Press Releases

Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) presented Bankruptcy Judge Michael G. Williamson (M.D. Fla.; Tampa) with the Judge William L. Norton, Jr. Judicial Excellence Award at the ABI luncheon during the 96th National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges annual meeting in Orlando on Oct. 21. The Norton Award honors a retired or current bankruptcy judge who has been an outstanding educator, writer and scholar. The award is presented by ABI and Thomson Reuters in memory of the late William L. Norton, Jr. Past award-winners include Randolph J. Haines, Mary F. Walrath, Eugene R. Wedoff (a past ABI President), A. Jay Cristol, Barbara J. Houser (a past ABI President), Barry Russell, William H. Brown, Robert D. Martin and Harlin D. Hale.

An ABI member since 1999, Judge Williamson’s dedication to service is demonstrated by his contributions to legal education, his written opinions and scholarship, his commitment to the improvement of the bankruptcy courts, his international insolvency work, and his judicial and bar association involvement. He has authored over 207 reported decisions since taking the bench in 2000, including In re Tropical Sportswear International Corp., 320 B.R. 15 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2005), which has been cited in seven judicial decisions, 64 publications and 442 trial court documents. Judge Williamson is a prolific speaker and writer, including serving as co-author of Bankruptcy Law Manual since 2014.

Judge Williamson also demonstrates dedication to international insolvency work, including drafting and overseeing the enactment of a new insolvency law in Afghanistan, and research and educational work in Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republic of Georgia, Bahrain and Ukraine.

Judge Williamson has been active in many professional organizations, including serving as chair of the Committee on Creditors’ Rights of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association and chair of the Orange County (Orlando) Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Law Committee and its Corporate and Business Law Committee; president of the Central Florida Bankruptcy Law Association; chair of The Florida Bar Business Law Section’s Special Committee on Post-Judgment Collection Remedies; and as a member of the Executive Council of The Florida Bar’s Business Law Section. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy (Class IV), and he has been a member of the International Insolvency Institute since 2006 and the American Law Institute since 2007.

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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 nearly 10,000 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 www.abi.org/events.

Alexandria, Va. — ABI announces the honorees of its 2022 “40 Under 40” initiative, which identifies 40 top industry professionals under age 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony to be held on Dec. 9 at ABI’s 2022 Winter Leadership Conference at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif. ABI’s 2022 class of “40 Under 40” honorees are:

• Morris Alhale of AlixPartners (New York)
• Timothy Anzenberger of Adams and Reese LLP (Jackson, Miss.)
• Justin Bernbrock of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (Chicago)
• Amber Carson of Gray Reed & McGraw LLP (Dallas)
• Kara Casteel of ASK LLP (St. Paul, Minn.)
• Russell Chaplain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia (Roanoke, Va.)
• Erin Diers of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (New York)
• Rebecca Earl of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey (Trenton, N.J.)
• Gianfranco Finizio of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (New York)
• Warren Ford III of the Goosmann Law Firm (Omaha, Neb.)
• Nicole Fulfree of Lowenstein Sandler LLP (Roseland, N.J.)
• Thomas Fullerton of Akerman LLP (Chicago)
• Mawerdi Hamid of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office (Minneapolis)
• Nicole Helmstetter of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC (Miami)
• Jonathan Henrich of Ernst & Young LLP (New York)
• David Herman of Dechert LLP (New York)
• Evan Hill of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York)
• Brad Kahn of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (New York)
• Nick Kaluk of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (New York)
• Jason Kathman of Spencer Fane LLP (Plano, Texas)
• Lucy Kweskin of Mayer Brown (New York)
• Roger Maldonado of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Minneapolis)
• Danielle Mashburn-Myrick of Phelps Dunbar LLP (Mobile, Ala.)
• Kelli Norfleet of Haynes and Boone, LLP (Houston)
• Benjamin Olushola of Gordon Brothers International, LLC (London)
• Ryan Omohundro of Alvarez & Marsal (Houston)
• Morgan Patterson of Womble Bond Dickinson LLP (Wilmington, Del.)
• Gregory Pesce of White & Case LLP (Chicago)
• Sarah Primrose of King & Spalding LLP (Atlanta)
• Steven Serajeddini of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (New York)
• Adam Shpeen of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (New York)
• Prof. Lindsey Simon of the University of Georgia School of Law (Athens, Ga.)
• Brendon Singh of Tran Singh LLP (Houston)
• Chad Van Horn of Van Horn Law Group, P.A. (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Emily Wall of Cavazos Hendricks Poirot, PC (Dallas)
• Fabio Weinberg of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (New York)
• Genevieve Weiner of Sidley Austin LLP (Los Angeles)
• Erin West of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. (Madison, Wis.)
• Jamila Justine Willis of DLA Piper (New York)
• Christopher K.S. Wong of ArentFox Schiff LLP (Los Angeles)

“The 2022 honorees continually display the acumen, energy and passion in both their careers and communities to demonstrate that they are the future leaders of the insolvency profession,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “This year’s class, like those in years past, brings together a widely diverse collection of young leaders who we fully expect will propel ABI and the insolvency community forward.”

Nominations were submitted earlier this year by the candidates themselves or by colleagues via the initiative’s website, http://abi40under40.org. More than 200 candidates, each with outstanding records of professional achievement and community leadership, were evaluated by members of a 20-person steering committee. The majority of the applicants were partners, directors or managing directors at their firms.

