Members in the News

Members in the News

Journal Issue: 
Column Name: 
Journal Article: 
John Good joined the ABI staff as a meeting planner in 1999. For several years before, John served as vice president for Jan Davis Entertainment in Alexandria, Va., where he helped secure the entertainment for several ABI Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. John is responsible for the lead planning of the annual Winter Leadership Conference, as well as several other large regional programs, such as the Central States Bankruptcy Workshop, New York City Bankruptcy Conference, Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop and Georgetown Views from the Bench program. John is also the lead planner for the ABI program in Hawaii, which will be held again during 2004, this time on the island of Kauai. A professional musician in his spare time, John's entertainment background and skills have been essential in ABI's integration of big-name entertainment to the Annual Spring Meeting, such as recent shows featuring the Temptations and The Commodores. John lives in Alexandria with his wife, Angie, and son, Scotty.

Jennifer Dannemiller joined our staff as a meeting planner in 2001 after more than two years as a manager for training at GAMA International, an insurance industry non-profit. She has brought great energy and enthusiasm to planning the ABI Annual Spring Meeting, which has grown to nearly 900 attendees. Jen is also responsible for being the lead planner on the Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and Southwest Bankruptcy Conference. Included in this group are the largest regional program and two fast-growing regional conferences. Jen is a 1996 graduate of the University of California-Santa Barbara. She is engaged to be married next May and lives in Washington, D.C.

Vanessa York also joined our staff in 1999 after graduating from Virginia Tech. She was promoted from staff assistant responsible for CLE reporting to meeting planner in 2002. She is the lead planner on a number of one- and two-day programs, such as the Bankruptcy Battleground West (Los Angeles) and the Investment Banking Program (New York). She also plans special periodic events, such as the Canadian-American Symposium, Emory University Litigation Skills Symposium and this year's 25th Anniversary of the Code Symposium. Van also handles the production of written materials for all conferences and coordinates with West Group for their printing and electronic posting on West LegalEdCenter. She is engaged to be married this October and lives in northern Virginia.

Ana Quada joined our staff in 2001 as an administrative assistant. She is now responsible for CLE reporting to the states. She has provided on-site meeting help at the Northeast Bankruptcy Conference and the Annual Spring Meeting. Ana is finishing a degree at George Mason University and lives in northern Virginia.

Other Members in the News

Mendes & Gonzales PLLC, Nashville, Tenn., announced that its lawyers and staff joined Husch & Eppenberger LLC on July 1. Mendes & Gonzales's four lawyers will join Husch's team of more than 300 attorneys. Robert Gonzales joined Husch as a member of its Insolvency Group. He concentrates his practice in bankruptcy, insolvency and workouts, as well as commercial law and business transactions, primarily representing debtors and creditors (including committees) in chapter 11 cases and out-of-court workouts. Bob Mendes joined Husch as a member in its General Business Litigation Group, where he handles the firm's complex litigation.

Robin Bicket White has been practicing with Mendes & Gonzales since September 2000. She will join Husch as an associate in its Insolvency Practice Group. Ms. White focuses her practice in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency, workouts, commercial litigation and creditors' rights.

Lynn M. Gollin, a bankruptcy attorney and partner at Tew Cardenas Rebak Kellogg Lehman DeMaria Tague Raymond & Levine LLP in Miami, was named a member of the 2003 Presidential Rank Award Review Board. The Presidential Rank Awards, administered by the Executive Branch's Office of Personnel Management, were established to recognize a select group of career senior executives in the federal government who have provided great service. Since 1988, Ms. Gollin has specialized in bankruptcy law and is experienced in creditor, trustee and business debtor representation in chapters 7 and 11.

The law firm Ropes & Gray LLP has announced that Stuart Hirshfield has joined as a partner and head of its New York Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights practice, which includes representation of creditors' committees, debtors, bank and financial institutions in loan workouts, international insolvency matters, structuring of deals, bankruptcy mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy litigation—including preference and fraudulent transfer litigation—and asset-based lending. Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Mr. Hirshfield was a partner of Dewey Ballantine LLP, where he chaired the Corporate Reorganization and Bankruptcy Group for 15 years. He can be reached at (212) 841-0682 or [email protected].

Gary W. Marsh, a partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP in Atlanta, was recently elected to be a director of the Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute. He was also recently included in the Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA —America's Leading Business Lawyers in the area of bankruptcy law and recently became the only attorney in the state of Georgia certified by the American Board of Certification in creditors' rights law. Mr. Marsh has been board-certified in business bankruptcy law since 1995. He can be reached at [email protected] or (404) 527-4150.

Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC (CRP), Dallas, announced that T. Scott Avila has joined the firm as a managing partner. Formerly with Crossroads LLC, Mr. Avila has more than 20 years of restructuring and management experience, serving as a financial advisor and restructuring consultant to large distressed companies, working in both out-of-court cases and chapter 11 proceedings.

U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge Emeritus Alexander L. Paskay recently celebrated 40 years of serving the Middle District of Florida. He was appointed to the court in 1963 and was elevated to chief judge in 1979. He served continually as the court's chief judge until he retired in 1999, only to be immediately recalled to help handle the district's overwhelming caseload. He has been teaching bankruptcy law at Stetson University since 1974, hosted Stetson's International Bankruptcy Symposiums in Budapest in 1994 and 2001, and in Varenna, Italy, in 2002, and chairs the law school's Annual Bankruptcy Seminar.

Melanie Rovner Cohen, former partner and chair of Altheimer & Gray's bankruptcy practice, has joined Quarles & Brady LLP, Chicago, as a partner. She concentrates her practice in bankruptcy, insolvency and workouts, as well as finance. As a long-time instructor at DePaul University College of law, she has taught courses in secured and consumer transactions and in debtor-creditor law. She has also taught debtor-creditor law courses in the Real Estate LL.M. program at John Marshall Law School. Ms. Cohen is a 20-year ABI member and is also a chair of the Turnaround Management Association and past president of its Chicago chapter.

Topic Tags: 
Journal Date: 
Monday, September 1, 2003