Press Releases

Alexandria, Va. — ABI announces that James Block of Krautkramer & Block LLC (Wausau, Wis.) has been selected as one of ABI’s “40 Under 40,” ABI’s award program that recognizes 40 of the top insolvency industry professionals under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony on Dec. 1 at ABI’s 2023 Winter Leadership Conference at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Block is a partner at Krautkramer & Block LLC and for nearly 15 years has represented consumers, businesses and farmers, primarily in central, northern and western Wisconsin. He also has been a chapter 7 panel trustee for the Western District of Wisconsin since 2012, liquidating nonexempt assets for the benefit of creditors, and litigating preference and fraudulent transfer actions. He also represents clients in filing chapter 13 bankruptcy plans, and he enjoys assisting small business owners and farmers by helping them get caught up on past-due tax debt and obtaining discharges of eligible income tax debt. Previously, he was a summer associate at Foley & Lardner and Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, and he served as a volunteer attorney for the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Block was recently re-elected to serve as a board member for the Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Creditors’ Rights Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin for a second term through 2025, through which he gives a voice to many local and rural attorneys who do not have the time or ability to serve. In addition, he was listed as a Super Lawyers “Wisconsin Rising Star” from 2019-22 and was a 2017 National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Blackshear Presidential Fellow. Block has also provided hundreds of hours of free consultations to potential clients, including farmers, business owners and consumers. A native of the Philippines, he works to recruit and retain diverse talent through his service on the Wisconsin State Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee.

“The members of the 2023 class are an inspiration for the commitment, creativity and ingenuity that they demonstrate in both their careers and communities,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “This diverse collection of honorees is comprised of future leaders that will drive ABI and the insolvency community forward.”

The “40 Under 40” winners are distinguished by professional achievements and service and were selected by a group of experienced professionals from ABI’s current leadership. Now in its seventh year, the goal of ABI’s “40 under 40” award program 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.

Click here to view the full list of the 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees.

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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. — ABI announces that Candace Arthur of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (New York) has been selected as one of ABI’s “40 Under 40,” ABI’s award program that recognizes 40 of the top insolvency industry professionals under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony on Dec. 1 at ABI’s 2023 Winter Leadership Conference at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Arthur is a partner in the Restructuring Department at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she advises debtors, creditors, equity-holders, investors, and other interested parties in the context of out-of-court and in-court domestic and international corporate restructurings, liquidations, and distressed financings and acquisitions. In 2023, she was named among Crain’s “New York Business’ Notable Women in Law,” named one of the “Top Women in Dealmaking” by The Deal, and named among the 500 Leading Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers by Lawdragon for 2020 and from 2022-23. Arthur also was named a “Rising Star” for Restructuring and Insolvency in the U.S. by IFLR1000 (2022-23), named an “Emerging Leader” by The M&A Advisor, and named a “Rising Star” by Law360 and an “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer” by Turnarounds & Workouts in 2021. In addition, she was recognized by Bloomberg Law as one of the top young bankruptcy lawyers currently “raising the bar” in the practice area and in 2020 was profiled in its series “They’ve Got Next,” which spotlights “five young lawyers to know in the world of bankruptcy.”

Within her firm, Arthur is a member of Weil’s Professional Evaluation & Compensation Committee and Summer Program Committee, and the firm’s Women at Weil and Black Lawyers Achieving Success Together (BLAST) affinity groups. She also is involved in pro bono matters, having advised nonprofit organizations, represented individuals in chapter 7 proceedings, and lectured on small businesses in distress on behalf of The Legal Aid Society. In addition, Arthur serves on the board of directors of The Friends of the Children - New York, a chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring.

“The members of the 2023 class are an inspiration for the commitment, creativity and ingenuity that they demonstrate in both their careers and communities,” said ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss. “This diverse collection of honorees is comprised of future leaders that will drive ABI and the insolvency community forward.”

The “40 Under 40” winners are distinguished by professional achievements and service and were selected by a group of experienced professionals from ABI’s current leadership. Now in its seventh year, the goal of ABI’s “40 under 40” award program 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.

Click here to view the full list of the 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees.

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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. — Insights from some of the country’s top insolvency and restructuring experts on issues confronting the profession in 2024 will be addressed at the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI’s) 2023 Winter Leadership Conference, taking place Nov. 30 – Dec. 2 at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz. This year’s conference will feature more than 20 concurrent sessions and workshops addressing a diverse spectrum of key insolvency topics for both business and consumer practitioners. Additionally, the Winter Leadership Conference will host a luncheon to celebrate the seventh class of ABI’s “40 Under 40,” a program that identifies top industry professionals under age 40.

