ABI's Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Announces 2022 Mentorship Program Participants
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI’s) Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (DWG) announced that it has commenced its 2022 Mentoring Program to connect active or recently graduated business and law students with past ABI presidents who can provide guidance on career and professional development. Launched last year, the program brings mentors and mentees together to discuss ethical issues, common malpractice risks and traps, career goals, debt-management, client confidentiality, time-keeping and client billing, maintaining good client communication, client development, negotiating with other parties, and information pertinent to bankruptcy-related disclosures under Bankruptcy Rule 2014.
The 2022 group of mentees includes:
- Stephen Ford of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (New York)
- Daniela Mondragón of White & Case (Houston)
- Christian A. Conway of Clark Hill PLC (Chicago)
- Roger Maldonado of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath (Minneapolis)
- Jennifer Lee of Hogan Lovells US LLP (New York)
- Amalia Sax-Bolder of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP (Denver)
- Christian Pereyda of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. (Birmingham, Ala.)
- Sloane O'Donnell of Frost Brown Todd LLC (Pittsburgh)
Past ABI Presidents volunteering to serve as mentors this year include:
- Andrew W. Caine of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Los Angeles)
- Kathryn A. Coleman of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (New York)
- Teresa C. Kohl of SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (West Conshohocken, Pa.)
- Deirdre A. O'Connor of Epiq (New York)
- Patricia Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA (Miami)
- Claire Ann Richman of Steinhilber Swanson LLP (Madison, Wis.)
- Brian L. Shaw of Cozen O'Connor (Chicago)
- James Patrick Shea of Shea Larsen (Las Vegas)
ABI’s Mentorship Program will hold bi-monthly meetings to discuss a variety of topics with resources from ABI and members of the reorganization community, including judges, trustees, attorneys and accountants. The group meetings will provide an opportunity to interact with other experienced insolvency professionals while providing an educational program and fostering opportunities to discuss important topics in the mentees’ professional development. The mentors and mentees will then meet every other month to discuss such topics as courthouse decorum, attorney/firm interactions, work/life balance, networking, time-management, and any other topics that the mentors/mentees choose.
The DWG’s Mentoring Subcommittee developed this program. Subcommittee members include Bankruptcy Judge Martin Barash (C.D. Calif.; Woodland Hills), Sonia Colón of Ferraiuoli (Orlando, Fla.), Mariane Dorris of Shuker & Dorris, P.A. (Orlando, Fla.), Shanti Katona of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.), Zhao Liu of The Rosner Law Group (Wilmington, Del.), Allen Kadish of Archer & Greiner PC (New York) and Kimberly A. Posin of Latham & Watkins LLP (Los Angeles).
The overall mission of the DWG is to develop recommendations for increasing diversity within ABI and its leadership, to help create opportunities for diverse ABI members, and otherwise to promote diversity within ABI and the insolvency profession. The DWG is chaired by Michael Bernstein of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP (Washington, D.C.) and Shanti Katona of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.).
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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/calendar-of-events.
Jennifer McLemore of Williams Mullen Elected to ABI's Executive Committee
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Jennifer McLemore of Williams Mullen (Richmond, Va.) has been elected to serve as an at-large member of ABI’s Executive Committee. An ABI member since 2004, McLemore is a co-chair of ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee and a member of ABI’s Young and New Members Committee, and she is a member of ABI's “40 Under 40” Steering Committee, a member of the advisory board for ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop and a frequent speaker at ABI events. She will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.
McLemore is a partner with Williams Mullen in Richmond, Va., where she focuses her practice on representing creditors and debtors in chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy proceedings and, on a limited basis, creditors in chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. She previously was a partner in Christian & Barton’s Bankruptcy group.
From August 2001-02, McLemore was a judicial clerk for Hon. F. G. Rockwell III and Hon. William R. Shelton, both of the Circuit Court of Chesterfield County, Va., and from August 2002 through August 2003, she clerked for Hon. Douglas O. Tice Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She received her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law in 2001 and her B.A. from Miami University (Ohio) in 1998.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abi.org/about-us/board-directors.
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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/calendar-of-events.
William H. Henrich of Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC Elected ABI Treasurer
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that William H. Henrich of Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC (Syosset, N.Y.) has been named to a two-year term as ABI Treasurer. An ABI member since 1998, Henrich was recently an at-large member of ABI’s Executive Committee, has been active in numerous ABI committees, and is a frequent speaker at ABI events. He will serve a term of two years on ABI’s Executive Committee.
