Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
size='3'>SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL A. ALITO, POLITICAL POWER COUPLE
JAMES CARVILLE AND MARY MATALIN TO KEYNOTE
w:st='on'>ABI
MEETING
January 11, 2008
Alexandria, Va. --More than 1,000 bankruptcy professionals will
attend the American Bankruptcy Institute's (
w:st='on'>ABI
to be held April 3-6, 2008, at the Renaissance in Washington, D.C.
conference features a number of educational programs to address a wide
array of timely insolvency issues, and will offer 19.0 hours of
hours of ethics.
The special guest speaker at
this year's meeting will be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A.
Alito, Jr. A member of the Court since 2006, Justice Alito will be
featured at the Friday, April 4, luncheon. Also featured will be the
political power couple of James Carville and Mary Matalin, who will
speak at the Saturday, April 5, luncheon sponsored by the International
Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
(IWIRC). Co-authors of the national best seller All’s
Fair in Love War, and Running for President, Matalin and Carville
will look at today’s most important political issues in this
election year.
The conference educational
program sessions begin with
w:st='on'>ABI
by
EducationRobert J. Keach of Bernstein Shur (
w:st='on'>
w:st='on'>Maine
debates. In Debate No. 1, 'Congress Should Amend the
Bankruptcy Code to Eliminate All Forms of Incentive, Bonus or Similar
Compensation for Senior Executives and Other Insiders,' Babette
Ceccotti of Cohen, Weiss & Simon LLP (
w:st='on'>New York
Bernstein of Arnold & Porter LLP (
w:st='on'>Washington,
w:st='on'>D.C.
In Debate No. 2,
'Congress Should Amend the Bankruptcy Code to Allow
Modification via a Chapter 13 Plan of the First Mortgage on the Consumer
Debtor’s Primary Residence,'
John Rao of the National Consumer Law Center (Boston) will
debate Prof. G. Marcus Cole of Stanford Law School (Stanford,
Calif.). Congress is currently considering numerous
pieces of legislation on this issue.
In Debate No.
3, 'Professional Fees in Chapter 11 Cases Are Excessive
and, in Part, Result from Courts’ Inability to Rein in Fees for
Fear of Losing Cases,' will be debated by Prof. Stephen J.
Lubben of the Seton Hall Law School (Newark, N.J.), author of a new
fee study funded by
Prof. Lynn M. LoPucki of the
w:st='on'>University
w:st='on'>California
Angeles
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Expert panels
have been organized in concurrent sessions, allowing conference
attendees to choose the ones that most interest them. Speakers
include bankruptcy judges, accountants, attorneys, turnaround managers,
law professors, trustees and others.
The “CRO Roundtable:
The Evolution and Challenges of Professional Management of the
Reorganization Process” will be moderated by Anthony H.N.
Schnelling of Bridge Associates LLC (New York) and include panelists
John S. Dubel of Gradient Partners, LP (White Plains, N.Y.),
Michael J. Epstein of CRG Partners (
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William H. Henrich of Getzler Henrich & Associates LLC (New
York), Rebecca A. Roof of AlixPartners LLP (New York) and John
K. Suckow of Alvarez & Marsal (New York).
size='3'>ABI
Williams of Georgia State University / BDO Seidman LLP will moderate
the “Bankruptcy Reform Redux: Mortgage and Consumer Credit,
Labor, Executive Compensation and Other Legislation in the
110th Democratic Congress” session featuring
invited panelists Elise J. Bean of the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations (Washington, D.C.), Cindy Hayden
of the Senate Judiciary Committee (Washington, D.C.), Susan
Jensen-Lachmann of the House Judiciary Committee (Washington, D.C.)
and John D. McMickle of Winston & Strawn, LLP (Washington,
D.C.).
Jonathan P.
Friedland of Schiff Hardin LLP (Chicago) will moderate
“The Bankruptcy Sale Process, Part I: The ‘Pre-Auction,
Bidding Procedures, Break-up and Topping Fees and Expense
Reimbursement” session with Roberta A. DeAngelis
of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.), Sean D.
Malloy of McDonald Hopkins LLC (Cleveland), David S.
Miller of Macquarie Group (Atlanta), Benjamin L. Nortman of
Hilco Trading Company, Inc. (Northbrook, Ill.) and Andrea B.
Schwartz of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (New York).
The “Ad Hoc Committees
and Other (Unofficial) Creditor Groups: Management, Disclosure and
Ethical Issues” panel will be moderated by Robert J.
Rosenberg of Latham & Watkins LLP (New York), who will be joined
by panelists Martin J. Bienenstock of Dewey Ballantine LLP (New
York), Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain (S.D.N.Y.), Ramona D.
Elliot of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.)
and Jeffrey L. Jonas of Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP
(Boston).
“Consumer Debtor Class
Actions: One More Windmill or the Ultimate Remedy for the Subprime
Mess?,” will be moderated by Rudy J. Cerone of
McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC (
Orleans
U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.), Thomas M. Hefferon
of Goodwin Proctor LLP (Washington, D.C.), Bankruptcy Judge David W.
Houston,III (Aberdeen, Miss.) and Karen L. Kellett of
the Kellett Law Firm (Dallas).
Part II of
“The Bankruptcy Sale Process, Part I: The
‘Pre-Auction’, Bidding Procedures, Break-up and Topping Fees
and Expense Reimbursement,” with moderator Jonathan P.
