Inside ABI September 2025

As I write this, I’m in the midst of a multi-hour delay at Jacksonville, Fla., airport on what has been a “three conferences in three weeks” tour: ABI’s Northeast Bankruptcy Conference & Consumer Forum in my old stomping grounds at Bretton Woods, N.H.; Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop at Amelia Island, Fla.; and a Federal Judicial Center Bankruptcy Judges’ Workshop in Minneapolis. Hon. Elizabeth L. Gunn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia kindly planted the “Gilligan’s Island” “three-hour tour” melody and lyric in my head, and I haven’t been able to get rid of it.

The S.S. Minnow’s aspect of unplanned delays has infected this trip, too, to a lesser extent. We boarded our 11:00 a.m. flight for Chicago in Jacksonville, then “unboarded” when the pilots announced that the cockpit radio wasn’t working. Three hours later, it’s still not working, so we’re now rebooked on a 5:00 p.m. flight to Chicago, with a scheduled connecting arrival in Minneapolis after 11:00 p.m. The workshops start tomorrow morning, and they are always informative, informal and worthwhile. I’m grateful to still be able to participate as a faculty member. (Postscript: Our original flight was canceled, so we boarded another flight to Chicago six hours later, but our luggage took two days to catch up to us in Minneapolis.)

The programming at both of ABI’s conferences was stellar. At Northeast, I got to conduct a “Mountainside Chat” with Dr. Bill Rule, chief economist at the Federal Judicial Center, about where the economy might be headed in these most uncertain times. (Dr. Rule always gives a talk to the judges at NCBJ’s annual meetings, where he is affectionately referred to as “Dr. Doom.”). He discussed the nuances between rising prices and inflation, the startling low level of American household savings, and the interaction (historically and present day) between the Federal Reserve and the Executive Branch.

One of the highlights of the Southeast conference was a plenary panel featuring Hon. Jacob A. Brown of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Hon. Jeffery W. Cavender of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Hon. Scott M. Grossman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Marshall Glade of B. Riley Advisory Services, and Patricia A. Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA, all of whom had participated as lawyers or financial advisors in the bankruptcy case involving the RMS Titanic’s recovered artifacts. I was struck by the Titanic panelists’ recollections of how professionally and civilly they interacted with each other throughout the case, despite a number of difficult and emotionally fraught issues. Like all ABI conference sessions, they are available at abi.org, and I recommend them to you.

As my six-hour Jacksonville delay illustrates, air travel is full of twists and turns. Some are outright slogs; others have unexpectedly happy endings. One of my favorites in the slog department occurred when my middle son, Noah, and I took a trip to Sicily to meet up with his older brother and not-yet-wife, who were coming off of a different trip. Our planned departure date was the day that Noah turned 18. We left New Hampshire bound for Boston in the middle of a snowstorm to catch an evening flight to Rome, with a connection to Catania, Sicily’s principal airport. The snowstorm produced some prodigious delays.

We got to Boston on time, only to discover that our fight to Rome was delayed by about seven hours. We figured we had enough time to go to the Seaport district for a quick birthday dinner, so after checking in we hopped on a bus. By then, the snow had turned to sleet and freezing rain.

We got off the bus about two blocks from one of the only restaurants that was open that night, and by the time we walked through the door, we were soaking wet. We were also the only two customers in the restaurant. Our server gave us a dozen cloth napkins to use as towels and dry ourselves off, then asked us if we wanted something to drink. Noah had been waiting the whole trip from the airport to be able to show them his ID establishing that he was now of legal age. He asked for a beer, but before he could reach into his still damp pocket for his wallet, the server said “OK” and walked to the bar to place the order without having seen his ID. He looked crestfallen, but only for a moment.

Our adventure was only beginning. We returned to the airport, boarded our flight and ignored common sense by staying awake and talking about all manner of things for most of the flight instead of getting some sleep. We knew we would miss our connection to Catania, but the airline booked us on a later flight with a three-hour layover.

After a couple of airport espressos, we walked to our gate. Our plane was there, and our bags were already on it. When it came time to board, the gate was strangely quiet: no gate agent, hardly any other passengers. Weird. And I don’t speak much Italian, but as the time for departure came and went, we learned that the baggage handlers’ union had gone on strike after they loaded our plane, and the pilots did not want to cross the picket line. No one at the airline had any information about when the strike would resolve, or when (or even how) we could get our luggage. Meanwhile, my son and his girlfriend were already at our hotel in Taormina (which was not the “White Lotus” season two hotel), so we really didn’t have the option of just spending our trip in Rome.

