Press Releases

H. Slayton Dabney Jr. Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

H. SLAYTON DABNEY JR. ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that H. Slayton Dabney, Jr. of King & Spalding LLP (New York)has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1986, Dabney has served as a co-chair of ABI’s Public Companies and Claims Trading Committees and as an associate and contributing editor to the ABIJournal. He is a co-author of the forthcoming ABI book Retention and Payment looking at professional compensation practices in chapter 11 cases. Hewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Dabney’s practice is devoted to commercial bankruptcy, insolvency related litigation and corporate restructuring. He has served as debtor and committee counsel in many large chapter 11 cases and frequently represents clients in the acquisition of assets from companies that are in financial distress. He has represented commercial lenders throughout his career in a variety of circumstances and has practiced and tried cases in courts in a number of states. Dabney is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and has been named as a “New York Super Lawyer” since 2005.

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 11,700 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.

Bankruptcy Judge Jeffery Hopkins Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

BANKRUPTCY JUDGE JEFFERY HOPKINS ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Hon. Jeffery P. Hopkins of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2004, Judge Hopkins has frequently served as a panelist and speaker at ABI programs and events. Judge Hopkins is the immediate past president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Hewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Prior to being appointed to the bench in April 1996, Judge Hopkins practiced with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Columbus, Ohio. He has served as an assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, and was appointed by former Chief Justice William Rehnquist to the Federal Judicial Center's Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Judge Education in 2003. He is a member of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati and Federal Bar Associations. Judge Hopkins is also the co-chair of the Seventh Biennial Just the Beginning Foundation Conference.

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 11,700 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.

Prof. Nancy Rapoport Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

PROF. NANCY RAPOPORT ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Prof.Nancy B. Rapoport of the William S. Boyd School of Law (Las Vegas)has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1994, Prof. Rapoport is a frequent speaker at ABI events and was a member of the advisory panel for the ABI Endowment’s landmark professional fee study. Shewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Prof. Rapoport is the Gordon & Silver, Ltd. Professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Prior to joining the faculty at UNLV, she served as dean and professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center from July 2000-May 2006 and as professor of law from June 2006-07. Prof. Rapoport is an expert on the Enron bankruptcy, the largest in bankruptcy case history, and even appeared as herself in the 2005 Academy Award-nominated film, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. She is a frequent writer on ethics and business reorganization issues and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and American College of Bankruptcy.

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 11,700 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.

David Wheeler Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

DAVID WHEELER ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that David B. Wheeler of Moore & Van Allen, PLLC (Charleston, S.C.) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1994, Wheeler is a co-author of the ABIPreference Handbook (First and Second Editions), co-author of the ABIPreference Defense Handbook: the Circuits Compared and a contributing editor of the ABIJournal. Hewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

As an attorney with Moore & Van Allen, Wheeler provides counsel to commercial bankruptcy and restructuring clients across a wide spectrum of creditor representation issues.  A South Carolina Supreme Court-certified specialist in bankruptcy and debtor/creditor law, he works largely in commercial bankruptcies and foreclosures on behalf of creditors, including handling claim objections and preference claim defense nationwide with frequent appearances in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern District of New York and Delaware. Wheeler is also a member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association.

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 11,700 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.

Jo Ann Brighton Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

JO ANN BRIGHTON ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Jo Ann J. Brighton of Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, LLP (Charlotte, N.C.)has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1996 and frequent speaker at ABI conferences, Brighton has served on ABI’s editorial, Web and education boards, and has been a contributing editor to the ABIJournal and ABILaw Review. Shewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Brighton focuses her practice on financial restructuring, representing institutions and lenders in all areas of commercial and bankruptcy law. Her work has included such matters as  syndicated debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing loans, litigation in bankruptcy court involving relief-from-stay motions, cash collateral, extension of exclusivity, DIP arrangements, disclosure statements and plans of reorganization, and negotiation, documentation and restructuring of loan obligations. Brighton is also a member of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation and recently became a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

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 11,700 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.

Albert Togut Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

ALBERT TOGUT ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Albert Togut of Togut, Segal & Segal LLP (New York) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1985, Togut was a member of the practitioner advisory panel for the ABI Endowment Fund's landmark professional fee study. Hewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Togut is a senior partner with Togut, Segal & Segal LLP, where he has specialized exclusively in bankruptcy law for the last 31 years. His firm has served as conflicts or co-counsel in cases including Delphi, Enron and St. Vincent's Hospital, among others, and has served as primary counsel to Rockefeller Center Properties, SK Global, Olympia & York World Financial Center, Daewoo America Corp., Alpha Steel Co., OnSite Access and many others. His firm represented the creditors’ committee in UniCapital Corp., Jacom, Golden Books and other prominent cases. Since 1981, Togut has served as trustee in bankruptcy in thousands of cases under chapters 11 and 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, including Refco LLC, Kingston Square Associates, Axona International and several large manufacturing companies. He has written and lectured on many topics under the former Bankruptcy Act and current Bankruptcy Code, and is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

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 11,700 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.

