Contact: John Hartgen
             703-894-5935
             [email protected]

ABI’S 28^TH ANNUAL SPRING MEETING TO FOCUS ON THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

January 25, 2010 Alexandria, Va. -- The American Bankruptcy Institute's (ABI) 28th Annual Spring Meeting is set to take place April 29-May 2, 2010, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington, D.C. ABI’s largest conference features a number of educational programs to address a wide array of timely insolvency issues, and will offer 16.25 hours of CLE credit, including 3 hours of ethics. The stand-alone Nuts & Bolts for Young and New Practitioners program on April 29 is eligible for up to 8.0 hours of CLE and 9.5 hours of CPE, including 1 hour of ethics. 

Much of the programming will focus on the government’s response to the economic crisis and the bankruptcy issues that will be prominent on Capitol Hill heading into the 2010 elections. Sessions will examine such legislative proposals as the “resolution authority” proposed in the financial regulatory overhaul package, allowing bankruptcy judges to modify primary residence mortgages of chapter 13 debtors, and even the creation of a new bankruptcy chapter “too big to fail” firms.

The conference educational program sessions begin with ABI's Fourteenth Annual Great Debates, moderated by ABI's Vice President of Education James T. Markus of Markus Williams Young & Zimmerman LLC (Denver). In the first debate, “Too Big to Fail – Federal Resolution Authority should replace bankruptcy for failing businesses that pose ‘systemic risk,’” Prof. Adam Levitin of Georgetown University Law School (Washington, D.C.) will debate ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Juliet Moringiello of Widener University School of Law School (Harrisburg, Pa.).

In Debate No. 2, “Congress should eliminate the special BAPCPA protections for lessors and providers of goods,” Lawrence C. Gottlieb of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP (New York) will debate Bruce S. Nathan of Lowenstein Sandler (New York).

Debate No. 3, “In calculating a debtor’s ‘projected disposable income,’ the court may consider the debtor’s prospective income or expenses,” will feature Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (N.D. Ill.; Chicago) debating Bankruptcy Judge Pamela Pepper (D. Wis.; Milwaukee).

Expert panels have been organized into concurrent sessions, allowing conference attendees to choose the ones that most interest them. Speakers include bankruptcy judges, accountants, attorneys, turnaround managers, law professors, trustees and others. Some of the featured panel sessions at the Annual Spring meeting include:

• The Legislative Agenda: Current Legislation Affecting the Bankruptcy Process
  
• Bankruptcy Transformed: Are Reorganizations a Thing of the Past?
  
• Prearranged Bankruptcy Plans, Class-Skipping, Creditor Classification and Other Plan Confirmation Issues
  
• Cutting-Edge Issues in Bankruptcy Litigation
  
• Municipalities in Trouble: Chapter 9 Cases
  
• Asset Sales after GM, Chrysler and Clear Channel
  
• The Future of the Dinosaur Media: Will They Soon Be Extinct?
  
• The Retail Slump: Is There Any Hope for a Successful Retail Reorganization Anymore?
  
• Labor Issues

In addition, ABI’s 22 committees will present educational programs on topics ranging from the new realities of asset sales to the financial impact of the health care crisis.

There will also be a Judicial Roundtable on the final day of the conference on May 2, titled “The Do’s and Don’t of Advocacy.” To view the full list of sessions and speakers, please click here.

Fox News business commentator Stuart Varney will be the keynote speaker on Friday, April 30. Since joining the Fox News business team in January 2004, Varney has contributed to the network's weekday and weekend business programming, including: 'Your World with Neil Cavuto,' 'Bulls & Bears,' 'Cavuto on Business' and 'Cashin' In.' He previously worked for CNN and CNBC.

Also featured will be comedian Kathleen Madigan, who will address the Saturday, May 1, luncheon sponsored by the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). An American Comedy Award winner, Madigan’s accessible and unpretentious style has earned her a devoted and growing following, and she is considered one of America’s funniest comics.

The conference also features a final night concert with KC and the Sunshine Band.

Press interested in attending the conference should contact John Hartgen at [email protected]. For more information about ABI’s 28th Annual Spring Meeting, please visit www.abiworld.org/ASM10.

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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 12,400 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.