What to do? We decided to see whether we could get to Sicily by train. I managed to find a train that was leaving for Sicily from the Central Rome train station in about four more hours. The only available seats were standby seats. I did not fully appreciate what that meant. Plus, it was a local train stopping at just about every station between Rome and Sicily — a 12-hour trip. We managed to get to the station (quite a way from the airport) and boarded the train. We were exhausted, and blessedly found an empty six-seat compartment in one of the second-class cars, sat down and crossed our fingers, hoping for sleep.

Our optimism didn’t last long. Three minutes before the train’s departure time, six people came into the six-seat compartment that we’d found, with tickets for “our” seats. We had to leave the compartment, whereupon I learned what “standby” means on the Italian train system: We could stand in the railcar’s narrow aisle. There were two little foldout jump seats that we could use when the refreshment cart or other passengers didn’t need to get through the aisle, but that was the best we could do. We alternated between sitting on the tiny jump seats or just lying on the floor. Somewhere during that long, slow trip, my son — who was a rock-climbing, winter-camping, backcountry outdoorsman — looked at me and said that he thought he was going to lose it.

We made it to the Italian coast by about 3:00 a.m., and the train loaded — car by car — onto a ferry crossing, crossed the Strait of Messina, unloaded — car by car — onto the railroad tracks in Sicily, and proceeded to the final stop in Taormina, but we couldn’t go to the hotel yet. First, we had to get to the airport in Catania to pick up the rental car for our week-long trip, so we piled into a cab. When we got there mid-afternoon, I asked about our luggage. The airline told me that the baggage handler strike had ended at midnight; that a plane from Rome would be landing in about two hours, and that our bags “might or might not” be on it. We opted to stay and find out. Poor Noah fell asleep on the sidewalk outside of the terminal.

When the plane did arrive, our bags were on it — along with a bunch of passengers who had been on our original flight, and whom the airline had put up at a hotel in Rome overnight. No one had told us that was an option. We finally made it to the hotel, baggage in hand, where my oldest son and his girlfriend had spent that first night in a beautiful room overlooking the sea. The rest of the trip was awesome.

At the other end of the travel misery spectrum, I have experienced extraordinarily good fortune. In the 1990s, when I was a lawyer in New Hampshire, I had to travel to New York to attend some meetings for a chapter 11 case in which I represented the debtor. I drove the short distance to the still-tiny Manchester airport, parked my car in an open lot and boarded a plane for LaGuardia. After I took my seat, I took off my prescription sunglasses and reached into my briefcase for my regular eyeglasses. They were not there; I had left them in my car. There was still plenty of time before our scheduled departure, so I could easily have made it to my car and back to retrieve them. Ask (and then plead) as I might, the flight attendant said I was not permitted to disembark the aircraft, period.

After a few minutes, I sat back and resigned myself to having to attend the meetings wearing either sunglasses or no glasses. Just then, the pilot came up to me and said, “I hear you have a little problem.” I said that I did. He then asked me where I was parked. I told him. He then asked me for my car keys. To my astonished relief, he took my keys, got off the plane, went out to the parking lot, found my car, retrieved my glasses and handed them to me as he reboarded the plane. We took off on schedule. (As unlikely a story as that may seem, it seems fully impossible post-9/11.)

Occasionally, an airport delay will result in an almost magical experience. When I still lived in New Hampshire, I once had to attend a funeral in Milwaukee a couple of days before Christmas. I flew there through Chicago. On the way home the day before Christmas Eve, my connecting flight out of O’Hare was delayed repeatedly due to snowstorms. The number of “departing flights” on the screens progressively shrank from five screens down to one as my hope of actually getting home that night dwindled.

Shortly before midnight, a flight from Denver arrived at an adjacent gate. The gate door opened, and (I kid you not) out filed about a dozen portly, white-bearded men dressed in full Santa Claus regalia. They looked like they were deploying on a very special mission. I blinked twice and they were still there. Twenty minutes later, my own flight finally boarded and homeward I went, still not quite believing what I’d seen, but smiling that I’d seen it at all.

And speaking of spectacular arrivals, here’s this month’s astronomy story.

In 2009, nearly 40 years to the day after Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, Jupiter was hit by a currently unknown object — probably a small asteroid. No one observed the actual impact, but it left a dark spot about the size of the Earth in Jupiter’s cloud-filled atmosphere. This blemish is similar to those left by Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9, which broke apart and crashed into Jupiter during the week of July 16-22, 1994. I don’t think that anyone observed those impacts, either, since they occurred on the side of Jupiter that was facing away from the Earth, but they left similar blemishes in its atmosphere.

