Judge Dow was appointed a Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Missouri Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 10, 2003. Prior to his appointment, Judge Dow was a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, where he participated in a broad range of cases representing many different types of clients, including trustees in chapter 7 cases involving significant assets, individual and corporate debtors in proceedings under chapter 7 and 11, and secured, unsecured and priority creditors and lessors in chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 cases. He also participated in and tried numerous adversary proceedings and contested matters including preference actions, objections to discharge, dischargeability, complaints and objections to confirmation of chapter 11 plans. His practice also included representing purchasers of assets from chapter 11 estates. He received his B.A. with honors from the University of Wyoming and his J.D from Washburn University School of Law, where he was notes editor of the Washburn Law Journal.

Judge Waldron is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Ohio in Dayton. He is currently chief judge. He also served as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Sixth Circuit. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Dayton Law School and a contributing editor to the Norton Bankruptcy Law Practice Treatise. He is a frequent speaker at national, regional and local bankruptcy education programs. Judge Waldron earned his J.D. at the University of Cincinnati Law School.

Mr. LeVine is the founder of Dennis LeVine & Associates PA in Tampa, Fla., where he represents creditors in all bankruptcy courts in the state of Florida. The firm also represents creditors in commercial and consumer collection litigation throughout Florida. Prior to forming his own firm in March 1996, Mr. LeVine was a named partner in the firm of Cramer, Haber, McDonald & LeVine PA in Tampa. He is Board Certified in Consumer and Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification, for which he also served on the its Board of Directors. Mr. LeVine served as president of the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association. He has published various articles in the ABI Journal, the Florida Bar Journal and Cramdown, the quarterly publication of the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association. He has been a speaker at many conferences throughout the United States. Mr. LeVine graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Tulane University and received his J.D. from George Washington University's National Law Center.

Mr. Yerbich currently serves as the rules attorney for the U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska. He is admitted to practice in California and Alaska and has more than 30 years of experience representing debtors, trustees, creditors' committees and creditors in business reorganizations and consumer cases. Mr. Yerbich is Board Certified by the American Board of Certification in both Business and Consumer Bankruptcy Law. He is a frequent CLE panelist on bankruptcy and tax law, has written numerous articles on the subject of bankruptcy law and is the author of the ABI publication Fundamentals of Consumer Bankruptcy Law: Chapters 7 & 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, 2d Ed., which has just been updated to include the new law. Mr. Yerbich earned his J.D. with distinction and his LL.M. in Business & Tax from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.

More Members in the News

Hon. Mary Patricia Gorman was appointed a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield on Sept. 19. Previously, Judge Gorman was in private practice with the Rockford, Ill., firm of O'Brien, Healy, Wade, Abate and McNamara, where she focused her practice on bankruptcy, commercial transactions and litigation. She has served as president of the Winnebago Bar Association, where she received the Seely P. Forbes Memorial Award. She is a member of the Illinois State and Seventh Circuit Bar Associations and formerly taught bankruptcy law at the Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Mark E. Felger was recently certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification,, making him one of only seven board-certified bankruptcy specialists in Delaware. Mr. Felger is a partner at Cozen O'Connor in Wilmington, Del., where he is a member of the firm's bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring practice group. He has represented debtors, unsecured creditors' committees, plan trustees, secured creditors, insurance companies, equity security-holders and acquires in corporate restructurings both in and out of chapter 11. Mr. Felger is a member of ABI, the Turnaround Management Association and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, and serves of the panel of mediators for the Bankruptcy Court of the District of Delaware. He was named a "Super Lawyer" in Philadelphia Magazine and is listed Chambers and Partners USA.

Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP ranked 22nd in the nation and first in Delaware, according to the 2005 American Lawyer Midlevel Associates survey. The Wilmington, Del., firm ranked eighth in the country when compared to other firms its size. Nearly 6,000 associates took part in the national survey. Young Conaway had an overall ranking of 4.45 out of 5.0, including high ratings in categories as a place to work, having a significant amount of client contact and a 5.0 in opportunities to work with partners. The survey results and methodology are highlighted as the cover story in the October issue of The American Lawyer. ABI members include Joseph M. Barry, Sean M. Beach, Donald J. Bowman Jr., Robert S. Brady, Timothy P. Cairns, M. Blake Cleary, Curtis J. Crowther, John T. Dorsey, Ian Swart Fredericks, Kara Stephanie Hammond, Edwin J. Harron, Edward J. Kosmowski, Maureen D. Luke, Matthew B. Lunn, Joseph Malfitano, John Daniel McLaughlin, Pauline K. Morgan, Edmon L. Morton, Michael R. Nestor, Jennifer R. Noel, Brendan Linehan Shannon, Joel A. Waite, Margaret Whiteman and Patricia A. Widdoss.

