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Nov 2004

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The Professional Compensation Committee was
established by ABI to identify and address issues concerning the
employment and payment of professionals in bankruptcy cases and is
co-chaired by C.R. "Chip" Bowles Jr. and James D. Sweet.
The committee reviews and studies both legislative and case law
developments relating to compensation of attorneys, accountants,
financial advisors, trustees, examiners and other professionals that
have their fees and expenses reviewed and approved by courts. The
committee also studies the important area of court approval of the
retention of estate and committee professionals under the Bankruptcy
Code.Chip Bowles is a member of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC
in the firm's Louisville, Ky., offices, where he concentrates his
practice in the areas of debtor and creditor representation in
bankruptcies, workouts and loan restructuring in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky
and Tennessee. His experience includes representation of professionals
in retention and fee matters in chapter 11 cases and of purchasers of
assets from bankruptcy sales, environmental issues in the
debtor/creditor context and the impact of divorce in bankruptcy law. He
also served as co-counsel to senior secured lending groups in the
Federated Department Stores and the American Commercial Barge Line
chapter 11 cases.Mr. Bowles has been a member of ABI since 1992 and
has performed numerous duties as an ABI volunteer and speaker. He is a
contributing editor to the ABI Journal's Straight & Narrow
(see p. 22) and Toxins-R-Us columns. Mr. Bowles also is the
editor of the committee's soon-to-be-published handbook on employment
and compensation issues for non-attorney professionals.In addition to
his ABI work, Mr. Bowles has spoken or written for numerous other
organizations including the Ohio Bar Association CLE Institute, the
Kentucky Bar Association Bankruptcy Section, the Midwest Regional
Bankruptcy Seminar and the University of Kentucky. He has also served as
an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville College of Law,
teaching secured transactions andbankruptcy law.A lifelong resident
of Wisconsin, James Sweet is with the Madison firm of Murphy &

Desmond SC, where his practice emphasizes the areas of corporate
restructuring and reorganization. He is ranked as one of the top
financial services/commercial lending law and bankruptcy lawyers in the
state. He also is listed in the Best Lawyers in America and in
Strathmore's Who's Who.After graduating from the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1975 and receiving his J.D. from the University
of Wisconsin School of Law, he started his own firm after graduating
from law school in 1978. In 1982 he was recruited by Murphy, Stolper,
Brewster & Desmond SC to help build a new bankruptcy and creditors'
rights practice group. In 1984, the firm broke up, but the surviving
firm has grown to more than 40 lawyers; the bankruptcy practice group is
now the largest in Wisconsin.Mr. Sweet has served in many leadership
capacities with the Wisconsin State Bar, including chairing the Bar's
Bankruptcy Section, two terms on the Board of Governors and chairing the
Bar's Continuing Legal Education Committee for nearly a decade. He has
taught numerous state bar CLE programs (including the Annual Bankruptcy
Update) and he co-founded the Western District Bankruptcy Bar
Association.Mr. Sweet also served as a founding board member,
committee chair, treasurer, president and chairman of the American Board
of Certification (ABC). During his tenure as president, ABC merged with
the CLLA's certification board, and ABC is now poised to go over the
1,000 certified-lawyer mark next year. He also has served as an ABI
District Membership chair.Mr. Sweet has served as a guest lecturer in
bankruptcy law at the University of Wisconsin School of Law for the last
20 years on such topics as creditor/debtor rights, Article 9 of the UCC,
marital property (community property) aspects of credit and a variety of
bankruptcy and ethics topics.<h3>More Members in the News</h3>North
Atlantic Capital of Portland, Maine, appointed Matthew J. Burns
as operating partner of the company. Prior to joining NAC, Mr. Burns was
cofounder and managing director of the BostonUniversity Community
Technology Fund. He has extensive management experience, having served
as president, CEO and consultant at former companies. He is a certified
turnaround professional and an advisory board member of North Atlantic
Venture Funds II and III and NAVF's predecessor, Maine Capital Corp. Mr.
Burns earned his A.B. degree at Tufts University and an M.B.A. from
HarvardBusiness School. He has been an ABI member since 1994.The

Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business has
named Lowenstein Sandler "New Jersey's premier law firm" for the second
year. Lowenstein Sandler, which includes Bruce D. Buechler, Scott
Cargill, Sheila E. Carson, Peter J. D'Auria, Lance T. Eisenberg, Michael
S. Etkin, Anusia Gayer, Jeffrey A. Kramer, Ira M. Levee, Sharon L.
Levine, Bruce S. Nathan,Andrew Pincus, Kenneth A. Rosen, Mary E.
Seymour, John K. Sherwood and S. Jason Teele, has more
attorneys listed in New Jersey than any other law firm. Lowenstein
Sandler was recognized in all four practice areas covered by the New
Jersey section of the Guide. Its corporate department ranked
first for the second straight year, and its litigation department earned
a first-place ranking. Lowenstein Sandler ranks first among New Jersey
law firms with the greatest number of corporate and tax attorneys listed
in the 2003-2004 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The firm
handles bankruptcy, business litigation, corporate, environmental, tax
and real estate law as well as trusts and estates. For more information,
please visit <a href="http://www.lowenstein.com/new/LSRanks2004.html">http://www.lowenstein.c…
more information. Reuel D. Ash has joined the Cincinnati
office of Ulmer & Berne LLP as a senior attorney in the firm's
Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights and Business Litigation Groups, where
he will handle bankruptcy, insolvency, creditors' rights and commercial
litigation matters. Prior to joining Ulmer & Berne, he was of
counsel with Statman, Harris, Siegel & Eyrich LLC in Cincinnati,
where hepracticed bankruptcy law, insolvency, business law and
commercial litigation. Mr. Ash is a member of the American, Ohio and
Cincinnati Bar Associations. He serves on the Board of Directors of the
Cincinnati Chamber Music Society, where he has been program director
since 2002. Mr. Ash earned his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati
College of Law. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.ulmer.com">http://www.ulmer.com</a>.In September,
Cox & Smith Inc. and Matthews & Branscomb merged to form a
120-lawyer firm, Cox Smith Matthews Inc., in San Antonio and Austin,
Texas. The Matthews firm brings knowledge and experience in public
utilities, nuclear energy, water law, municipal law and campaign
finance. Combined with Cox's natural resources, labor, employment,
bankruptcy and intellectual property practices, the newly formed firm is
able to offer a wider range of services to clients. ABI members include

Diann M. Bartek, Israel Garcia, Todd Hudgins, Patrick L.
Huffstickler, Leslie SaraHyman, Carol E. Jendrzey, Matthew S. Parkin,
Thomas Rice, Toronda Silas an former ABI President Deborah D.
Williamson, who is a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's
Benchnotes column. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.coxsmith.com">http://www.coxsmith.com</a>.The U.S.
firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP (K&L) and the English firm of
Nicholson Graham & Jones (NGJ) will merge together on Jan. 1, 2005.
The combined firm will be known as Kirkpatrick& Lockhart Nicholson
Graham LLP. The two firms are collaborating on a wide range of
client matters in the M&A, funds, litigation, insurance coverage,
securities, intellectual property and other fields. After the merge,
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham will have approximately 950
lawyers located in 10 U.S. cities as well as London. Kirkpatrick and
Lockhart attorneysinclude Jeffrey N. Rich, Gerrit M. Pronske, Adam C.
Paul, Rakhee V. Patel, David A. Murdoch, Robert Michaelson, George M.
Cheever and Sheila A. Armstrong. For more information, please
visit <a href="http://www.kl.com">http://www.kl.com</a> and <a href="http://www.ngj.co.uk">http://www.ngj.co.uk</a>.Mesirow
Financial, the Chicago-based diversified financial services firm, and
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, announced the acquisition of
KPMG's U.S. Corporate Recovery practice. Nowcalled Mesirow Financial
Consulting (MFC), the unit of more than 100 corporate recovery
professionals will be managed by former KPMG partner Ralph S.
Tuliano, who became president of MFC and was appointed to Mesirow
Financial's executive committee. MFC will operate from offices in
Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Boston,
Miami and Charlotte, N.C., serving corporate entities, unsecured
creditors and secured lenders. ABI members include Lisa Ashe, Michael
Barton, Michael G. Creber, Stephen B. Darr, Brian L. Davies Jr., James
S. Feltman, David Fletcher, Peter D. Gibson, Anneliese P. Grassi, Terry
A. Hamilton, William M. Hughes, Thomas Kaplan, Melissa Kibler-Knoll,
Larry Lattig, Douglas R. McIntosh, Amanda K. Parks, Lori L. Payne, David
M. Powlen, Hon. Jeffrey R. Truitt and Todd A. Zoha. For more
information, visit <a href="http://www.mesirowfinancial.com">http://www.mesirowfinancial.com</a>.</…