Sessions at the Winter Leadership Conference include:

• Great Debates
• Climate Change: The Leading Cause of Tomorrow’s Insolvency Problems
• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Consumer Debt and Bankruptcies
• Corporate Investigations for Companies in Distress: Planning, Process and Execution
• Updates on Mass Tort Bankruptcies
• Subchapter V: Cutting-Edge Issues
• The Brave New World of Asset Sales and the Increased Role of Unsecured Creditors
• The Intersection of Arbitration and Bankruptcy
• Workshop: A Fraud or Not a Fraud, that Is the Question: Litigating Fraud in Consumer Cases
• Workshop: Financially Distressed De-SPAC Companies
• Workshop: The Importance of Corporate Controls: Failed Business Organizations
• Workshop: Oops, They Did It Again: Litigating Automatic Stay and Discharge Violations
• Workshop: Cryptocurrency and Bankruptcy
• Workshop: Making the Mediation: What to Consider When Selecting the Neutral
• Workshop: Fraud, Frenzy and the Future: Unmasking Deceit in Complex Bankruptcy Cases
• Supreme Court Review: Recent Decisions and Their Potential Implications for Bankruptcy Lawyers
• Bank Holding Company Bankruptcies
• Holy Cow, Batman! Real Estate Is Back in Trouble!
• Senior Care: Financial Stressors in the Sector Across Borders
• “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”: Sanctionable Shenanigans by Debtor’s Counsel and Others
• To Use or Not to Use: Ethics and the Use of AI in the Legal Industry

To review a comprehensive schedule of speakers and optional events, please click here: http://www.abiwlc.org/. If you are a member of the press and you would like to attend the conference, please contact John Hartgen at 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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.

Alexandria, Va. — Leading practitioners will be examining key issues across the consumer bankruptcy landscape at ABI’s 2023 Consumer Practice Extravaganza (CPEX), being held October 30-Nov. 10 via a state-of-the-art virtual platform. Spanning two weeks, this virtual conference offers quality sessions on key consumer bankruptcy topics, including student loans, AI/technology, subchapter V, chapter 13, ethics and more. One of the highlighted sessions of the program is a "Fireside Chat" between Tara Twomey, the Director of the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.) and Prof. Ingrid M. Hillinger of the Boston College School of Law (Newton Centre, Mass.). Available at a registration price of only $100, all sessions will conveniently remain available to attendees for 30 days after the conclusion of the conference.

Sessions at CPEX include:

• Hot Topics with Bill Rochelle
• Saving a Family Home, and the Ins and Outs of 3002.1
• Tax Issues in Bankruptcy
• Evidentiary Mock Trial
• Eligibility Issues for Consumer Debtors
• Real Property Potpourri
• Bankruptcy Ethics & Malpractice
• Judges' Session: Circuits 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11
• Student Loans Update from the Department of Justice
• Fireside Chat with the Director of the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustees
• Chapter 13 to Sub V: Fear Not, Consumer Attorneys
• Industry Innovations and Solutions
• Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging
• Hidden Assets/Valuation
• 13 or V? Putting Your Debtor in the Right Case
• Real Property Nuances in Chapter 13: Post-Petition Property Appreciation and Avoidance Actions
• SCOTUS Update
• Responding to Complaints in Federal Court: Strategies and Considerations
• Understanding Proofs of Claim/Claims Allowance: Constructing Proofs of Claim in Merger-Doctrine States
• Industry Innovations and Solutions
• Appeal Session: Appellate Arguments
• Post-Petition Issues in Consumer Cases: Life Goes On
• Judges' Session: Circuits 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
• The Sharing, Splitting, Unbundling, Factoring, Financing, Bifurcation and Disclosure of Debtors’ Attorneys’ Fees: Ethical Ramifications and What You Need to Know

Networking is also a key ingredient of CPEX, and attendees will have numerous opportunities to connect. The virtual portal will allow speakers and attendees to video or text chat spontaneously after sessions, or allow them to plan a date and time to meet.

Members of the press looking to attend ABI’s Consumer Practice Extravaganza should contact ABI Public Affairs Officer John Hartgen at 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.abiworld.org/conferences.html.