“Blemish” is admittedly a pretty mild word to describe the aftermath of an explosion many times more powerful than a nuclear warhead. I can recall seeing some of these dark spots through my telescope as I stood outside on my driveway one night shortly after the first impacts occurred. You can learn more about the 1994 impact at science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/comet-shoemaker-levy-9-impact-sites-on-jupiter. In another odd coincidence, the July 2009 impacts occurred nearly 15 years to the day after the July 1994 impact.

Gene Shoemaker, one half of the Shoemaker-Levy team that discovered the comet bearing his name, devoted his life to all things astronomy, with a particular interest in impact geology and comets. He dreamed of being the first geologist to travel to the Moon. Although health problems prevented him from doing so, he helped select and train the Apollo astronauts who actually made the trip. Some of you might remember Gene as the geologist who sat next to our beloved Walter Cronkite (who died on July 17, within a day or two of the 2009 impact) during the nightly news, commenting on lunar geology during the moonwalks. Among his many other accomplishments, Gene also worked on the Lunar Ranger and the Surveyor programs and was the science-team leader for the 1994 Clementine mission.

Gene died in a car accident in Australia on July 18, 1997, while doing field research in Australia on the geology of impact craters. Four years later, in a most fitting tribute, some of Gene’s ashes were carried aboard the Lunar Prospector probe on its mission to the Moon, encased in a capsule on which were inscribed an image of Comet Hale-Bopp, an image of Meteor Crater in Northern Arizona, and the following passage from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (Act 3, Scene 2):

And, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun.

The Lunar Prospector’s mission was to spend a year orbiting 63 miles above the Moon, mapping the lunar surface. When the probe’s battery was due to expire, the probe would make a planned crash landing near the Moon’s south pole, at a site precisely chosen to allow astronomers on Earth to observe the resulting dust cloud against the empty background of space, and to spectroscopically analyze the dust for the presence of water ice crystals.

And so it came to pass. On July 31, 1999, Gene reached the Moon’s surface in an event of impact geology unlike any other ever witnessed before. No water ice crystals were detected, but we can only imagine what he saw. So, next time you look at the Moon, take a moment and think about Gene Shoemaker, lunar prospector.

Hon. Bruce Harwood is a retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Hampshire, appointed to the bench in March 2013, and he currently resides in San Francisco. He previously served as ABI’s Secretary and Vice President-Communications & Information Technology.

Nearly 350 Celebrate 30 Years of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop in the Sunshine State

Nearly 350 practitioners from throughout the Southeast region and beyond joined ABI in Amelia Island, Fla., at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island July 24-27 for the 30th annual Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop. The event was filled with fun activities, sponsored beach days, ample networking opportunities and sunny weather. Attendees could earn up to 11.7/11.5 hours of CLE/CPE credit, including up to 3 hours of ethics.

The workshop launched with a “40 Under 40” reception, followed by the Opening Reception. The opening panel featured a split plenary session: The first half covered AI and ethics, while the second half presented an economic update. The remaining sessions included Coverage Under Fire: D&O Insurance and Self-Insured Retention Policies (SIRs); Merchant Cash Advances: A Lifeline, or a Boat Anchor?; What Courts and Practitioners Have Done in the Wake of Purdue; Post-Petition Personal-Injury Issues; Health Care Panel; Subchapter V Updates and Experiences; Bankruptcy Tax Issues: à la Carte Tax Talk; Changes to Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 — Effective December 1, 2025; Skills: Legal Writing and Mentoring; Professionalism and Civility in Practice: When Zealous Advocacy Crosses a Line; Automatic Stay Violation Issues; Need Good Advice About Debt Relief? Ask TikTok!; Down with the Ship: Lessons from In re RMS Titanic, Inc.; and Judicial Roundtables + Case Law Update. In addition, the final day’s breakfast opened with a reflection on the workshop’s three decades of superb CLE content and camaraderie.

Optional events included the annual golf tournament, held at The Golf Club of Amelia Island, plus a parents’ night out, an ice cream afternoon social, a VIP cocktail reception, and the annual family-friendly Beach Bash. In addition, IWIRC’s GA, FL, Gulf Coast, Carolinas & KIT network hosted a regional luncheon, and the Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund held a tequila mixology class, as well as its annual silent auction, which raised nearly $7,500 for the Endowment.

