Members in the News

Journal Issue

Apr 2006

Column Name

Inside ABI

Citation

ABI Journal, Vol. XXV, No. 3, p. 99, April 2006

Topic Tags

Financial Advisors

Journal HTML Content

ABI's
Financial Advisors Committee, which provides for an exchange of ideas on trends
in turnaround consulting and advising, is co-chaired by Rebecca A. Roof and
David M. Powlen.

Rebecca Roof, CIRA, CPA, CMA, is a principal at AlixPartners LLC in New York.
Prior to joining AlixPartners, Ms. Roof was a director in the corporate finance,
regeneration and disputes practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Previously, she
provided litigation support and corporate recovery consulting services for Ernst
& Young LLP. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants and is an ABI Director. Ms. Roof earned her B.S. and B.A. from Trinity
University, where she was a university scholar.
David Powlen is a senior vice president at Mesirow Financial Consulting in
New York, where he focuses on advising debtors, creditors' committees, bondholders,
indenture trustees, secured creditors in chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings.
He is certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification
and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He is a frequent speaker
and published author and is a member of AIRA, the American Bar Association and
the Indiana State Bar Association in addition to ABI. Mr. Powlen earned his
A.B. at Harvard College and his J.D. at Harvard Law School.

<h3>More Members in the News</h3>
Mesirow
Financial announced on March 20 that Thomas J. Allison joined its consulting
division as executive vice president and senior managing director in Chicago.
Mr. Allison has more than 25 years of experience, most recently as the national
practice leader of the restructuring group for Huron Consulting. Previously,
he served as the partner-in-charge of Arthur Andersen LLP's Chicago-based central
region restructuring practice. He has served as CFO of two NYSE health care
companies and has extensive experience in negotiating loan agreements and placing
loans to companies in financial distress. Mr. Allison's industry expertise includes
airlines, transportation, retail, consumer products, general manufacturing,
importing, distribution, high technology, health care, food and paper and packaging.
Randall R. Lay joined Buccino & Associates' New York office in March.
Mr. Lay has 25 years of diverse management experience in technology, communications,
construction, specialty and industrial chemicals, automotive supply and HVAC
manufacturing and distribution. Most recently, he was the CEO, president and
director of Universal Access Global Holdings, a telecommunications network supplier
to carriers and service providers, where he directed the company's successful
turnaround and sale. He joined ABI this year.

Morris-Anderson & Associates in Pasadena, Calif., recently named both Michael
Cavan and Anthony Collura managing directors. Mr. Cavan, CTP, CIRA,
CMA, has more than 17 years of experience in corporate reorganizations and turnarounds
and has worked extensively with secured creditors, debtors and companies. Prior
to joining Morris-Anderson, he was a managing director at Navigant Consulting,
a partner at BDO Siedman LLP and a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Cavan
earned his degree at the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Collura has more
than 25 years of restructuring and turnaround experience. He has an extensive
background in valuation of enterprises, plan development and disclosure, divestiture
and liquidation in chapter 11 cases. Previously, Mr. Collura was the director
of corporate recovery with KPMG LLP. Prior to that, he was the manager of business
valuation and litigation support at RSM McGladrey Inc.
 Joel R. Spivack, principal of the Law Office of Joel R. Spivack in
Cherry Hill, N.J., was awarded a BV Peer Review Rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbel
in March. The rating identifies a lawyer with very high legal ability and ethical
standards. Mr. Spivack's practice focuses on bankruptcy law, including consumer
cases under chapters 7 and 13. He has been an ABI member since 2000.
Kirk B. Burkley was recently named partner at Benstein Law Firm PC in
Pittsburgh. Mr. Burkley, who was with the firm's bankruptcy and creditors' rights
group for three years, was named a 2005 rising star by Philadelphia Magazine.
He is a member of the Allegheny County, American and Federal Bar Associations.
Mr. Burkley earned his B.S. at Ohio University and his J.D. from the University
of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was the recipient of the Center for Forensic
Economic Studies Award for Excellence in Litigation. He has been an ABI member
since 2004.

