Contact: John Hartgen
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COPING WITH MORTGAGE DEFAULTS, MEANS TESTING AMONG CURRENT BANKRUPTCY TOPICS AT ABI’S DETROIT CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY PROGRAM IN NOVEMBER

August 13, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — Nine bankruptcy judges, as well as four chapter 13 trustees, will be participating in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI’s) Detroit Consumer Program on Nov. 12 at the Detroit Marriott Troy in Troy, Mich. This day-long program is designed especially for Michigan consumer practitioners to address their clients' most important issues, including the means test, dismissal for abuse, secured claims and options to deal with mortgage defaults. It is also structured to help both debtor and creditor practitioners maximize efficiencies in their practices, and to give attendees practical and helpful insight bankruptcy procedure and litigation. The program's co-chairs are Stuart A. Gold of Gold, Lange & Majoros, PC (Southfield, Mich.) and former ABI president Richardo I. Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick & Associates, PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.). The judicial chair is Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Michigan, Detroit).

Luncheon speaker Elise Bean, Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), will be presenting 'Unfair Credit Card Practices: The Results of Our Investigation and Proposed Legislation.'

Timely topics for the panel sessions include:

• Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (N.D. Illinois, Chicago) will address means test calculations.
  
• “Litigating the Presumption of Abuse under Section 707” will feature panelists Karen E. Evangelista of Karen E. Evangelista, PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.), Samuel G. Firebaugh of Firebaugh & Andrews, PLLC (Westland, Mich.) and Jill Geis of the U.S. Trustee's Office (Detroit) as well as Bankruptcy Judges Phillip J. Shefferly (E.D. Michigan, Detroit) and Eugene R. Wedoff (N.D. Illinois, Chicago).
  
• The “Secured Claims in Chapter 7 and 13” session includes panelists Krispen Carroll of the Chapter 13 Trustee’s Office (Detroit), Michael P. Hogan of Kilpatrick & Associates, PC (Auburn Hills, Mich.), Kim Rattet of Trott & Trott PC (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and Charles J. Schneider of Charles J. Schneider, PC (Livonia, Mich.).
  
• The “Mock Appellate Argument: ‘Projected’ Disposable Income Issue” will be presented by Chapter 13 Trustee Paul Randall (E.D. Michigan, Detroit) and Mark Shapiro of Steinberg, Shapiro, Clark (Southfield, Mich.), who will be joined by U.S. District Court Judges (Eastern District of Michigan) Nancy G. Edmonds, David M. Lawson and George C. Steeh.
  
• “New Options When Facing Foreclosure” will feature Marcy Ford of Trott & Trott PC (Bingham Farms, Mich.), and JoAnn Goldman and Diane Mitchell of Select Portfolio Servicing (Salt Lake City).
  
• Chapter 13 Trustee Carl L. Bekofsky (Flint, Mich.), Yuliy Osipov of Gold Lange & Majoros, PC (Southfield, Mich.), Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Michigan, Detroit), Chapter 13 Trustee David Ruskin (Southfield, Mich.) and Brian J. Small of  Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, PC (Bingham Farms, Mich.) will discuss “Consumer Case Management for Debtors’ and Creditors’ Attorneys.”
  
• The Judges Panel will feature a discussion between Bankruptcy Judges Jeffrey R. Hughes (W.D. Michigan, Grand Rapids), Marci B. McIvor (E.D. Michigan, Detroit), Daniel S. Opperman (E.D. Michigan, Flint and Bay City), Steven W. Rhodes (E.D. Michigan, Detroit), Walter Shapero (E.D. Michigan, Detroit), Phillip J. Shefferly (E.D. Michigan, Detroit), Thomas J. Tucker (E.D. Michigan, Detroit) and Judge Designate Scott Dales (E.D. Michigan, Grand Rapids).

To find out more about ABI’s Detroit Consumer Bankruptcy Program, please visit www.abiworld.org/Detroit07.

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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.