ABI is grateful to the co-chairs of this year’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, Jeffrey R. Dutson of King & Spalding LLP (Atlanta) and Rebecca Redwine Grow of Hendren, Redwine & Malone, PLLC (Raleigh, N.C.), and Judicial Chair Hon. Sage M. Sigler of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta), along with the entire advisory board for their work in putting together this year’s milestone program. In addition, numerous firms contributed to the workshop’s success, and we are grateful for their support: Adams and Reese LLP; agencyIP/Sherwood Partners, Inc.; Angeion Group; ASK LLP; Axos Bank - Global Fiduciary Banking; BakerHostetler; Balch & Bingham, LLP; Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Berger Singerman LLP; Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros, P.A.; Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP; Cozen O’Connor; CR3 Partners, LLC; Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP; Development Specialists, Inc.; Dundon Advisers LLC; Epiq; FTI Consulting, Inc.; Gavin/Solmonese LLC; GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC; Grier Wright Martinez, PA; Grisanti, Galef & Goldress; Hendren, Redwine & Malone, PLLC; JACO Advisory Group; Jones Walker; K&L Gates LLP; King & Spalding LLP; Law Offices of Craig M Geno, PLLC; Morris James LLP; Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP; Polsinelli; SC&H Capital; SOLIC Capital Advisors, LLC; Synovus Bank; Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey, PLLC; and Wilmington Trust.

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s program, which will be held July 23-26, 2026, back at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Amelia Island, Fla.

Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar Heats Up Cincinnati

ABI’s Midwest Regional Bankruptcy Seminar returned to Cincinnati on Aug. 12 at The Westin Cincinnati, drawing nearly 125 attendees mainly from Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. The day-long program opened with a case law update led by ABI’s own Bill Rochelle and a panel of current and retired judges, then dove into such sessions as Unique Issues in Health Care Business Insolvencies & Chapter 11s; Hot Topics in Consumer Filings; Hot Topics in Consumer Chapter 13 Filings; Liability-Management Exercises (LMEs); and Artificial Intelligence and Ethics. The program also featured an evidence workshop and a luncheon plenary that provided a robust discussion of economic trends and their implications for bankruptcy practice. Attendees were able to network during the numerous breaks and at a reception at Taft Cincinnati, which closed out the program. Up to 7.5 hours of CLE/CPE and 1.2 hours of ethics credit were available.

In addition, Robert A. Goering of Goering & Goering, LLC (Cincinnati), who passed away last November, was honored during the program. He had been a frequent faculty member and a strong supporter of the seminar, and had helped shape the program over the years. He also co-wrote much of Ohio’s bankruptcy laws and was active in his community. ABI is grateful for all his contributions.

We commend the advisory board for putting together the content for this year’s conference, led by Judicial Chairs Hon. Beth A. Buchanan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Ohio) (Cincinnati), Hon. Mina Nami Khorrami of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Ohio) (Columbus) and Hon. Gregory R. Schaaf of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Ky.) (Lexington), and Co-Chairs Tiffany Strelow Cobb of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Columbus, Ohio) and Andrew M. Simon of Oxford Restructuring Advisors LLC (Cincinnati). We also thank the following for their generous sponsorship of this year’s program: 722 Redemption Funding, LLC; agencyIP/Sherwood Partners, Inc.; Allen Stovall Neuman & Ashton LLP; Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP; Bricker Graydon LLP; Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP; Cohen, Todd, Kite & Stanford, LLC; Coolidge Wall Co., L.P.A.; Dinsmore & Shohl LLP; Frost Brown Todd LLP; Goering & Goering, LLC; Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP; Jackson Kelly PLLC; Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL; Oxford Restructuring Advisors LLC; Squire Patton Boggs; Stoll Keenon Ogden, PLLC; Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP; Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP; Wilmington Trust; and Wood + Lamping LLP.

Check back at abi.org/events for information on next year’s program as it becomes available.

Two attorneys with Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York have been named “Dealmakers of the Year” by The American Lawyer for advising FTX Trading on its bankruptcy proceedings and related litigation. Andrew G. Dietderich has been an ABI member since 2008 and is an advisory board member of ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference. Alexa J. Kranzley has been an ABI member since 2013, is a 2018 ABI “40 Under 40” honoree and is an advisory board member of ABI’s Views from the Bench program.

Thomas J. Salerno of Stinson LLP (Phoenix) has been included on the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona list by Az Business for the fourth consecutive year. He has been an ABI member since 1993 and he is a past ABI Vice President-Development.

Sameer M. Alifarag of Eversheds Sutherland (New York) has been named a 2025 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder. He has been an ABI member since 2020.

Mark A. Russell has joined Cox & Palmer as a partner, based in St. John’s, Cayman Islands. He has been an ABI member since 2017.

Jeffrey L. Cohen of Lowenstein Sandler LLP (New York) has been selected to the inaugural advisory board for St. John’s University School of Law’s Center for Bankruptcy Studies. He has been an ABI member since 2022.

