Contact: John
Hartgen
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(703) 739-0800
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href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
ABI’S
TWENTIETH ANNUAL WINTER LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE DECEMBER
4-6
size='3'>August 19, 2008, Alexandria, Va.
— The American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Twentieth Annual
Winter Leadership Conference will take place Dec. 4-6 at the Westin La
Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson, Ariz. The conference will feature a
record 31 panel sessions examining the distress in the mortgage and real
estate industries, as well as international and municipal bankruptcies,
along with 19 educational sessions from ABI’s membership
committees looking at a wide range of bankruptcy topics. The conference
includes a luncheon keynote by award-winning writer William Safire. A
columnist for the New
York Times, Safire was awarded the Pulitizer
Prize for distinguished commentary in 1978 and was awarded the nation's
highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in
2006.
The conference
educational program sessions begin with ABI's popular Great Debates
series, consisting of three debates.
In Debate No. 1, “Administratively Insolvent Cases
Should Be Administered Solely for the Benefit of Secured Creditors,
” Jeffrey S.
Sabin of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (New
York) will debate
size='3'>Deborah L. Thorne of Barnes &
Thornburg LLP (Chicago).
The second debate,
“Special Conflicts Counsel Resolve Potential Disinterestedness
Issues for Debtor's Lead Counsel,” features
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Richard L. Epling
size='3'>of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (New York)
debating Annette W.
Jarvis of Ray, Quinney & Nebeker PC (Salt
Lake City).
The final debate
“The 2008 Election Results Mean Major Changes are Coming in
Consumer Credit and Bankruptcy,” features a debate between
Gail Hillebrand
of the Consumers Union (San Francisco) and
John McMickle
size='3'>of Winston & Strawn LLP (Washington,
D.C.).
Concurrent general sessions
include:
The “Gift Plans,
Settlements, Releases and Other Confirmation Strategies: Winning
Strategies Revealed in the Lending Cases” session, will be
moderated by Thomas
Moers Mayer of Kramer Levin Naftalis &
Frankel LLP (New York) with panelists Ronald E. Gold of Frost Brown
Todd LLC (Cincinnati) and Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff
size='3'>(Chicago).
size='3'>Josefina Fernandez McEvoyof K&L
Gates LLP (Los Angeles) will moderate the “Insolvency and the
Increasing Role of Distressed Investment Firms in the Pacific Rim: New
Challenges and Opportunities in Asia” session, featuring
panelists Gordon W.
Johnson of EM Advisors (Reston, Va.),
Michel Lowy
size='3'>of Deutsche Bank (Hong Kong), Dr. Yu-An Rao of the Pacific
Rim Institute for Development & Education (Shanghai, China)
and Rachel Raha
Shahid-Saless of The World Bank (Washington,
D.C.).
“Bankruptcy's New
Wave – Preparing for the Perfect Storm: Which Sectors Will Take a
Direct Hit?” to be moderated by Deirdre A. Martini of Wachovia
Capital Finance (New York), includes panelists
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Michael Friedman
size='3'>of Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP (New York) and
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Melissa Kibler Knoll
size='3'>of Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC
(Chicago).
The “Mortgage
Industry: Who Holds the Paper and How Much Is Really Due? How to Police
Lenders and Protect Homeowners” session will be moderated
by Rudy J.
Cerone of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC (New
Orleans) with panelists
size='3'>William R. Greendyke of Fulbright
& Jaworski LLP (Houston),
size='3'>Mark A. Redmiles, the Deputy Director
of the Executive Office for the U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.), and
Bankruptcy Judge Steven
W. Rhodes (Detroit).
Moderator
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Paul Steven Singerman
size='3'>of Berger Singerman, PA (Miami) will be joined by
panelists Robert M.
Hirsh of Arent Fox LLP (New York),
Neil Luria
size='3'>of Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC (Shaker Heights, Ohio)
and Lawrence E.
Young of AlixPartners LLP (Dallas) for the
“Real Estate Bankruptcies: What's Happening Now, and What's Next?
Dealing with the Litigation Wave in Residential and Commercial
Cases” session.
The “Chapter 9:
Coming to a Town Near You! Welcome to the Next Financial Bubble”
session, to be moderated by
size='3'>H. Slayton Dabney, Jr. of King &
Spalding LLP (New York), features panelists Lynn Hamilton Butler of
Brown McCarroll, LLP (Austin, Texas), Alan B. Jaffe of RBC Capital
Markets Corporation (Birmingham, Ala.) and Marc A. Levinson of
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Sacramento,
Calif.).
size='3'>Bradley D. Sharp of Development
Specialists, Inc. (Los Angeles) will moderate the “Art of
Deal-Making in Bankruptcy: Negotiating Skills & Strategies for
Today's Complex Cases” session with panelists
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Peter M. Gilhuly
size='3'>of Latham & Watkins LLP (Los Angeles),
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Ronald L. Glass
size='3'>of GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group LLC (Atlanta)
and Peter S.
Kaufman of the Gordian Group, LLC (New
York).
Moderator
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Claire Ann Resop
size='3'>of von Briesen & Roper, SC (Madison, Wis.) will be joined
by panelists Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Dennis R. Dow (Kansas City, Mo.)
and Cynthia F.
Grimes of Grimes & Rebein, LC (Lenexa,
Kan.) for the “Chapter 13 Plans The Latest on Modification
Standards, Measuring Disposable Income and Plan Duration”
session.
The “Circuit
Splits: The Widening Gap and Its Impact on Venue Selection”
plenary session will be moderated by Robert J. Keach of Bernstein
Shur (Portland, Maine) and feature panelists Patti H. Bass of Bass
& Associates, PC (Tucson, Ariz.), Laura Davis Jones of Pachulski
Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Wilmington, Del.) and
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Michael P. Richman
size='3'>of Foley & Lardner LLP (New York).
The “Getting Ahead
of the E–discovery Curve: Best Practices, Including Professional
and Ethical Limitations” session features a discussion
between Mark A.
Berkoff of DLA Piper US LLP (Chicago)
and Ken
Withers of The Sedona Conference
(Phoenix).
size='3'>Mark M. Maloney of King &
Spalding LLP (Atlanta) and Bankruptcy Judge Barry Russell (Los
Angeles) will take part in the “Evidence/Trial Practice Program:
The Art of Trial Advocacy and Persuasion in Brief”
session.
For more information on the
Winter Leadership Conference, please visit
href='http://www.abiworld.org/WLC08'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>http://www.abiworld.org/WLC08
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>.
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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
11,700 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.htm