Sheryl Toby Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

 

SHERYL TOBY ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Sheryl L. Toby of Dykema Gossett PLLC (Detroit)has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1986, Toby is a program chair of ABI’s Central States Bankruptcy Workshop and has served as a co-chair on ABI’s Commercial Fraud Task Force Committee. Shewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Toby is the co-leader of Dykema’s Bankruptcy Practice Group, providing creative solutions to creditors, debtors and lenders in addressing troubled-company situations. Her practice has included representing a wide range of clients including manufacturing, retail, health care, real estate, financial institutions and creditors’ committees. Toby is the vice chair for the Use and Disposition of Property Subcommittee of the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the American Bar Association and is a member of the Michigan Network of the International Women’s Insolvency/Restructuring Confederation. She was named in the Best Lawyers in America 2007 by Woodward and White and as a “Michigan Super Lawyer” in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights by Law & Politics.

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 11,700 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.

Chief Judge Gregg Zive Elected to ABIs Board of Directors

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

CHIEF JUDGE GREGG ZIVE ELECTED TO ABI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 11, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Hon. Gregg W. Zive of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada (Reno)has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1995,Chief Judge Zive is a frequent speaker at ABI events and worked with the steering committee on the ABI Endowment Fund’s landmark professional fee study. Hewill serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

Judge Zive became chief judge for the District of Nevada in October 1999 and was the chair of the Ninth Circuit Conference of Chief Bankruptcy Judges from October 2005 to September 2006. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Zive practiced as a general civil litigator in the areas of commercial, contract, real property and employment-relations law. He is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the Washoe County Bar Association (where he served as president from 1992-93), the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the State Bar of Nevada Advisory Commission on Law-Related Education and Ninth Circuit Public Information and Community Outreach Committee. Judge Zive has served as a trustee of the Access to Justice Foundation of Washoe County, Nev., and is a master emeritus in the Bruce R. Thompson Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

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 11,700 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.

 

Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Loan Agreements are Unconscionable According to Latest ABI Quick Poll

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

 

ARBITRATION CLAUSES IN CONSUMER LOAN AGREEMENTS ARE UNCONSCIONABLE, ACCORDING TO LATEST ABI QUICK POLL

 

April 23, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — A majority of respondents in a recent ABI Quick Poll strongly agreed that arbitration clauses in consumer loan agreements are unconscionable. Fifty-six percent of respondents “strongly agreed” and 12 percent “somewhat agreed” that arbitration clauses in consumer loan agreements are unconscionable.

Twenty-eight percent of respondents, however, did not think that arbitration clauses in consumer loan agreements were unconscionable. Nineteen percent “disagreed strongly” and 9 percent “somewhat disagreed” that arbitration clauses in consumer loan agreements are unconscionable.

In the case of Tillman v. Commercial Credit Loans (N.C. Sup. Ct., 1/25/08), the North Carolina Supreme Court determined that an arbitration clause in a consumer loan agreement was unconscionable. The Court found that an arbitration clause within the loan agreements made by Commercial Credit Loans exposed its customers to unreasonably high costs, making it financially unfeasible for the customers to even bring a claim forward.

ABI members and members of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Loan Agreements are Unconscionable (Tillman v. Commercial Credit Loans (N.C. Sup. Ct., 1/25/08).”

ABI’s Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

###

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 11,700 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.

 

ABIs Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop Features Thirteen Bankruptcy Judges

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

ABI’s MID-ATLANTIC BANKRUPTCY WORKSHOP FEATURES THIRTEEN BANKRUPTCY JUDGES

May 2, 2008, Alexandria, Va. — Thirteen bankruptcy judges head the faculty for ABI’s Fourth Annual Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop, to be held July 31-Aug. 2 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Md. More than 250 attendees are expected to take part in the event, which brings together this region’s top insolvency professionals for three days of current developments and networking, with the opportunity to earn 7 CLE credits, including 1 hour of ethics.

Program co-chairs for the Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop include Howard Brod Brownstein, CTP, of NachmanHaysBrownstein, Inc. (Narberth, Pa.), Heather Lennox of Jones Day (Cleveland) and Francis A. Monaco Jr. of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC (Wilmington). The judicial co-chairs for the workshop are Bankruptcy Judges Kevin J. Carey (D. Del.; Wilmington) and Raymond T. Lyons (D. N.J.; Trenton, N.J.).