Klee, Tuchin, Bogdanoff & Stern LLP partners Lee R. Bogdanoff, Kenneth
N. Klee and Michael L. Tuchin were named "Top 100 Lawyers in
Southern California for 2006" by Law & Politics Media Inc. Mr. Klee
was also named as one of Southern California's Top 10 Lawyers for 2006. Klee
Tuchin is based in Los Angeles.
Cox Smith Matthews Inc. in Dallas recently announced that George H. Tarpley
and Mark E. Andrews have joined the firm. Mr. Tarpley and Mr. Andrews
bring their extensive bankruptcy and litigation experience to the firm's well-established
bankruptcy practice. They will work closely with Dallas-based shareholders David
Bryant and Deborah Williamson, head of Cox Smith Matthews' Creditors'
Rights, Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy Department. Mr. Tarpley previously
led a team of lawyers as debtor's counsel representing Dow Corning Corp. in
its multi-billion bankruptcy proceeding, and served as a shareholder and president
of Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay. He has extensive experience in a variety of state/federal
court litigation matters ancillary to bankruptcy proceedings at both the trial
and appellate levels, including as lead trial counsel in the successful prosecution
of a fraud action in a jury trial conducted in the bankruptcy courts. Mr. Tarpley
received his B.A. with honors from Southern Methodist University and his J.D.
from the University of Texas School of Law. Mr. Andrews has practiced bankruptcy
law for more than 20 years. His past experience includes serving as regional
counsel in charge of bankruptcy and restructuring for Bank One, Texas NA, and
as a partner at a Dallas business law firm. He has significant experience representing
debtors, creditors and trustees in bankruptcy proceedings throughout the region.
Mr. Andrews has taught business and bankruptcy law at area universities and
frequently speaks at bankruptcy conferences, including most recently the UT
Business Bankruptcy Seminar. He received his B.A. from Georgetown University
and his J.D. from the Tulane University Law School.

The February 2006 issue of Law & Politics Magazine identified Myles
Alderman, a partner at Alderman & Alderman in Hartford, Conn., as a
top lawyer for business litigation and business bankruptcy law. The list of
Connecticut's top lawyers represents the top five percent of the Connecticut
Bar based on a peer review of 13,000 active lawyers across the state that have
practiced for five years or more. Mr. Alderman is admitted to the U.S. District
Courts for the District of Connecticut and for Southern District of New York
and was a cum laude graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. He
has been a member since 1994.
Bridge Associates, LLC in Chicago recently named Chad E. Peterson as
a principal. Mr. Peterson joined Bridge in 2001 after serving as a consultant
with Deloitte Consulting, where he participated in a number of corporate restructuring
assignments. He has extensive experience in operations, mergers, acquisitions,
corporate restructurings, financial and cash management and financial modeling.
Mr. Peterson earned his B.S. magna cum laude from Miami University. He
has been an ABI member since 2005.

Chad J. Hammons, a shareholder of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis
PA in Jackson, Miss., has been selected to participate in the inaugural class
of the Meritas Leadership Institute (MLI). Meritas is a worldwide affiliation
of law firms in 200 business markets with an aggregate of approximately 5,000
lawyers. MLI is a year-long program that will identify and develop future Meritas
leaders and will provide a forum for the development of individual leadership
skills. The initial class, and those that follow in subsequent years, will consist
of 16 participants from Bulgaria, China, Canada and 13 U.S. cities. Those selected
for MLI are expected to invest time and effort on a monthly basis and to actively
participate in the project selected by their class.
Two Morris-Anderson Ltd. associates recently were awarded professional designations
of Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) in February. Both Bernadette Barron,
managing director, as well as Michael Jakolat, consulting manager, are
resident at the firm's Des Plaines, Ill., office. Ms. Barron is an expert in
turnaround consulting and interim management, and operational legal, tax and
financial issues. The CTP designation provides an objective measure and recognition
of expertise related to workouts, restructurings and corporate renewal. Applicants
must meet specific standards of education, experience, and professional conduct.
They also must successfully complete a rigorous examination that covers financial
and managerial accounting and tax, turnaround and crisis management and bankruptcy
and UCC law. CTPs are required to participate in continuing-education programs
to maintain their certification.
Stonefield Josephson recently announced the launch of its new valuation, litigation
and forensic group to serve business leaders, attorneys and other professionals.
The group will pull together the expertise of forensic accounting, business
valuation and litigation support under one roof. Jeffrey Sumpter has
been a licensed attorney and a certified public accountant for over 20 years.
He works with a multi-disciplinary group of professionals who assist attorneys
and their clients with breach-of-contract disputes, fraud and forensic investigations,
post-acquisition disputes, punitive damage litigation, bankruptcy adversary
proceedings, and expert witness testimony in federal and state court litigation
and related settlement negotiations.
Hutchens Senter & Britton PA, a creditors' rights and civil litigation
law firm based with offices throughout North Carolina, named Shawna Y. Staton
to the firm as a partner. Ms. Staton leads the firm's Raleigh office and will
concentrate her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial litigation.
Ms. Staton received both her law and undergraduate degrees from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is admitted to practice before the U.S.
District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina
and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. Ms. Staton served on the Local
Bankruptcy Rules Committee for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1996-2000.
She is a Chapter 7 Trustee for the Eastern District of North Carolina Bankruptcy
Courts. Ms. Staton joined ABI in 1993.