Stephanie Wickouski has joined Pivot > as managing director of the firm’s Restructuring Advisory Team and heads its New York office. She has been an ABI member since 1999.

Jonathan P. Friedland of Much Shelist, PC (Chicago) served as principal author and editor-in-chief of the 2025 edition of Commercial Bankruptcy Litigation, a treatise published by Thomson Reuters. He has been an ABI member since 1995 and is a past member of ABI’s Board of Directors.

Matthew J. Ochs of Holland & Hart LLP (Denver) has been named leader of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Team. He has been an ABI member since 2024.

George E. Shoup of Development Specialists, Inc. (Dublin, Ohio) has been promoted to senior managing director. He has been an ABI member since 2005.

John S. Mairo has joined Gibbons PC as chair of the firm’s Financial Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights Group in Newark, N.J. He has been an ABI member since 2003.

Two attorneys have joined Berger Singerman LLP’s Business Reorganization Team in Tampa, Fla. Edward J. Peterson is a partner and has been an ABI member since 2001. James Eising is an associate and has been an ABI member since 2024.

William Q. Derrough of Moelis & Company (New York) has been recognized as one of Bloomberg’s Star Dealmakers Remaking the Rules of Corporate Debt. He has been an ABI member since 1992 and is a past member of ABI’s Board of Directors.

Jennifer J. West of Spotts Fain PC (Richmond, Va.) has been named a 2024 Legal Elite by Virginia Business. She has been an ABI member since 2001.

Danny Duerdoth of Greenberg Traurig, LLP (Chicago) has been elevated to shareholder. He has been an ABI member since 2022.

Ashley S. Rusher of Blanco Tackabery (Winston-Salem, N.C.) has been recognized as a Legal Elite honoree for 2025 by Business North Carolina. She has been an ABI member since 2003 and is an ex officio member of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop advisory board.

Joseph H. Lemkin of Stark & Stark, PC (Hamilton, N.J.) received a 2025 Leaders in the Law award by NJBIZ. He has been an ABI member since 1999.

J. Scott Victor of SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (West Conshohocken, Pa.) has been recognized as a top investment banker in BankruptcyData’s Financial Professional League Table. He has been an ABI member since 1988 and is a past member of ABI’s Board of Directors.

Kara K. Gendron of Mott & Gendron Law (Harrisburg, Pa.) has been elected secretary of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. She has been an ABI member since 2002.

ABI’s e-Learning Site Has New Look, Functionality

Did you know that ABI offers thousands of hours of online courses you can take at your convenience, some of which are free? Now you can explore all of ABI’s online course offerings on our redesigned, rebranded website: Insolvency On Demand. ABI’s e-learning courses cover business, consumer and ethics sessions, and include recorded conference sessions and past abiLIVE webinars, all taught by top industry professionals. There are even bundled sessions — helping you save money as well as time. Many of the sessions are eligible for CLE credit.

The site also contains an interactive feature that will list all the ABI on-demand sessions that are approved for CLE credit by your state bar. Getting additional credit via ABI’s on-demand courses couldn’t be easier! Be sure to check out the new site at insolvencyondemand.com, and get ready to boost your insolvency knowledge with these convenient, informative sessions you take on your time.

Move Aside, Pumpkin Spice: ABI’s Fall Programming Brings Seasonal Excitement and Fresh Opportunities

Fall brings us football, cooler temperatures, falling leaves and pumpkin spice, well, everything. But for those lamenting the passing of the summer season while stocking up on school supplies for the kids and pulling those fall jackets out of storage, you should know that we at ABI are gearing up for the season! We’ve got an incredible lineup of accessible and affordable educational and networking opportunities throughout September, October, November and December, and we hope that you can join us for a program (or two!) near you.

Just before the autumnal equinox makes fall official, ABI will be hosting sessions on Friday, Sept. 19, during the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, being held this year at the Marriott Marquis in Chicago Sept. 17-20. First, ABI is hosting a reception at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 18; if you are looking to add your firm’s name to an exclusive list of sponsors at NCBJ, this is the only opportunity to do so! (Contact Sharisa Sloan at ssloan@abi.org to add your name to the list.)

The next day, ABI will be presenting four concurrent sessions featuring many well-known industry titans, so make sure you don’t miss out on the panels most applicable to your practice. If you are not already registered for NCBJ, you can do so at ncbj.org/annual-meeting.

September then closes out with Bankruptcy 2025: Views from the Bench, a day-long program that brings in a faculty of more than 20 judges, who will present their views on today’s most current issues in insolvency law. This year’s program will be held on Friday, Sept. 26, at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C., and you won’t want to miss it.

