency Manual and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his A.B. from Wesleyan University in 1981 and his J.D. cum laudeÊfrom Boston University School of Law in 1985.

Samuel Maizel is a partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub PC in Los Angeles, where he concentrates his practice on bankruptcy matters and financial restructurings in and out of court. He has also served as lead bankruptcy counsel to debtors in chapter 11 cases, as an examiner appointed pursuant to the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as lead counsel to various official bankruptcy committees and individual creditors. Since 2000, he has led the firm's representation of the attorneys general of 46 states and six territories that are parties to the Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco industry. Before joining the firm, he represented the federal government in bankruptcy, district and appellate courts nationwide as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's Commercial Litigation Branch. He has also served in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps, including service in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. Previously, he served as an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd U.S.Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Mr. Maizel earned his B.S. at the U.S. Military Academy, his M.A. at Georgetown University and his J.D. from George Washington University.

Members in the News

he law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin recently announced that Ashely M. Chan and Matthew A. Hamermesh have become shareholders of the firm. Ms. Chan concentrates her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. In addition to routinely representing debtors, creditors and committees in bankruptcy proceedings, she also handles out-of-court restructurings and consumer workouts. She earned her J.D. at Rutgers Law School-Camden, where she received Tax Honors with distinction. From 1996-97, Ms. Chan served as a law clerk to Hon. Gloria M. Burns of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Ms. Chan received her B.A. from Douglass College, Rutgers University. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has been an ABI member since 2004. Mr. Hamermesh represents debtors, creditors and committees in bankruptcy court proceedings, litigation and various business transactions. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as article editor of the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received his B.S. from Yale University. Mr. Hamermesh served as law clerk to the late Edward R. Becker, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He joined ABI in 2001 and is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin has offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pa. and Cherry Hill, N.J.

Berry D. Spears recently joined Fulbright and Jaworksi LLP's Austin office as a partner, where he is a member of the firm's bankruptcy, reorganization and restructuring team. A past co-chair of ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditor Committee, he has been an ABI member since 1998.

Thomas J. Beane, president of Beane Associates Inc. in Wilmington, Del., was accredited in April as a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA) by the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors. He has more than 20 years of broad-based business experience, including more than 10 years of turnaround and crisis-management consulting. He has been an ABI member since 1997.

AccuVal has received National City's Secured Credit Appraisal Firm of the Year award for 2005, which is given annually to the company that best meets National City's rigorous quality standards. ABI members include Daniel Quirk, David S. Gronik Jr., MAI, ASA, Richard E. Schmitt, ASA and Roy D'Souza.

Former ABI Executive Committee member James H.M. Sprayregen is a new managing director with the Goldman Sachs in New York. He was previously with Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York. Mr. Sprayregen can be reached at [email protected].

Miller Nash LLP announced that Teresa Pearson, a partner in the firm's Portland, Ore. office, was certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. An ABI member since 2002, Ms. Pearson joins David W. Hercher, John Casey Mills and Geoffrey Groshong among Miller Nash partners to earn this designation.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP has announced the addition of David Christian as a partner in the firm's Chicago office, where he will join the bankruptcy practice group.

Gary D. Barnes of Husch & Eppenberger LLC in Kansas City, Mo., has been named as the chair of the Missouri Bankers' Association's bank counsel advisory board. An ABI member since 1997, Mr. Barnes chairs Husch's insolvency practice group and is a member of the firm's management committee. He also serves as national insolvency counsel for several lenders and as special insolvency counsel for many regional, metropolitan and rural banks.

Cox Smith Matthews Inc. recently announced that three of its attorneys and three of its practice areas have been recognized as leaders in their fields and nationally ranked by Chambers USA. The firm's practice areas of antitrust, bankruptcy/restructuring and intellectual property were recognized, and shareholder Deborah D. Williamson, a Past President of ABI and a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's Benchnotes column, was recognized in the field of bankruptcy/restructuring. Ms. Williamson leads the firm's creditors' rights, restructuring and bankruptcy department and is board-certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification in business bankruptcy law. Cox Smith also announced that Ms. Williamson has been named chair of the bankruptcy law section of the State Bar of Texas. She has been serving as the vice-chair of the section since 2004.

