Prof. Juliet M. Moringiello is a professor at Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pa., where she teaches bankruptcy, commercial law, cyberspace law and property. She is ABI's Spring 2010 Robert M. Zinman Resident Scholar and she writes in the areas of bankruptcy and electronic commerce, and is a frequent speaker on those topics. Prof. Moringiello currently serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Uniform Commercial Code Committee, and she is a member of the Editorial Boards of Business Law Today and the ABI Law Review. She is also an elected member of the American Law Institute. She is admitted to the New York and Pennsylvania bars. Prof. Moringiello received her B.S.F.S from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and her LL.M. from Temple University School of Law.
Resident Scholar Letter
I had the pleasure of serving as Resident Scholar during the Spring Semester of 2010. I am honored to have followed in the footsteps of the wonderful scholars who preceded me, and like them, I found my semester at the ABI's offices to be a wonderful professional experience.
The first half of 2010 was a busy time at the ABI. During my term as Resident Scholar, the U.S.Supreme Court issued opinions in U.S. v Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, United Student Aid Funds v. Espinosa, Hamilton v. Lanning, and Schwab v. Reilly. I provided written analysis of each of these opinions and also moderated media teleconferences after each opinion was released. These teleconferences provided useful information to the media about these opinions and gave me the opportunity to discuss these opinions with some wonderful and knowledgeable ABI members.
One of the jobs of the Resident Scholar is to respond to media inquiries. During my term, the ABI received many inquiries regarding municipal bankruptcy. With the help of John Hartgen, I informed myself on this interesting topic, spoke to several newspapers about it, and was interviewed on C-Span and on WITF, the public television station in Harrisburg, PA. I also hosted an ABI podcast interview with the authors of the ABI's new publication, Municipalities in Peril: The ABI Guide to Chapter 9. As I write this, Harrisburg (the city in which I work) is contemplating a Chapter 9 filing, so I expect that the knowledge I gained at the ABI will provide me with media opportunities for months to come. The negotiations leading up to the recently passed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act also provided many opportunities to speak with the press.
Hosting podcast interviews was a terrific way to provide ABI members with useful information about interesting topics. In addition to the Chapter 9 podcast, I conducted podcast interviews with Prof. Robert Lawless of the University of Illinois (on small business financial distress), Prof. Stephen Lubben of Seton Hall University (on the use of Chapter 11 to deal with the financial distress of financial firms) and Prof. Melissa Jacoby of the University of North Carolina (on reforming small business bankruptcy).
Another job of the Resident Scholar is to help with ABI publications. I wrote an update of Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, earlier editions of which were written by my predecessor Resident Scholars Margaret Howard and Jack Ayer. I also worked with several members of the ABI staff to update the Consumer Center of the ABI website.
As Resident Scholar, I attended and participated in three ABI conferences: the Annual Spring Meeting at National Harbor, MD, the Northeast Conference in Brewster, MA, and the Southeast Conference at Amelia Island, FL. I also had the privilege of presenting at two Nuts & Bolts sessions, one at the Annual Spring Meeting and one in New York.
Many thanks to Sam Gerdano for giving me the opportunity to serve as Resident Scholar. Working with Sam, Felicia Turner and everyone else at the ABI was a real pleasure and my experience at the ABI will certainly enhance both my bankruptcy teaching and scholarship. I highly recommend the experience to other bankruptcy professors.