Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI’s) Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (DWG) announced that it has commenced its 2022 Mentoring Program to connect active or recently graduated business and law students with past ABI presidents who can provide guidance on career and professional development. Launched last year, the program brings mentors and mentees together to discuss ethical issues, common malpractice risks and traps, career goals, debt-management, client confidentiality, time-keeping and client billing, maintaining good client communication, client development, negotiating with other parties, and information pertinent to bankruptcy-related disclosures under Bankruptcy Rule 2014.

The 2022 group of mentees includes:

• Stephen Ford of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (New York)
• Daniela Mondragón of White & Case (Houston)
• Christian A. Conway of Clark Hill PLC (Chicago)
• Roger Maldonado of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath (Minneapolis)
• Jennifer Lee of Hogan Lovells US LLP (New York)
• Amalia Sax-Bolder of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP (Denver)
• Christian Pereyda of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. (Birmingham, Ala.)
• Sloane O'Donnell of Frost Brown Todd LLC (Pittsburgh)

Past ABI Presidents volunteering to serve as mentors this year include:

• Andrew W. Caine of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Los Angeles)
• Kathryn A. Coleman of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (New York)
• Teresa C. Kohl of SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (West Conshohocken, Pa.)
• Deirdre A. O'Connor of Epiq (New York)
• Patricia Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA (Miami)
• Claire Ann Richman of Steinhilber Swanson LLP (Madison, Wis.)
• Brian L. Shaw of Cozen O'Connor (Chicago)
• James Patrick Shea of Shea Larsen (Las Vegas)

ABI’s Mentorship Program will hold bi-monthly meetings to discuss a variety of topics with resources from ABI and members of the reorganization community, including judges, trustees, attorneys and accountants. The group meetings will provide an opportunity to interact with other experienced insolvency professionals while providing an educational program and fostering opportunities to discuss important topics in the mentees’ professional development. The mentors and mentees will then meet every other month to discuss such topics as courthouse decorum, attorney/firm interactions, work/life balance, networking, time-management, and any other topics that the mentors/mentees choose.

The DWG’s Mentoring Subcommittee developed this program. Subcommittee members include Bankruptcy Judge Martin Barash (C.D. Calif.; Woodland Hills), Sonia Colón of Ferraiuoli (Orlando, Fla.), Mariane Dorris of Shuker & Dorris, P.A. (Orlando, Fla.), Shanti Katona of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.), Zhao Liu of The Rosner Law Group (Wilmington, Del.), Allen Kadish of Archer & Greiner PC (New York) and Kimberly A. Posin of Latham & Watkins LLP (Los Angeles).

The overall mission of the DWG is to develop recommendations for increasing diversity within ABI and its leadership, to help create opportunities for diverse ABI members, and otherwise to promote diversity within ABI and the insolvency profession. The DWG is chaired by Michael Bernstein of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP (Washington, D.C.) and Shanti Katona of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.).  

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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 10,000 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.abi.org/calendar-of-events.