October brings you the Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute Oct. 16-17 in Kansas City in conjunction with the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), and the Health Care Program Oct. 22-23 in Washington, D.C., then we jet across the Big Pond and meet in Berlin for the International European Insolvency Symposium Oct. 26-28. Due to ongoing construction at the UMKC campus, this year’s Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute is being held at the Kansas City offices of Polsinelli and features a stellar slate of bankruptcy judges, U.S. Trustees, financial advisors and other experts on the faculty. We’ll be covering tariffs and supply chain issues, what judges want to see from counsel, fraud and student loan issues, nonbankruptcy alterantives and practical uses for AI. We’ll also be presenting the annual Roser Award.

Next, the Health Care Program moves from Nashville, Tenn., to the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C., which some of you might recall has hosted many of our Annual Spring Meetings! The program will be discussing private equity’s role in health care, as well as C-suite, AI and tech issues, and will include panels on regulatory laws and life sciences. It is an invaluable annual program for those who practice in the health care insolvency sphere.

Lastly, our international (and domestic!) members are sure to greatly enjoy this year’s European program, being held at The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin. Centrally located in the heart of Germany’s dynamic capital, the European Insolvency Symposium will feature a day and a half of timely panels covering a wide range of international insolvency sessions, plus numerous networking opportunities.

Our international programming doesn’t stop there: Once November starts, you’ll want to make sure you join us in the Big Apple on Nov. 5 for the International North American Insolvency Symposium, a day-long program designed specifically for practitioners who do cross-border work. This year’s symposium, presented by ABI’s International Committee, is being held at the Midtown Manhattan offices of Skadden Arps and will feature the annual presentation of the committee’s International Matter of the Year Award.

Once the turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie have been passed around but before winter truly sets in, we enter December: time for ABI’s last national conference of the year, the Winter Leadership Conference! Being held Dec. 4-6 at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Ariz., the Winter Leadership Conference concludes ABI’s 2025 programming by presenting an incredible lineup of panels and speakers, along with tons of valuable networking. Session topics include practical applications of AI, health care bankruptcies and managing long-term-care facility distress, subchapter V for those who have yet to include it in their practices, trustee rights, agriculture sector distress, crypto fraud and the art of fraud litigation, ethical obligations in mediation and negotiation, using LMEs in asset sales and so much more. Not only that, but this year’s conference will feature a one-on-one interview with the professor behind the final report of the Financial Distress Research Project, funded by ABI’s Endowment, and the annual presentation of this year’s “40 Under 40” class.

Visit abi.org/events to register for any of these upcoming programs (the earlier you register, the more you save!). We’d sure love to see you this fall!

Leveraging ABI Partner Program Relationships

ABI Partners recently joined forces to support the 2025 Middle Market Open (MMO) benefiting the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois (NKFI). Avid golfers Eric D. Madden of ABI Capital Partner Reid Collins & Tsai LLP, and Kenneth W. Mann and Michael Fixler of ABI Capital Partner SC&H Capital, coordinated foursomes at the Aug. 4, 2025, fundraiser.

A benefit of the ABI Partner Program is that Partners work together, develop relationships and leverage their common interests. The NKFI, of which Director of Business Development and Partner Programs Barbara Grant Bereskin is a member of its board of directors, is appreciative of the level of interest from the middle-market “deal” community, including attorneys, investment bankers and restructuring professionals. Through the MMO, more than $1 million has been raised this year in support of vital NKFI programs, services, advocacy and research to raise awareness for the dangers of kidney disease, the importance of kidney health, and the impact of organ donation. The event has raised more than $20 million in the past 21 years.

For more information about the NKFI, visit nkfi.org. Please contact Barb at bbereskin@abi.org to discuss how your firm can get involved with ABI’s Partner Program.

Make Plans This Month to Join ABI for Informational Webinars

September brings a series of high-impact ABI webinars designed to keep members ahead of the curve:

• Retirement Plan Terminations (Sept. 4): Sponsored by Inspira Financial, this session shares the best practices for terminating plans during bankruptcies and M&A deals, from fiduciary duties to finding missing participants.
• Bankruptcy Filing Trends (Sept. 5): In partnership with Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics, experts will analyze 2025’s rising consumer and business filings and offer forecasts into 2026.
• Hot-Button Mediation Issues (Sept. 9): This webinar covers disclosure duties, confidentiality challenges, and judicial vs. private mediators.
• M&A in the Current Market (Sept. 10): This is part two of ABI’s series with SC&H Capital exploring private credit refinancing and evolving deal structures in volatile markets.

