Greenebaum Adopts Certification Policy Grows with ABC ABI Support

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Apr 2004

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At a recent meeting of its bankruptcy
practice group, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC adopted a policy of
enabling all of its members and associates to obtain certification in
business bankruptcy after they become eligible by virtue of their
experience. This development at the Louisville, Ky.-based firm is a part
of a larger picture of Greenebaum's growth in recent years into a
regional firm with a national insolvency practice tied closely to the
American Board of Certification and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Greenebaum is a regional firm of 185 attorneys located in eight
cities in Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and the District of
Columbia. With a national practice in several fields including
bankruptcy, Greenebaum seeks to be both locally accessible and
nationally connected. Its attorneys are licensed in more than 22 states
and several international jurisdictions, so the certification policy was
a logical next step, according to practice group head John W. Ames. Mr.
Ames, an early member of the ABC Board and currently an ABI Director and
Secretary, says, "This decision reflects a desire to provide clients
with assurance that our standards promote the best practices available
for a national bankruptcy practice."

Lawrence R. Ahern III, member in charge of the Nashville, Tenn.,
office of the firm and also a member of its Bankruptcy Group, initiated
Greenebaum's certification policy and echoed Mr. Ames' sentiments. Mr.
Ahern is a director of both ABI and ABC, and like Mr. Ames is a fellow
of the American College of Bankruptcy. He coordinated the Tennessee Bar
Association's support for the 1994 adoption of a specialist
certification program that requires national certification by the ABC
and other national ABA-accredited agencies. He became one of the first
attorneys certified in Tennessee and later chaired the Tennessee
Commission on CLE and Specialization for six years.

Mr. Ahern joined Greenebaum in 2002, bringing with him 30 years of
experience in the fields of bankruptcy and insolvency. Just prior to
joining the firm, he had spent a semester writing and teaching full-time
in law school. "Such a career change was bound to be challenging," Mr.
Ahern says, "but John Ames and I had shared experiences in the ABC, the
ABI and the College and worked together on cases for several years. This
firm's insolvency group presented a great opportunity to develop my
practice on a broader scale. For the firm to support certification of
all its bankruptcy practitioners was not a small commitment, and it
affirmed my perception of what we are about."
In January, Mr. Ahern was joined in the Nashville office by David W.
Houston IV, who followed him from their former firm in Nashville. Mr.
Houston is the son of Northern District of Mississippi Bankruptcy Judge
David W. Houston III, who was the judicial chair of ABI's Southeastern
Bankruptcy Workshop for its first eight years. He likewise was attracted
by the opportunity to develop his career with the support of the larger
firm and the people at Greenebaum. A 2000 graduate of the University of
Mississippi law school, Mr. Houston says, "The firm is already working
with me to seek certification next year. This is one of many things that
confirmed my decision to become an associate here."

Another ABI member, Richard Boydston, also joined Greenebaum in
January. Mr. Boydston's application for certification is pending, and he
says the firm's new policy also fits his career goals. The senior
bankruptcy practitioner in the firm's large Greater Cincinnati offices,
Mr. Boydston also seeks to take his successful practice to a new level.
"I was delighted to learn about the certification policy of this firm,
and I value the opportunity to let clients and other attorneys
nationwide know what we have here," Mr. Boydston says.

Mr. Ames is justifiably proud of these developments and notes that
the practice group meetings now are seeing more than a dozen regular
attendees. Other members of the firm's Bankruptcy Practice Group include
Louisville ABI members Michael G. Shaikun, Claude R. "Chip" Bowles Jr.
(also ABC-certified in business bankruptcy) and Andrew D. Stosberg, and
Lexington, Ky., ABI member Gregory R. Schaaf. "This growth allows us to
support our national practice from all the larger offices of the firm,"
says Mr. Ames, a former Marine Corps officer in Vietnam who brings a
disciplined approach to the group's practice. "We have the ability to
pull people from across the firm in a 'task force' model to represent
clients nationally."

<h3>Six Additional Attorneys Gain Board Certification</h3>

Consumer Bankruptcy
Louis X. Amato 
Louis X. Amato P.A. 
Naples, Fla.

Kimberly Bedigian 
Charles J. Schneider PC 
Livonia, Mich.

Francisco J. Ramos-Gonzalez 
Francisco J. Ramos & Asociados 
Hato Rey, P.R.

Business Bankruptcy

Robert A. Guy 
Waller Lansden Dortch & David 
Nashville, Tenn.

Victoria L. Nelson 
Santoro, Driggs, Walch, Kearney, Johnson & Thompson 
Las Vegas

Alan D. Smith 
Perkins Coie LLP 
Seattle

<h3>Exam Dates</h3>

April 15, 2004

Washington, D.C.

April 15, 2004 
Chicago