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

RUDY J. CERONE ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

May 3, 2006, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Rudy J. Cerone of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC (New Orleans) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An active member since 1997, Cerone currently serves as co-chair of the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee and participates on ABI’s Health Care and Business Reorganization Committees. Cerone has also taken a leading role in the development of ABI’s Litigation Skills program. He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Cerone is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation section with primary emphasis in the areas of business bankruptcy and commercial litigation. He was named to be a Fellow of the American Bankruptcy College in 2001 and is certified as a specialist in business bankruptcy law by both the American Board of Certification, of which Cerone served as President in 2004 and Chair of the Board of Directors in 2005, and the Louisiana State Bar Association Board of Legal Specialization. Cerone received his J.D. with honors from Boston College in 1979 and his B.A. with highest honors in history at the University of California at San Diego in 1976.

The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abiworld.org/Content/NavigationMenu/About_ABI/Board_of_Directors/Board_of_Directors.htm.

                                                                ###

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 11,000 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.