Sessions at the Workshop include:

Bankruptcy Judge Ronald G. Pearson (S.D. W.Va.; Charleston) will moderate “The Straight and Narrow: Ethics Issues” plenary session with panelists Victoria Watson Counihan of Greenberg Traurig, LLP (Wilmington), Ronald S. Gellert of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC (Wilmington), U.S. Trustee for Region 3 Kelly Beaudin Stapleton (Philadelphia) and David I. Swan of McGuireWoods LLP (McLean, Va.).

“What’s on OUST’s Radar?,” moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald (W.D. Pa.; Pittsburgh), features panelists Roberta A. DeAngelis and Ramona D. Elliott of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.) and U.S. Trustee for Region 4 W. Clarkson McDow (Columbia, S.C.).

The “Good Earth: Real Estate Issues” will be moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Gloria M. Burns (D. N.J.; Camden) and include panelists Andrew C. Kassner of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Philadelphia), Brian Francis Kenney of Miles & Stockbridge PC (McLean, Va.), Michael J. Viscount of Fox Rothschild LLP (Atlantic City, N.J.) and Joseph Zagraniczny of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC (Syracuse, N.Y.).

Bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi (D. Del.; Wilmington) will moderate the “Understanding Today's Capital Markets” session with panelists Michael L. Bernstein of Arnold & Porter LLP (Washington, D.C.), Laura Davis Jones of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Wilmington), J. Scott Victor of National City Capital Markets (West Conshohocken, Pa.) and Irving E. Walker of Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, PA (Baltimore).

The “Anything but Bankruptcy! - Revisited: Nonbankruptcy Alternatives” session, moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Nancy V. Alquist (D. Md.; Baltimore), will feature panelists Edward T. Gavin, IV of NachmanHaysBrownstein, Inc. (Wilmington), Walter J. Greenhalgh of Duane Morris LLP (Newark, N.J.), Adam G. Landis of Landis Rath & Cobb LLP (Wilmington) and James J. Tancredi of Day Pitney LLP (Hartford, Conn.).

Panelists Jack B. Fishman of Epiq Bankruptcy Advisory Services, Inc. (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Kevin J. Mangan of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC (Wilmington), Ryan T. Routh of Jones Day (Cleveland) and Ashley B. Stitzer of Bayard P.A. (Wilmington) will join moderator Bankruptcy Judge Richard E. Fehling (E.D. Pa.; Reading) for the “Navigating the New Claims Rules” session.

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross (D. Del.; Wilmington) will moderate the “Swords into Plowshares: Mediation and ADR” session with panelists Daniel J. DeFranceschi of Richards, Layton & Finger, PA (Wilmington), John T. Dorsey of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP (Wilmington), H. Jason Gold of Wiley Rein LLP (McLean, Va.) and Vincent J. Poppiti of Blank Rome LLP (Wilmington).

“Leveling the Playing Field:  Avoidance Issues Update,” to be moderated by Bankruptcy Judge Mary D. France (M.D. Pa.; Harrisburg), includes panelists Brett D. Fallon of Morris James LLP (Wilmington), Anne Marie P. Kelley of Dilworth Paxson LLP (Cherry Hill, N.J.), Gregory J. Mascitti of Nixon Peabody LLP (Rochester, N.Y.) and Kathleen M. Miller of Smith, Katzenstein & Furlow, LLP (Wilmington).

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens (E.D. Va.; Richmond) will moderate the “After the Storm: Post-confirmation Issues” session with panelists Leon R. Barson of Pepper Hamilton LLP (Philadelphia), David R. Hurst of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, LLP (Wilmington), Geraldine E. Ponto of Gibbons PC (Newark, N.J.) and Dean C. Waldt of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP (Voorhees, N.J.).

ABI Resident Scholar Prof. Jack F. Williams of Georgia State University (Atlanta) will moderate the breakfast plenary session “When Circuits Collide—Revisited,” featuring Bankruptcy Judges Randolph Baxter (N.D. Ohio; Cleveland), Jean K. FitzSimon (E.D. Pa.; Philadelphia), Robert E. Littlefield, Jr. (N.D.N.Y; Albany) and S. Martin Teel, Jr. (D. D.C.; Washington).

For more information about the Fourth Annual Mid-Atlantic Bankruptcy Workshop, call ABI at (703) 739-0800 or visit http://www.abiworld.org/MA08.  

 

###

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 11,700 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.

Pages

© American Bankruptcy Institute. All rights reserved. ABI is a (501)(c)(3) non-profit business (52-1295453)