Contact:
w:st='on'>John
Hartgen
(703) 739-0800
href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>
color='#0000ff' size='2'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
JUDGE WESLEY
STEEN BECOMES FIRST JUDGE
TO BE NAMED
ABI PRESIDENT
May 1, 2006, Alexandria,
Va. — As the first sitting judge to serve as President
of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), Judge Wesley Steen of the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas (Houston) began
his one-year term following ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting, which was
held April 20-April 23 in Washington, D.C. Judge Steen, previously
serving as president-elect after being selected by the ABI’s
60-member Board of Directors at the 2005 Annual Spring Meeting, succeeds
LLP (Fort Worth, Texas), who now assumes the role of Immediate-Past
President within ABI’s Executive Committee.
Judge Steen has
been an ABI member since 1991, having served on ABI’s Board of
Directors since 1999, and was previously ABI’s Vice
President-Research, overseeing the Research Grant Committee in
assessing, recommending and approving awards from the Endowment Fund
prior to his 2005 selection as ABI President.
Judge Steen
became a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Texas in
1997 and hears cases in
w:st='on'>Victoria
w:st='on'>Texas
the bench in 1983 as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of
Louisiana. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the
National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. He practiced law at Winstead
Sechrest & Minick in
w:st='on'>Houston
received his J.D. from
w:st='on'>Louisiana
w:st='on'>State
w:st='on'>University
distinction from the
w:st='on'>University
w:st='on'>Virginia
The complete list of directors
and officers is available at
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face='Times New Roman' color='#800080'
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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 more than 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
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