From emerging trends to practical strategies, these sessions will deliver timely knowledge to help members navigate today’s shifting legal and financial terrain. To register, please visit abi.org/events.

ABI Endowment Fund Update

Give One Hour. Make a Lasting Impact

Join our One Billable Hour campaign by donating the equivalent of just one hour of your time to support the Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund. Your contribution helps sustain ABI’s mission and supports future insolvency professionals through scholarships, educational programming and public service initiatives.

A single hour can change a career. Give today. Make your hour count. Reach out to ABI Endowment Manager Erin Green at egreen@abi.org, or visit abi.org/endowment/giving to make a donation.

ABI’s Southeast Tequila Mixology Class Shakes Up Support for the Endowment!

The ABI Endowment’s Tequila Mixology Class at July’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop was a spirited success! Guests enjoyed an interactive afternoon led by a talented mixologist, who taught everyone the art and history behind three delicious tequila cocktails: the Paloma, the Apple Spice Margarita and the classic Margarita.

In between the shaking, muddling and sipping, attendees indulged in a light fare of chips, salsa, guacamole and queso, making for the perfect pairing with each creation. The lively atmosphere was filled with laughter, networking and, most importantly, generosity — with proceeds directly benefiting the ABI Endowment to support educational and scholarship initiatives for the bankruptcy and insolvency community.

A huge thank you goes to our participants, supporters and sponsors for making this event such a success. Together, we mixed, mingled and made a lasting impact!

Southeast Silent Auction a Success

Thank you to all the donors and winners of the Silent Auction during ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop in Florida. The auction brought in nearly $7,500 for the ABI Endowment! Thank you to all who participated:

• Winners: Barbara Bereskin of ABI (Chicago), Elizabeth A. Green of BakerHostetler (Orlando, Fla.), John F. Isbell of Law Offices of John F. Isbell: Bay Point Advisors, LLC (Atlanta), Edward P. Jackson of Edward P. Jackson P.A. (Jacksonville, Fla.), Maria C. Joyner of Office of Nancy J. Whaley (Atlanta), Franklind D. Lea of J.S. Held LLC (Atlanta), Jerry M. Markowitz of Markowitz, Ringle, Trusty + Hartog, PA (Miami), Joseph V. Pegnia of GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group, LLC (Atlanta), Siobhan Siaca of the U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington, D.C.), Keith J. Shapiro of Karlov Street Capital (Chicago), Freddie Smithson of Strategic Liquidity Fund (Del Ray Beach, Fla.), Marc P. Solomon of Burr & Forman LLP (Birmingham, Ala.), Kelly E. Waits of Burr & Forman LLP (Decatur, Ga.), Justin G. Williams of Tanner & Guin, LLC (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and Oliver Zurbel of BMC Group (Miami Beach, Fla.).
• Donors: Jeffrey R. Dutson of King & Spalding (Atlanta), Craig M. Geno of Law Offices of Craig M. Geno PLLC (Ridgeland, Miss.), Elizabeth A. Green of BakerHostetler (Orlando, Fla.), Soneet R. Kapila of KapilaMukamal, LLP (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Joseph V. Pegnia of GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group, LLC (Atlanta), Patricia A. Redmond of Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA (Miami), Rebecca Redwine Grow of Hendren, Redwine & Malone PLLC (Raleigh, N.C.), David A. Wender of Eversheds Sutherland LLP (Atlanta), Chapter 12 and 13 Trustee Nancy J. Whaley (Atlanta), the American Bankruptcy Institute (Alexandria, Va.) and The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island (Amelia Island, Fla.).

Join Us this October for Our Annual L.A. Wine Dinner

Get ready for an unforgettable evening filled with exceptional wine, delicious food, and top-tier networking with fellow professionals in the insolvency community! Join us at the Skirball Cultural Center in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 8 to enjoy fabulous wines and great company while raising money for the ABI Endowment.

Plus, we’re excited to bring back a crowd favorite: the Wine Auction! Bring a bottle of your favorite wine to be auctioned off in support of the ABI Endowment Fund.

Table sponsorships are $2,500 and include 10 tickets. Thanks go to the following sponsors of this event: Dentons; Development Specialists, Inc.; East West Bank; FTI Consulting, Inc.; Omni Agent Solutions; Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; and Polsinelli.

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact ABI Endowment Manager Erin Green at egreen@abi.org, or visit abi.org/events.