Elliott Warner Jones has been named of counsel to Drescher & Sharp PC in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Jones has spent the previous three years with Husch & Eppenberger, where he focused on business restructuring.

Brian Cove has been promoted to deputy executive director of the Commercial Finance Association (CFA) in New York. With chapters throughout the United States and Canada (along with international affiliates), CFA is the official industry organization for commercial finance. An ABI member since 1998, Mr. Cove previously served as the government-relations director.

Donald Gaffney, a partner with Snell & Wilmer's bankruptcy group in Phoenix, has been selected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as the first consumer privacy ombudsman in the United States. The new role of a consumer privacy ombudsman was created by BAPCPA and is tasked with advising the court on the issues relating to sales of personal information from the estate. Mr. Gaffney has been an ABI member since 1998.

Holland & Knight LLP announced that Leonard Gilbert, a partner in the firm's banking and finance group in its Tampa, Fla., office, has been honored by the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association as the recipient of the Douglas P. McClurg Professionalism Award. The award was established to recognize a lawyer for outstanding effectiveness in judicial proceedings through preparation, civility and courtesy to counsel and parties. Mr. Gilbert is just the second attorney to receive the highly selective award since its inception several years ago. He has been an ABI member since 1985.

Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green PA has been recognized by Chambers USA as the top law firm in New Hampshire for mergers and acquisitions and real estate law for 2006. Newly elected Bruce A. Harwood was named as the top bankruptcy attorney in the state. He also serves as Program Chair for ABI's Northeast Bankruptcy Conference.

Trenam Kemker announced that Michael Horan has joined the firm's St. Petersburg, Fla., office as a shareholder, where he will practice in its Business Reorganization and Bankruptcy Practice Group. An ABI member since 1988, Mr. Horan is certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Gary Read of Tranzon Driggers in Ocala, Fla. has obtained an Accredited Auctioneer, Real Estate (AARE) designation from the National Auctioneers Association. He is one of 267 professionals to hold that designation. A new member of ABI, Mr. Read specializes in real estate asset liquidation work in the bankruptcy field.

Firms Buchanan Ingersoll PC and Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling have merged to form Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. Jack Barbour, a managing shareholder of Klett Rooney, will serve as an executive shareholder at the combined firm. Other ABI members include Tom VanKirk, Fran Muracca and Howard Scher. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa.; Wilmington, Del.; Newark, N.J.; and Washington, D.C.

William I. Kohn of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP in Cleveland has been selected as the Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law's (Pro Bono CDEL's) 2006 Volunteer of the Year in recognition of his leadership and commitment in creating the Pro Bono CDEL's most innovative program, the Bankruptcy Partnership Initiative. This program provides debt-resolution assistance to low-income seniors and people with disabilities by utilizing the Illinois exemption statute to avoid bankruptcy. Mr. Kohn has also received the U.S. District Court and Federal Bar Association's seventh annual Excellence in Public Interest Service Award for his work with Pro Bono CDEL. He has been an ABI member since 1983.

Haynes and Boone LLP was listed in the latest Chambers USA rankings as among the top antitrust law firms in the country. The latest survey also ranks the firm's bankruptcy and reorganization, insurance, and real estate practice groups in the ranking's first tier of law firms. Bankruptcy attorney Robert Albergotti achieved "Star Performer" ranking by Chambers in the 2006 survey. He joined ABI as one of its first members in 1983. Eight Haynes and Boone attorneys were also included in the first tier of attorneys in the annual rankings, including Robin Phelan. Charlie Beckham was also highlighted in the 2006 Chambers USA rankings.

Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC) in Los Angeles was recognized as one of the fastest-growing new companies in the United States in Entrepreneur Magazine's 12th Annual Hot 100 Listing. KCC's #41 rank marks the second consecutive year the firm has been acknowledged. "It is an honor to have been recognized for two consecutive years for our continued growth and innovation," said Jonathan Carson, KCC's president and co-founder. He has been an ABI member since 2001. Eric Kurtzman, KCC's co-founder and CEO, has been a member since 1998.