Rebecca R. DeMarb of Murphy Desmond SC in Madison, Wis., was certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. Ms. DeMarb joined Murphy Desmond in 1997 and has focused her practice primarily on business bankruptcy and financial restructuring. She represents secured creditors, debtors-in-possession and other parties in business bankruptcies.

Wendy L. Hagenau, a bankruptcy and corporate reorganization partner with Powell Goldstein LLP in Atlanta, has been selected for Georgia Trends' "Legal Elite for 2005." The business magazine polled thousands of Georgia attorneys for nominations of professionals in 10 recognized practice areas. Ms. Hagenau concentrates in the areas of workout and insolvency, representation of debtors in workouts and chapter 11 cases, the representation of creditors, including indenture trustees in chapter 11 cases, receivership actions and workouts, and general commercial litigation, including dischargeability litigation.

Gary L. Diamond, CPA/CIRA, has rejoined the bankruptcy and turnaround practice of Berger Epstein & Garber PA, an accounting and consulting firm in Hollywood, Fla. Mr. Diamond has more than 15 years of experience providing financial advisory and turnaround services to both debtors and creditors, including acting as liquidating trustee/plan administrator in high-profile cases.

James H. Joseph, an associate in McGuireWoods LLP in Pittsburgh, was appointed to the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Musical Theater, a nonprofit professional theater company committed to quality musical theater, the education of youth and the support of local talent. Along with McGuireWoods partner Robert G. Sable, Mr. Joseph has represented the Pittsburgh Musical Theater for the past two years on a pro bono basis regarding the organization's successful financial restructuring. Mr. Joseph practices in the firm's financial-services department, focusing on commercial bankruptcy, insolvency and creditors' rights. He concentrates his practice on chapter 11 bankruptcy matters, representing debtors, creditors' committees and creditors. He also advises small businesses in general commercial matters.

Corporate Revitalization Partners LLC (CRP) and RKG Osnos Partners LLC announced the merger of their organizations in September. The new company will continue to operate as CRP and will add approximately eight turnaround professionals for an estimated total of 50 professionals nationwide. The new coast-to-coast organization will continue to have key offices in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. ABI members include: T. Scott Avila, Gene Baldwin, Mark D. Barbeau, Gary Barrett, Rob Carringer, Darius Chagnon, J. Cooper Crouse, Dennis Gerrard, Frank Guidone, Edward C. Hall, Mike Manos, Thomas O'Donoghue, Holly O'Hara, Lee Rudisail, Gerald M. Sherman, Kevin Smith and William K. Snyder.

Chicago-based Daniel F. Dooley, CPA, Delaware-based Robert F. Troisio and David B. Paddy of Morris-Anderson & Associates have been named in The Deal's September list of "Top Noninvestment Bank Professionals." Mr. Dooley is a turnaround and crisis manager with more than 20 years of experience in general management, operations, finance and project management. Mr. Troisio is a managing director with extensive experience in turnarounds and bankruptcy. Mr. Paddy has an extensive background in chapter 11 restructuring and chapter 7 liquidations, along with experience in restructurings outside the bankruptcy arena.

Novare Inc. of Crystal Lake, Ill., was recently acquired by EPIQ Systems Inc. of Kansas City, Kan. Jack B. Fishman, president of Novare, will retain his title and continue to manage the operation of the business, which will continue to offer liquidating trustee and plan-administrator functions, preference analysis and recovery, claims reconciliation, workers' compensation management, wind-down and liquidation processes and other services related to liquidating or reorganizing debtors. Novare joins Bankruptcy Services LLC (BSI) and a number of other bankruptcy related companies within the EPIQ Systems family.