The Florida law firm of Akerman Senterfitt was presented in February with the
Thomas L. Sager Award by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA).
The award is presented to the law firm that has demonstrated and sustained the
highest commitment to improving the hiring, retention and promotion of minority
and women attorneys. ABI members include Jacob A. Brown, Francis L. Carter,
Betty Charles, Jules S. Cohen, Denise D. Dell-Powell, James E. Foster, Michael
P. Horan, W. Glenn Jensen, Jill Ellen Kelso, Erik P. Kimball, Philip J. Landau,
Joan Levit, John B. Macdonald, David E. Otero, Patrick P. Patangan and
Edmund S. Whitson III. 
John W. Kozyak, a founding partner of Miami law firm Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton,
has received the Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award, which
recognizes attorneys committed to providing free legal services to those who
cannot afford legal fees. The Florida Bar noted that Mr. Kozyak, who received
the award for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, has accepted pro bono cases for
more than 25 years through the Dade County Bar Association "Put Something
Back" Pro Bono Project. In addition, he has helped raise money for
pro bono recruitment and training seminars on behalf of the American
College of Bankruptcy's Pro Bono Committee. Mr. Kozyak is a fellow in
both the American College of Bankruptcy and American College of Trial Lawyers.
He also serves as trustee and receiver in major cases. Mr. Kozyak, who earned
his law degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, received
the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University and an Honorary J.D.
degree from the University of Miami. He has been an ABI member since 1983.

The Trumbull Group in Windsor, Conn., announced the addition of Kathy L.
Yeatter as business development officer of the Trumbull Group's chapter
11 restructuring services department. Ms. Yeatter brings a wealth of knowledge
and industry experience from 12 years as an attorney specializing in bankruptcy
and related transactional and litigation matters. Formerly with major national
law firms such as Weil Gotshal & Manges and Greenberg Traurig, Ms. Yeatter
has represented debtor, creditor and financier interests in cases throughout
the United States.
Eckert Seamans continues to expand its Wilmington, Del., office with the addition
of bankruptcy attorney Michael Busenkell. Mr. Busenkell's practice encompasses
a range of bankruptcy-related matters including chapter 11 business restructurings,
bankruptcy acquisitions and transactions, representation of lenders and bankruptcy
related litigation. He earned his law degree with honors from Temple University
School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Villanova University.
O'Keefe & Associates Consulting announced that David J. Distel,
CPA, will be heading up the firm's new office in Grand Rapids, Mich. Prior to
joining the firm, he was the senior audit manager at Deloitte and Touche LLP.
In leading turnaround assignments, Mr. Distel held executive positions including
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer in various public and privately
held companies. Mr. Distel earned his B.A. in accounting from Michigan State
University.
Marc S. Cohen, chair of the business reorganization and creditors' rights
group at Kaye Scholer in Los Angeles, was named "Bankruptcy Lawyer of the
Year" by the Century City Bar Association. Mr. Cohen has 30 years of experience
in bankruptcy law and corporate reorganization, with particular emphasis on
the representation of bondholders, secured creditors, creditor's committees
and debtors-in-possession. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Los Angeles Bar Association
and the State Bar of California, and is a Fellow in the American College of
Bankruptcy. He has been an ABI member since 1985.

Journal Authors

ABI

Journal Date

Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 12:00

Bankruptcy Rule

2006

none