Henrich is co-chair of Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC in New York and has more than 30 years of experience in turnaround and crisis management, loan workouts, bankruptcy consulting and performance improvement. He has also advised secured and unsecured creditors in chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, including developing plans of reorganization and providing bankruptcy forensic analysis to support litigation. Prior to joining Getzler Henrich, he served in Arthur Andersen’s corporate recovery services group, and in 1982 he started its New York bankruptcy and restructuring practice. A past president of the Turnaround Management Association’s New York chapter, he frequently speaks and writes on turnaround and bankruptcy issues. Henrich is a CPA and received his B.B.A. from Baruch College, City University of New York, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abi.org/about-us/board-directors
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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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
Paul Hage of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss Named Secretary of ABI's Executive Committee
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Paul Hage of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss (Southfield, Mich.) has been named to a two-year term as the Secretary for ABI’s Executive Committee. An ABI member since 2006, Hage is a member of ABI’s Board of Directors, the education director of ABI's Emerging Industries and Technology Committee in addition to belonging to six other ABI membership committees, is a co-director of ABI’s Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, contributes to the Benchnotes column in the ABI Journal, is an inaugural member of ABI’s “40 Under 40” program and is a frequent speaker at ABI events.
Hage is a partner in the Southfield, Mich., office of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss and chairs the firm’s Insolvency and Reorganization Practice Group. He specializes in representing asset-purchasers, unsecured creditors’ committees, debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy proceedings nationwide.
Hage earned his B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He earned his LL.M. in Bankruptcy from St. John's University School of Law. Hage is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and is an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abi.org/about-us/board-directors.
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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/calendar-of-events.
Paul Leake of Skadden, Aprs, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP Named ABI Vice President-Publications
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Paul Leake of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York) has been named to a two-year term as ABI Vice President-Publications. An ABI member since 2011, Leake is a member of ABI’s Board of Directors and has served on the advisory boards of ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference, Complex Financial Restructuring Program, VALCON and Views from the Bench program.
Leake is global head of Skadden’s corporate restructuring practice and has led numerous large and complex U.S. and cross-border corporate workouts and restructurings. He represents debtors, commercial banks and bank groups, distressed investment funds, noteholder committees, official creditors’ committees and distressed investors in all forms of corporate restructurings.
Leake is regularly listed in rankings of leading restructuring lawyers in the U.S. and globally, including Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Legal 500, K&A Restructuring Register, IFLR1000, The Best Lawyers in America and Turnarounds & Workouts. He has published and lectured extensively on U.S. and transnational insolvency matters.
Leake is a member of the board of directors of Her Justice, a nonprofit organization that supports women living in poverty in New York City by recruiting and mentoring volunteer lawyers to provide free legal help to address individual and systemic legal barriers. He also is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Leake received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1985 and his J.D. from Columbia University in 1988.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at https://www.abi.org/about-us/board-of-directors.
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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/calendar-of-events.
Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Harwood Named ABI Vice President Communications & Information Technology
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Harwood (D. N.H.; Manchester) has been named to a two-year term as ABI Vice President-Communications & Information Technology. An ABI member since 1989, Judge Harwood previously served as Secretary of ABI’s Executive Committee and co-chaired ABI’s Northeast Bankruptcy Conference, and he has served on the ABI Board of Directors’ Communication, Information and Technology Committee and as Northeast Regional Chair of the ABI Endowment Fund’s Development Committee.
Judge Harwood was appointed to the bench of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire in March 2013. He previously had chaired the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights Group at Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green in Manchester, N.H., where he represented business debtors, asset-purchasers, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees and trustees in bankruptcy and served on the panel of chapter 7 trustees in New Hampshire. Judge Harwood also mediated disputes arising in debtor/creditor relations and represents insurance and banking regulators in connection with the rehabilitation and liquidation of insolvent insurers and trust companies. He was named in the bankruptcy law section of The Best Lawyers in America for more than 10 years, as well as in New England Super Lawyers, and he has been honored in the Chambers USA guides with a “Band 1” ranking in the field of corporate/commercial bankruptcy. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Judge Harwood received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at https://www.abi.org/about-us/board-of-directors.
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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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Receives Prestigious ABI Service Award
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute presented members of the ABI Diversity and Inclusion Working Group with its highest membership award, the ABI Annual Service Award, at the 2022 Annual Spring Meeting on April 29, 2022. The Service Award is presented to an ABI member(s) whose contributions over the past year have been extraordinary, as determined by ABI’s Advisory Board of past presidents. ABI’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group was established in 2018 to address issues with diversity, including racial diversity, within ABI, its leadership and our industry. Led by co-chairs Michael L. Bernstein of Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.) and Shanti Katona of Polsinelli (Wilmington, Del.), the Working Group focuses on a variety of initiatives, including:
- Pipeline Programs: Worked to create a strong pipeline to a more diverse and inclusive future for the bankruptcy bench and bar.
- Mentorship and Scholarship Programs: Established a pilot program to match deserving mentee candidates with past ABI president mentors. Applications were received in March for the Working Group’s for 2022-23 mentorship program, which will begin in June.
- Profile-Raising Initiatives Program: Identified diverse insolvency professionals to increase speaking and writing opportunities, especially when reviewing the composition of proposed panels, webinars and other programs.
- Training Programs: Developed and presented a program titled “Diversity in Insolvency: Putting Inclusive Ideas into Practice,” a webinar that attracted 600+ registrants.
- Accessibility Program: Worked with ABI to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative PCR tests at in-person events, and make virtual events accessible to the hearing-impaired.
