Contact: John Hartgen
              (703) 739-0800
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ABI’S DETROIT CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 11

July 15, 2009, Alexandria, Va. — Detroit-area practitioners will have the opportunity to examine current issues affecting the consumer bankruptcy profession at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Second Annual Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference on Nov. 11 at Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Mich. Faculty members include experienced local chapter 7 and 13 consumer attorneys, bankruptcy judges and panel trustees from around the state of Michigan. In addition, the program will feature a keynote speech by Dr. Robert D. Manning, Ph.D., Research Fellow at the Filene Institute, director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services at the Rochester Institute of Technology, founder of the Responsible Debt Relief Institute and author of Credit Card Nation. The judicial chair of the Detroit Bankruptcy Conference is Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Mich.; Detroit). The event is cosponsored by the Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Association.

Panel sessions include:

The “Making Your Case Go Smoother: A Trustee Panel” session, moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Mich.; Detroit), will feature Chapter 13 Trustee Carl L. Bekofske (Flint, Mich.), Chapter 7 Trustee Kelly M. Hagan (Acme, Mich.), Chapter 7 Trustee Gene R. Kohut (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), Chapter 7 Trustee Michael A. Stevenson (Southfield, Mich.), Chapter 13 Trustee Tammy L. Terry (Detroit) and Chapter 13 Trustee Mary K. Viegelahn (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

John C. Lange of Gold, Lange & Majoros PC (Southfield, Mich.) will moderate the “What’s New: Cases You Need to Know” session with panelists Thomas D. DeCarlo of the Office of Chapter 13 Trustee (Southfield, Mich.) and Michael P. Hogan of Kilpatrick & Assoc., PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.).

“The Special Challenges of High-income Debtors (Including the Means Test and Individual Chapter 11 Cases)” session will be moderated by Mark H. Shapiro of Steinberg, Shapiro & Clark (Southfield, Mich.) and feature panelists Michael E. Baum of Schafer & Weiner PLLC (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Charles D. Bullock of Stevenson & Bullock PLC (Southfield, Mich.) and Bankruptcy Judge Philip J. Shefferly (E.D. Mich.; Detroit).

Moderator Caralyce M. Lassner of  Scarletta Lassner PLC (Pleasant Ridge, Mich.) will be joined by David W. Allard of Allard & Fish PC (Detroit) and James H. Cossitt, chair of the ABA Best Practices Working Group (Kalispell, Mont.) for the “Best Practices in Representing Debtors: From Preparing Papers to Reaffirmation Agreements.”

The “Non-Bankruptcy Alternatives” session, moderated by Julie Beth Teicher of Erman Teicher Miller Zucker & Freedman PC (Southfield, Mich.), will feature panelists David Findling of Findling Law Firm PLC (Royal Oak, Mich.) and Brian J. Small of Thav Gross Steinway & Bennett PC (Bingham Farms, Mich.).

The “What Are Mortgage Companies Doing Now?” session will be moderated by Heather D. McGivern of Orlans & Assoc., PC (Troy, Mich.) and include panelists Roberta W. Andrews of Firebaugh & Andrews PLLC (Westland, Mich.) and Terrence A. Keith, Chief Deputy Treasurer and Representative of Michigan State Housing Development Authority (Wayne County, Mich.).

Bankruptcy Judge James D. Gregg (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids) will moderate the “Fraudulent Transfers and Preferences” session with panelists Michael D. Lieberman of Lieberman Gies & Cohen PLLC (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Kenneth A. Nathan of Nathan Zousmer PC (Southfield, Mich.).

The “Judges’ Panel” session, moderated by Philip J. Shefferly (E.D. Mich.; Detroit), will feature Bankruptcy Judges Scott W. Dales (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids), James D. Gregg (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids), Jeffrey R. Hughes (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids), Marci McIvor (E.D. Mich.; Detroit), Daniel S. Opperman (E.D. Mich.; Bay City), Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Mich.; Detroit), Walter Shapero (E.D. Mich.; Detroit) and Thomas T. Tucker (E.D. Mich.; Detroit).

For more information on ABI’s Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Conference, please visit http://www.abiworld.org/Detroit09. 

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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 12,000 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.