Friedland of Schiff Hardin LLP (Chicago), will
feature Peter J. Antoszyk of Proskauer Rose LLP (
w:st='on'>Boston), Lorie R. Beers of KPMG Corporate
Finance LLC (New York), Robert J. Dehney of Morris, Nichols,
Arsht & Tunnell LLP (Wilmington, Del.), William Q. Derrough
of Jefferies & Co. (New York) and Timothy Noonan of Oryx
Capital International (Lake Forest, Ill.).
John J. Monaghan
of Holland & Knight LLP (Boston) will moderate the
“Drafting Around the Stay: Swaps, Forward Contracts, Repurchase
Agreements and the Future of Pre-petition Agreements in
Bankruptcy” with panelists Bankruptcy Judge Robert E.
Gerber (S.D.N.Y.), Ben H. Logan of O'Melveny & Myers LLP
(Los Angeles), Edwin E. Smith of Bingham McCutchen LLP (Boston)
and Shmuel Vasser of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP (New
York).
Bankruptcy Judge Steven W.
Rhodes (
“Confirmation, Modification and Consummation of Chapter 13
Plans in the post-BAPCPA World” session with panelists
Richard J. Hayden of Richard J. Hayden, PS (Spokane, Wash.),
Standing Chapter 13 Trustee Debra Miller (South Bend, Ind.),
Doreen Solomon, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington,
D.C.) and David S. Yen of the Legal Assistance Foundation of
Chicago (Chicago).
“The Church in Chapter
11: The Lessons of the Catholic Diocese Cases” session will be
moderated by James I. Stang of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones
LLP (Los Angeles), featuring panelists Susan G. Boswell of
Quarles & Brady LLP (Tucson, Ariz.), Ford Elsaesser of
Elsaesser, Jarzabek, Anderson, Marks, Elliott & McHugh, Chtd.
(Sandpoint, Idaho), Prof. Marci A. Hamilton of the Yeshiva
University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (New York),
Victor A. Vilaplana of Foley & Lardner LLP (San Diego) and
Bankruptcy Judge Patricia C. Williams (Spokane).
Moderator Geoffrey L.
Berman of Development Specialists, Inc. (
Angeles
of Diamond McCarthy LLP (Houston), Susan M. Freeman of Lewis and
Roca LLP (
Greenspan of FTI Consulting, Inc. (
Angeles
LLP (Los Angeles) for the “Liquidation and Litigating
Trusts: Formation, Management, Jurisdictional and Other
Issues” session.
“Finding the Center:
The Insolvency of Hedge Funds and Other Off-Shore Entities”
will be moderated by Daniel M. Glosband of Goodwin Procter LLP
(
and feature panelists Karen B. Dine of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw
Pittman LLP (New York), Bankruptcy Judge Burton R. Lifland
(S.D.N.Y.), Robin E. Phelan of Haynes and Boone LLP (Dallas) and
Stuart Sybersma of Deloitte (Cayman Islands).
Richard M. Meth
of Day Pitney LLP (Morristown, N.J.) will moderate the plenary session
titled “Beyond Ethics: The Coexistence of Zealousness,
Professionalism and Civility in the Insolvency Community” with
panelists Prof. Paula Franzese of the Seton Hall Law School
(Newark, N.J.), Melissa Kibler Knoll of Mesirow Financial
Consulting, LLC (Chicago), Prof. Nancy B. Rapoport of the UNLV
School of Law (Las Vegas) and Bankruptcy Judge Linda B. Riegle
(Las Vegas).
The conference concludes with
the “Judges’ Roundtable: Current Cases, Hot Topics and
Other Developments” moderated by Prof. Margaret
Howard of
Lee
w:st='on'>
w:st='on'>Va.
Dennis R. Dow (Kansas City, Mo.), Joan N. Feeney (Boston),
Judith K. Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh), Gregg W. Zive (Reno)
and Eugene R. Wedoff (Chicago).
Back for 2008 is the Nuts
and Bolts for Young Practitioners program on Thursday, April 3. At
this special day-long seminar for beginning insolvency practitioners, an
outstanding faculty of judges and practitioners will explain the
fundamentals of bankruptcy in separate consumer and business
tracks.
The Annual Spring Meeting has
consistently been
biggest conference with more than 1,100 attendees. It is one of two
annual conferences where
committees and subcommittees meet. More than 20 such committees will
hold programs for
The four-day conference offers approximately 19.0 hours credit,
including 3.0 hours of ethics.The conference also
provides attendees with numerous opportunities to network with their
colleagues.
The American
Board of Certification (ABC) will offer its Consumer Bankruptcy,
Business Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights exams on Thursday, April 3,
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Renaissance. For details please
visit the ABC Web site at
href='http://www.abcworld.org/'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>www.abcworld.org or e-mail
title='blocked::mailto:certification@abcworld.org'
href='mailto:certification@abcworld.org'>
color='#0000ff'
size='3'>certification@abcworld.org.
Those who
register by Jan. 25 will receive a $100 discount on the late
registration rate. Press interested in attending the conference should
contact John Hartgen at
href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>jhartgen@abiworld.org. For more
information about
26th Annual Spring Meeting, please visit
title='blocked::http://www.abiworld.org/ASM08'
href='http://www.abiworld.org/ASM08'>www.abiworld.org/ASM08.
###
size='3'>ABI
nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters
related to insolvency.
was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The
w:st='on'>ABI
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
For additional conference information, visit
title='blocked::http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>
color='#0000ff'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.