- Gender Diversity and Terminology Program: Developed a panel to educate on pronoun use, gender identity, gender expression and successful orientation, including a pilot program presented to ABI leadership.
- ABI Leadership and Staff: Developed a strong working relationship between the DWG and ABI leadership and staff and proposed creating a VP for Diversity and Inclusion as an ex officio member of the ABI Nominating Committee.
- ABI Journal: Initiated a regular column, “Strength in Diversity.”
The intention of the Working Group’s efforts is to heighten awareness of diversity issues to make both ABI and the wider bankruptcy community more inclusive and welcoming to all people.
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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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
"Tiger Team" of ABI's Task Force on Veterans and Servicemembers Affairs Receives Prestigious ABI Service Award
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute presented members of the “Tiger Team” of ABI’s Task Force on Veterans and Servicemembers Affairs with its highest membership award, the ABI Annual Service Award, at the 2022 Annual Spring Meeting on April 29, 2022. The Service Award is presented to an ABI member or members whose contributions over the past year have been extraordinary, as determined by ABI’s advisory board of past presidents. Borrowing from military terminology meaning a specialized, cross-functional team brought together to solve a specific problem or critical issue, members of the Task Force’s Tiger Team worked to pass the “Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN) Act of 2019.” The HAVEN Act, which was signed into law on Aug. 23, 2019, provided a fix to the Bankruptcy Code to exclude VA and DoD disability payments from the monthly income calculation used for bankruptcy means-testing. Prior to the HAVEN Act, a veteran may have had to contribute some portion of his or her disability benefits to pay creditors. The enactment of the HAVEN Act now exempts VA and DoD disability payments made to veterans or their dependent survivors earned in defense of our country, just as Social Security benefits are exempted from bankruptcy means-testing. Members of the Tiger Team include:
- Rachel Albanese of DLA Piper (New York)
- Jay Bender of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (Birmingham, Ala.)
- Holly Petraeus, Assistant Director (ret.) at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs (Washington, D.C.)
- Kristina Stanger of Nyemaster Goode PC (Des Moines, Iowa)
- John H. Thompson of McGuireWoods LLP (Washington, D.C.)
The mission of ABI’s Task Force on Veterans and Servicemembers Affairs is to unite and effectively deploy the best of the varied talent resources within ABI to understand, respond to and coordinate with other institutions and organizations to educate, remediate and prevent adverse debt concerns and impacts on veterans and service members to ensure that we financially strengthen those who strengthen us with the respect and dignity they deserve. The Task Force has two major goals: The passage of the HAVEN Act, and developing the military equivalent of a list of volunteers trained to help veterans and current service members better understand credit issues (a financial insolvency education process), as well as providing additional outreach efforts both within and outside of ABI.
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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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
Soneet R. Kapila Named ABI President-Elect
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Soneet R. Kapila of KapilaMukamal, LLP (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to be President-Elect. He will become president for a one-year term, starting at ABI’s 2023 Annual Spring Meeting. An ABI member since 1994, Kapila was recently ABI’s Treasurer, a co-chair of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop and a contributing author to ABI’s Fraud and Forensics: Piercing Through the Deception in a Commercial Fraud Case, and he is a regular speaker at ABI events and a contributor to the ABI Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund.
Kapila is a founding partner of KapilaMukamal, LLP (formerly Kapila & Co.). For over 20 years, he has concentrated his efforts in the areas of insolvency, fiduciary and creditors’ rights matters. He represents other bankruptcy trustees, debtors, and both secured and unsecured creditors in and out of bankruptcy court. Kapila is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, and he has been named one of the Power Leaders in Law and Accounting by the South Florida Business Journal and Best Trustee by the Daily Business Review’s “Best of 2012.” In addition, the South Florida Business Journal honored him with its Key Partners Award. Kapila received his M.B.A. from the Cranfield School of Management Studies in England.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at https://www.abi.org/about-us/board-of-directors.
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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 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 https://www.abi.org/education-events.
Hon. Kevin J. Carey (ret.) Named ABI President
Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Hon. Kevin J. Carey (ret.) of Hogan Lovells US LLP (Philadelphia) has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to be President for a one-year term. An ABI member since 1997 and previously ABI’s Vice President – Membership, Judge Carey has served as the judicial co-chair for ABI’s Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop and is a frequent speaker at ABI events.
Hon. Kevin Carey (ret.) is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Hogan Lovells, where he represents both companies and creditors as they navigate challenging domestic and cross-border bankruptcy proceedings. Judge Carey joined the firm in 2019 following his time on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, where he earned a reputation as one of the nation’s top bankruptcy judges. Judge Carey previously served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2001-05, after which he was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. During that time, he authored more than 200 reported decisions, issued important rulings on key issues such as valuation, fiduciary duties and other complex chapter 11 confirmation issues, and presided over such high-profile cases as Exide Technologies, Tribune Co. and New Century Financial.
The complete list of directors and officers is available at https://www.abi.org/about-us/board-of-directors.
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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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.