Contact: John Hartgen
             (703) 739-0800
             [email protected]

ABI’s POPULAR NEW YORK CITY BANKRUPTCY CONFERENCE TO BE HELD MAY 7

February 1, 2007 Alexandria, Va. —The American Bankruptcy Institute's (ABI) ninth annual New York City Bankruptcy Conference is scheduled for May 7 at the Millennium Broadway Conference Center/Hudson Theatre in New York City. The day-long conference brings together a faculty of New York and New Jersey bankruptcy judges with practitioners from the top national insolvency firms to discuss timely issues related to bankruptcy. The workshops and plenary sessions and offer 6.5 hours of CLE credit, including 1.25 hours of ethics credit.

Lisa Donahue of AlixPartners LLC and Michael Luskin of Luskin, Stern & Eisler LLP are the program chairs for the conference. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber (SDNY, New York) serves as the judicial chair.

“Nuts & Bolts: Bankruptcy Fundamentals for Young Practitioners,” a separate program on bankruptcy fundamentals for practitioners new to the bankruptcy arena, will be offered again this year. The program, chaired by Ira Herman of Thompson & Knight LLP (New York), will be held on May 4 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, located at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House in New York City.

Panel discussions at the conference include:

The “Confidentiality in Bankruptcy” session will be moderated by Scott L. Hazan of Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, PC (New York) and include panelists David I. Pauker of Goldin Associates, LLC (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth S. Stong (EDNY, Brooklyn) and Andrew M. Troop of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (Boston).

Marc Abrams of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (New York) will moderate the “Intersection between Bankruptcy and Securities Law” session, with panelists Alistaire Bambach of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein (SDNY, New York), Daniel Kramer of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (New York) and Jeffrey S. Sabin of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (New York).

Moderator Jonathan L. Flaxer of Golenbock, Eiseman, Assor, Bell & Peskoe LLP (New York) will be joined by panelists Bankruptcy Judge Raymond T. Lyons (DNJ, Trenton),  Sanford P. Rosen of Sanford P. Rosen, PC (New York) and Joseph Samet of Baker & McKenzie LLP (New York) for “Getting Even: Who Sues Whom?”

“Intercreditor Issues in Restructurings of First-Lien/Second-Lien Debt” will be moderated by My Chi To of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (New York) with panelists William Q. Derrough of Jefferies & Company (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain (SDNY, New York), Matthew A. Feldman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (New York) and Peter S. Kaufman of Gordian Group, LLC (New York).

“Developments in DIP Lending and Restructuring Finance” will feature moderator Thomas M. Canning of JPMorgan Chase (New York) with panelists Kenneth Buckfire of Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC (New York) , Marc Kieselstein of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Chicago) and Bankruptcy Judge James M. Peck (SDNY, New York).

The plenary session “Hedge Funds Have Changed the Chapter 11 Process. Is That Good or Bad?” will be moderated by Peter V. Pantaleo of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (New York). Panelists for the session include Jeffrey H. Aronson of Centerbridge Partners, L.P (New York), Richard M. Cieri of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (New York), Stephen F. Cooper, CPA, of Kroll Zolfo Cooper, LLC (New York) and Mary Ellen Egbert of JPMorgan Chase Bank (New York).

“Chapter 15s under BAPCPA” will include moderator Lindsee P. Granfield of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP (New York) and panelists Bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez (SDNY, New York), Kurt A. Mayr of Bingham McCutchen LLP (New York), James E. Millstein of Lazard Freres & Co. LLC (New York) and Karen E. Wagner of Davis Polk & Wardwell (New York).

Matthew Cantor of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (New York) will moderate the “Holding Co./Operating Company Ethical Issues in Large Chapter 11s” session along with panelists Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber (SDNY, New York), Todd R. Snyder of Rothschild, Inc. (New York) and Albert Togut of Togut, Segal & Segal, LLP (New York).

Panelists for “Buying Low, Selling High, and Getting Out of Dodge” include Bankruptcy Judge Stan Bernstein (EDNY, Central Islip), Saul E. Burian of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (New York), Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group (New York) and Randall R. Lay of Buccino & Associates, Inc. (New York), with Ira L. Herman of Thompson & Knight LLP (New York) moderating the session.

“Management Compensation: Executive Compensation and Reconciling Best Practices with Section 503” will be moderated by Corinne Ball of Jones Day (New York), with a panel featuring Bankruptcy Judge Carl L. Bucki (WDNY, East Amherst), Philip C. Dublin of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (New York), Jeffrey W. Levitan of Proskauer Rose LLP (New York) and Margot Beth Schonholtz of Kaye Scholer LLP (New York).

Alec P. Ostrow of Stevens & Lee, PC (New York) will moderate the “Recent Developments in Bankruptcy Jurisdiction” session with panelists James L. Garrity, Jr. of Shearman & Sterling LLP (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn (SDNY, New York) and Robin E. Keller of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP (New York).

A Judges’ Roundtable, moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber, will feature a panel of bankruptcy judges New York and New Jersey discussing current developments.

Sponsors for this year’s event include: AlixPartners LLP, Alvarez & Marsal, LLC, Baker & McKenzie LLP, Bridge Associates, LLC, BSI Corporate Restructuring, Buccino & Associates, Inc., CIT Group, Inc., Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Donlin, Recano & Company, Inc., Foley & Lardner LLP, Goldin Associates, LLC, Golenbock, Eiseman, Assor, Bell & Peskoe LLP, Huron Consulting Group, Jones Day, JPMorgan Chase, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Latham & Watkins, LLP, Luskin, Stern & Eisler LLP, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, PC, Sanford P. Rosen, PC, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Stevens & Lee, PC, Thompson & Knight LLP, Togut, Segal & Segal, LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

For more information about the New York City Bankruptcy Conference, call ABI at (703) 739-0800 or view conference details at http://www.abiworld.org/NY07    

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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.