Contact: John Hartgen 
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ABI WORLD PODCAST FEATURES DISCUSSION ON CHURCH BANKRUPTCIES

June 16, 2006 Alexandria, Va.– The latest American Bankruptcy Institute podcast features a conversation on diocesan bankruptcies between ABI Executive Director Sam Gerdano and Ford Elsaesser, a senior partner of Elsaesser Jarzabek, et al. of Sandpoint, Idaho. Elsaesser, a former ABI president and chairman, represents the Association of Parishes in the Diocese of Spokane, Wash. In the wake of recent sexual abuse legal proceedings, several Catholic Church diocese have filed for bankruptcy in order to maintain operations while working out settlements to pay for the abuse claims. To date, the diocese of Spokane, Wash., Tucson, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., have filed for bankruptcy due to the escalating costs of the abuse settlements.

Elsaesser’s practice includes commercial law and banking, bankruptcy, trusteeships and receiverships, and corporate law. He serves as an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law School LL.M. Bankruptcy Program in New York and the University of Idaho’s School of Law. Elsaesser was awarded the Idaho State Bar Professionalism Award in 1999 and the Idaho State Bar Pro Bono Award in 1991. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.

The ABI World podcast provides listeners the flexibility to enjoy the podcast from a computer or to download to their digital audio player for listening on-the-go. A new podcast will be available each week on the ABI World Web site featuring a conversation with a prominent figure in bankruptcy law.

To access the weekly ABI World podcasts, follow the link below:
http://www.abiworld.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Online_Resources/ABI_World_Podcast/ABI_World_Podcast.htm

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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 more than 11,500 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.