Applications Open Sept. 22 for the Sheila Smith Scholarship

The ABI Endowment Fund is proud to announce that applications for the Sheila Smith Scholarship will open on Sept. 22. Established in honor of the late Sheila Smith — a respected leader, mentor and friend to so many in the bankruptcy and restructuring community — this scholarship supports the next generation of insolvency professionals by providing financial assistance to attend ABI conferences. The Sheila Smith Scholarship embodies Sheila’s legacy of generosity, mentorship and commitment to professional excellence. Recipients will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge, grow their networks, and engage with leaders in the field.

We encourage all eligible applicants to apply and help us honor Sheila’s lasting impact on our community. For more information, contact ABI Endowment Manager Erin Green at egreen@abi.org.

Levels of Support for the ABI Endowment

Diamond Level $80,000-$100,000

Platinum Level $65,000-$79,999

Millennium Level $50,000-$64,999

30th Anniversary Circle $30,000-$49,999

Century Council Member $25,000-$29,999

Visionary Member $20,000-$24,999

Legacy Member $15,000-$19,999

Lifetime Member $10,000-$14,999

Benefactor $5,000-$9,999

Sustaining Member $2,000-$4,999

Leadership Club $1,000-$1,999

Donor $100-$999

Donate online at abi.org/endowment. Donations are tax-deductible and can be paid over five years. Contact Erin Green at egreen@abi.org for more information.

April (partial list)

Sarah Perlman

Greater Boston Legal Services

Boston

Amanda Perry Lepre

Pannone Lopes Devereaux, et al.

Johnston, R.I.

Curtis M. Plaza

Riker Danzig LLP

Morristown, N.J.

Anna Rakich

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (W.D. Pa.)

Pittsburgh

Brandon A. Santiago

University of Notre Dame

Chicago

Simon Schatzberg

Reorg

New York

Benjamin A. Schoenkin

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (S.D. Tex.)

Houston

Shondale Seymour

Disruption + Synergy, Inc.

North Hollywood, Calif.

Jeffrey T. Shaw

Berkeley Research Group, LLC

Salt Lake City

Antonios Sideris

St. John’s University School of Law

Bayside, N.Y.

Brynna Smith

Univ. of Missouri School of Law

Columbia, Mo.

Anona Striker

University of Colorado Law School

Boulder, Colo.

Austin Talir

Univ. of Missouri School of Law

Columbia, Mo.

Christina Tergevorkian

Berkeley Research Group, LLC

South Salt Lake, Utah

Jeffrey T. Testa

McCarter & English, LLP

Newark, N.J.

James D. Thomas

James D. Thomas Law Co.

Columbus, Ohio

Joseph Thompson

Coherent Economics

Chicago

Alexander Tiktin

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

New York

Albert Tong

Brooklyn Law School

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jake Trumbull

Indiana University

Las Vegas

Pieter Van Tol

Van Tol Law PLLC

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Thu Vo

New York Univ. School of Business

New York

Jonathan Vukanovich

Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC

Madison Heights, Mich.

Abbey Walsh

Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan, et al.

New York

Kare Walsh

Dep’t of Justice, Civil Division

Tulsa, Okla.

Shane L. Weaver

Shane Weaver Law

Harrisburg, Pa.

Lance Williams

McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Vancouver

Linda M. Wilson

Wilson Law Group

Phoenix

Jeremy T. Wood

Law Office of Jeremy T. Wood

Houston

Ethan B. Yaro

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (E.D.N.Y.)

New York

Eden Yeh

UC-Los Angeles School of Law

Los Angeles

May (partial list)

Frank Crump Allan, Jr.

Memphis, Tenn.

John W. Aschenbeck

MACCO Restructuring Group, LLC

Houston

Brian Asher

Asher Research LLC

New York

Kimberly L. Barbour

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. N.J.)

Astoria, N.Y.

Chantae R. Barre

Southern University Law Center

New Orleans

Reka Beane

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce

St. Johns, Fla.

Taly Bialostocki

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. S.D.)

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Thomas Blakely

U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Mass.)

Newton, Mass.

Samuel S. Brand

Carmody MacDonald PC

St. Louis

Beatriz Brichucka de Paiva

Universidade de São Paulo

Guarulhos, Brazil

James E. Busk

High Ridge Partners, Inc.

Chicago

Edward Butt

University College London

London

Matthew W. Carlson

Indiana University

Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Justin Carver

B. Riley Financial

Los Angeles

Martin A. Cauz

Beechwood Consulting Group LLC

Kinnelon, N.J.

Charles M. Clapp

CMC Law LLC

Atlanta

Jason C. Collyer

Brigham Young Univ. Law School

Spanish Fork, Utah.