& Ellis LLP partner Robbin L. Itkin, the chapter 11 trustee
for the estate of Ritter Ranch Development LLC, successfully completed
the auction sale of more than 7,000 acres of undeveloped land located in
Palmdale, Calif. for more than $58 million. The top bidder for the
Ritter Ranch property was SCC Acquisitions Inc., an affiliate of Sun Cal
Cos., a master-planned communitydeveloper. The sale included a
smaller piece of unentitled real property purchased by Laminar RR
Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of DE Shaw & Co. In addition to Itkin
serving as the chapter 11 trustee, Kirkland bankruptcy attorneys
Richard S. Berger and Katherine C. Parker played a key
role in the sale.The American Lawyer published its second
annual "A List" in September honoring the top 20 law firms of 2004.
Rankings are based on successful law practices, pro bono performance,
decent treatment and development of young lawyers and diversity of
workplace. Firms listed include: Hughes Hubbard, New York, with
attorneys James W. Giddens, Timothy J. Chorvat and DavidW.
Wiltenburg; Jenner & Block, Chicago, with Vincent E. Lazar,
Jeff J. Marwil, Brian Meldrum, Daniel R. Murray, Ronald R. Peterson,
Paul V. Possinger, Peter A. Siddiqui, CatherineSteege, Jeremy Thomas
Stillings, Brian I. Swett, Jerry L. Switzer Jr. and Mark K.
Thomas; Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Minneapolis, with

Robert T. Kugler, John R. McDonald and David L. Mitchell;
Sullivan & Cromwell, New York, with Robinson B. Lacy and
Erik D. Lindauer; Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New
York, with D. J. Baker, David Barrett, Laura Engelhardt, Stephanie R.
Feld, Jay M. Goffman, Sally M. Henry, Brian Kelly, Alexandra Margolis,
Thomas Matz, Alesia Ranney-Marinelli and J. Gregory St.
Clair; Morrison &Foerster, San Francisco, with Adam A.
Lewis and Patricia S. Mar; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale &

Dorr, Washington, D.C., with Lisa F. Al-Bashir, Carol Banta, David K.
Bowsher, Andrew J. Currie, Knight Elsberry, Eric S. Galler, Craig
Goldblatt, Sean P. McCann, William J. Perlstein, Gwendolyn K. Ponder,
Nicole Walter and James R. Wrathall; Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett, New York, with Erin Mary Casey, Karen Ann Alinauskas
and Mark Thompson; Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C., with
Michael L. Bernstein, Michael J. Canning, Jaimee Frohlich and

Daniel M. Lewis; Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, New York,
with David W. Dykhouse; Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, with
Donald Scott Bernstein, Stephen H. Case, Nancy L. Sanborn and
Nicholas A. Segal; and Latham & Watkins (national) with
Josef S. Athanas, Douglas Bacon, Mark A. Broude, Eric D. Brown, Larry
Carlson, Jeffrey D. Diener, Mariane L. Dorris, Peter M. Gilhuly, Avi
Goldenberg, Ronald W. Hanson, Dean T. Janis, Gregg Josephson, Robert A.
Klyman, Brian D. Lee, Scott F. Lehman, Gregory O. Lunt, Michael S.
Lurey, Mitchell A. Seider, Jonathan Shenson, Robert Scott Shuker, John
W. Weiss, Jimmy D. Parrish and Robert J.
Rosenberg.Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. L.P.A., a creditors's
rights firm with offices in Burlington, N.J., Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Columbus, Ohio, Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, announced it has
opened an office in the Chicago area. The new office is the fourth new
opening for the firm in the last four years. The office can be reached
at Lake Cook Office Center IV, Suite 480, 1419 Lake Cook Road,
Deerfield, IL, 60015. ABI members for the firm include Alan C.
Hochheiser (Cleveland), Geoffrey J. Peters (Columbus, Ohio)
and David Wolfe (Troy, Mich.).

Journal Authors

ABI

Journal Date

Monday, November 1, 2004 - 12:00

Bankruptcy Rule

2004

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