Contact: John Hartgen
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ABI ENDOWMENT FUND RENAMED IN HONOR OF ANTHONY SCHNELLING

July 6, 2009, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute Management Committee today unanimously decided to permanently name the ABI Endowment Fund the “Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund” in honor of Anthony H.N. Schnelling of Bridge Associates LLC (New York). Schnelling, a managing director and founding member of Bridge Associates, oversaw the growth and development of the Endowment Fund from 2005-09 during his tenure as ABI Vice President- Development.

“The naming of the fund is in recognition of Tony Schnelling’s outstanding contribution to the building of the Endowment Fund as well as his tireless and dedicated service to the ABI,” said ABI President Robert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (Portland, Maine). “We cannot thank Tony enough.” 

The ABI Endowment Fund was created in 1989 to provide a secure financial base for the Institute and to provide resources for insolvency research and education. Since 1998, the Fund has awarded over $900,000 in grants and scholarships.

“The ABI Endowment Fund grew dramatically during Tony’s four-year tenure as ABI Vice President-Development, providing critical resources for a number of high-profile and worthy projects, such as the chapter 11 fee study and the interdisciplinary conference on debt,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “Tony’s support, and that of his firm, Bridge Associates, has been essential to funding empirical research and education projects that would never have occurred without that support.”

Prior to founding Bridge Associates, Schnelling was active as a corporate executive in the international specialty chemicals industry and was a commercial banker with Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, an investment banker with Warburg Paribas Becker in New York and an insolvency attorney with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York. He is an At-large member of ABI’s Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. A frequent guest lecturer on topics relating to troubled-company turnarounds, workouts and bankruptcies, he is also an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law and has taught at Columbia University’s School of Business and the Jones Graduate School at Rice University.

Projects eligible for Endowment funding include research by individuals or entities relating to bankruptcy or insolvency; surveys or other analytical investigation; the education of judges, court personnel, other governmental personnel and the general public; scholarships or other educational grants; support for the Robert M. Zinman Resident Scholar; and support for both the Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Memorial Moot Court Competition and ABI’s Corporate Restructuring Competition.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 12,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.