This year’s Steering Committee, chaired by Paul Deutch of Omni Agent Solutions (New York), included Veronica Brown-Moseley of the Boleman Law Firm, PC, (Richmond, Va.), Prof. Anthony Casey of the University of Chicago Law School (Chicago), Rosa Evergreen of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP (Washington, D.C.), Jeffrey Fraser of Albertelli Law (Lake Worth, Fla.), Scott Gautier of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Los Angeles), Allen Kadish of Archer (New York), Peter Keane of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Wilmington, Del.), Demetra Liggins of McGuireWoods LLP (Houston), Cynthia Nelson of FTI Consulting, Inc. (Los Angeles), Charissa Potts of Freedom Law, PC (East Pointe, Mich.), Dr. Ivan Romo Valdovinos of SOELI Consulting (Mexico City), Melissa Root of Jenner & Block LLP (Chicago), Tara Schellhorn of Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti LLP (Morristown, N.J.), Bankruptcy Judge Joshua Searcy (E.D. Tex.; Tyler), Glenn Siegel of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Sage Sigler (N.D. Ga.; Atlanta) Kristina Stanger of Nyemaster Goode, P.C. (Des Moines, Iowa), Dylan Trache of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP (Washington, D.C.) and Nicholas Zluticky of Stinson LLP (Kansas City, Mo.). Many of the members of this year’s Steering Committee are themselves past ABI “40 under 40” honorees.

Now in its sixth year, the goal of ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative is not simply to create a one-time ceremony, but to fully engage those selected as future leaders in the insolvency profession and to build on the initiative each year. ABI staff have created a year-round promotional campaign in the ABI Journal and at all of its CLE programs in consultation with the Steering Committee.

For more information about ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative, visit http://abi40under40.org/.

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Alexandria, Va.— Year-over-year U.S. bankruptcy filings increased seven percent across all chapters for the second consecutive month in September, according to data released today from Epiq's Bankruptcy Analytics platform.

There were 33,184 total filings registered in September 2022, up seven percent from last September’s total of 30,922. Commercial chapter 11 filings also rose, with 437 in September, a 76 percent increase compared to 249 filings in September 2021.

There were 1,994 commercial filings in September 2022, an increase of 16 percent compared to 1,721 in September 2021. The 31,190 individual filings in September also represented a seven percent increase from the September 2021 total of 29,201. Subchapter V small business filings registered the largest percentage increase with 150 filings in September 2022, a 79 percent increase over the 84 filings in September 2021.

“While year-over-year comparisons indicate bankruptcies are trending upward, all chapter year-to-date new filings are nine percent lower than they were at the end of the third quarter last year,” said Gregg Morin, vice president, business development and revenue at Epiq Bankruptcy. “While we anticipate economic pressures will continue to push filing trends higher overall, we’re still seeing mixed results month-over-month by individual chapters and debtor types.

Although September saw significant year-over-year increases, 2022 year-to-date filings continue to run below 2021 totals. Total U.S. bankruptcy filings decreased nine percent during the first nine months of the year, as the 284,773 filings dropped from the 312,647 filings in 2021. The 268,901 total individual filings through the first three quarters of 2022 also represented a nine percent decrease from the individual filing total of 295,166 through the first three quarters of 2021.

Commercial bankruptcy filings during the first nine months of the year dipped nine percent to 15,872 from the 17,481 filings during the same period in 2021. Commercial chapter 11 filings decreased three percent during the first nine months of 2022 from the same period a year ago, as the 2,831 filings declined from the 2,915 filings in 2021. Conversely, the 1,079 subchapter V filings during the period increased eight percent over the 995 subchapter V filings during the first nine months of 2021.

“The weight of inflation, rising interest rates and concern over supply chain channels continue to have an economic impact on companies and families,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “Bankruptcy provides distressed households and businesses with the opportunity to rebuild their financial futures.”  

ABI has partnered with Epiq Bankruptcy to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers, and members of the news media. Epiq Bankruptcy is the leading provider of data, technology, and services for companies operating in the business of bankruptcy. Its new Bankruptcy Analytics subscription service provides on-demand access to the industry’s most dynamic bankruptcy data, updated daily. Learn more at https://bankruptcy.epiqglobal.com/analytics.

For further information about the statistics or additional requests, please contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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Epiq Bankruptcy is a division of Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal services industry and corporations that takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at https://www.epiqglobal.com.  

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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.

Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) will be co-hosting the 2022 International Insolvency & Restructuring Symposium in London Oct. 13-14 at the Biltmore Mayfair. The educational program will provide attendees with an interactive learning experience led by a faculty of prominent international insolvency practitioners. A special keynote will feature former Delaware Chief Judge Christopher Sontchi talking with ABI President and former colleague Judge Kevin Carey (ret.) of Hogan Lovells US LLP (Philadelphia) about Judge Sontchi’s new position as a judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court.

The advisory board chairs for the program include ABI Vice President-International Affairs Stephen D. Lerner of Squire Patton Boggs (Cincinnati, Ohio), ABI Executive Director Amy A. Quackenboss, Albert J. Togut of Togut Segal & Segal LLP (New York) and Ian G. Williams of Williams Consulting International (London). Content partners for the symposium are the American College of Bankruptcy, the International Insolvency Institute (III), INSOL, IWIRC and TMA Europe.

Symposium sessions will include:

• The Dance with the European Directive
• Tales from the Crypt-O
• 2022 into 2023: Is Restructuring Returning (Finally)? What Will Interest Rates, Inflation, Political Conflicts and Asset Class Volatility Mean for Restructuring Business Around the Globe?
• America Now!
• The Role of New Capital in International Restructurings

For more information on attending ABI’s 2022 International Insolvency & Restructuring Symposium, please click here. For members of the press looking to attend the Symposium, please contact John Hartgen at (+1) 703-894-5935 or [email protected].

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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 nearly 10,000 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.abi.org/events.