Members in the News

The Bankruptcy Litigation Committee was
established this year to study the rules of practice, evidence
and procedure in bankruptcy court, as well as strategy when dealing
with adversary proceedings and contested matters, for the
purpose of enhancing the trial and oral advocacy skills of
bankruptcy lawyers. The co-chairs are <b>Hon. Barry
Russell</b> and <b>Evan Slavitt,</b> who intend to focus
on litigation/dispute resolution of a broad variety of
issues. </p><p>Hon. Barry Russell is Chief Bankruptcy
Judge for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
Previously, he served on the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy
Appellate Panel from March 1998 to December 2001, and was
its chief judge from September 1999 until December 2001. He
was appointed a bankruptcy judge in 1974. Judge Russell has
taught bankruptcy, evidence and ethics at UCLA, USC, Loyola
and Whittier Law School, and has served as associate
clinical professor of psychiatry (law) at the University of
Southern California since 1975. In addition, he has been a
member of the faculty of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington,
D.C., since 1977, lecturing to other bankruptcy judges throughout
the United States. Judge Russell published the <i>Bankruptcy
Evidence Manual</i> in 1987 (West), is a contributing editor
to <i>Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice</i> and is the author of the
column "Russell on Evidence" in the <i>Norton
Bankruptcy Law Adviser.</i> In 1987, he was awarded the
American Bar Association's Franklin N. Flaschner Judicial
Award as the outstanding judge in the United States in a
trial court of special jurisdiction, and in 1988 Judge Russell was
the first American invited by the Supreme People's Court in
the People's Republic of China to lecture on bankruptcy law.
He was a former president of the Federal Bar Association (1990-91)
and is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. In
addition, in June 1994, as chairman of the Bankruptcy
Court's Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, he began
developing a bankruptcy mediation program for the Central
District of California and was subsequently appointed as the
mediation program administrator in 1995. In 1997, the Southern
California Mediation Association awarded him the Judges' Award
for distinguished service for promoting mediation in the courts. Judge
Russell received his B.S. in engineering and his J.D. from UCLA.
</p><p>Evan Slavitt is a founding partner of Bodoff

&amp; Slavitt LLP in Boston, where he concentrates on complex
commercial litigation including contract disputes (both private and
government/procurement), antitrust and trade regulation, eminent
domain and environmental law. Mr. Slavitt's practice also
includes conducting internal investigations of allegations of
illegal and inappropriate corporate and agency conduct. Before
entering private practice in 1987, Mr. Slavitt served as a
trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S.
Department of Justice (1981-83) and as an assistant U.S.
attorney (1983-87), where he served as deputy chief of the
Civil Division and led the effort to clean up New Bedford
Harbor under the federal environmental laws. Mr. Slavitt
also conducted the eminent-domain practice in that office as
well as the entire range of civil litigation involving the
United States. </p><p>Mr. Slavitt received his J.D.
from Harvard Law School in 1981, where he served as an
editor of the <i>Harvard Law Review.</i> He received both a
B.A. and an M.A. in economics from Yale University, writing
his thesis on "Nonprofit Institutions and the Antitrust
Laws." </p><p>Mr. Slavitt is a frequent author and
lecturer on a variety of legal topics including evidence,
trial practice and criminal law. He volunteers on the MCLE
curriculum advisory committee as a Board of Bar Overseers
hearing officer, and has worked on a variety of bar
association task forces addressing issues such as
volunteerism in the bar and the preservation of the
attorney/client privilege. Mr. Slavitt also volunteers his time to
be the general counsel and parliamentarian of the Republican Party
in Massachusetts.</p><h3>More Members in the News</h3>he YWCA of
Oahu has selected <b>Louise Ing,</b> a founding director and
officer of Alston Hunt Floyd &amp; Ing in Honolulu, as one
of the honorees at the YWCA's 27th Annual Leader Luncheon.
The luncheon recognizes outstanding individual women and
organizations that have advanced the YWCA of Oahu's mission,
which is to enrich and empower the lives of women and their
families in Hawaii. The firm supports the efforts of its lawyers to
give back to the community through <i>pro bono</i>
activities, service to nonprofit organizations, and public
interest and civil rights litigation.

<p>Barnes &amp; Thornburg LLP welcomed <b>John Gregg</b> to its
Grand Rapids, Mich., office as an associate in November. Mr.
Gregg's practice primarily focuses on bankruptcy and
creditors' rights law. He frequently represents secured
creditors, committees, debtors and purchasers of assets. Prior to
joining Barnes &amp; Thornburg LLP, Mr. Gregg served as an
associate in the bankruptcy departments of two international law
firms located in Chicago. In addition, he was an extern for Hon.
<b>Susan Pierson Sonderby</b> in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Gregg received
his B.A. from the University of Michigan and earned his J.D.
from DePaul University College of Law. He is a member of the
Chicago Bar Association. </p><p><b>Rebecca H.
Simoni</b> was promoted to principal associate at Briesen &amp;
Roper S.C. in Milwaukee. Ms. Simoni graduated <i>cum laude</i> in 1999
from the University of Minnesota Law School and is part of
Briesen &amp; Roper's banking, bankruptcy and business
restructuring practice group. </p><p>The Turnaround
Management Association (TMA) announced its 2004 Turnaround
of the Year award recipients in October. For the first time,
winners in two categories came from the same firm, with
professionals from Quest Turnaround Advisors LLC earning
both International Company and Large Company awards. The
2004 winners include: </p><ul> <li>Mega
Company Turnaround of the Year: <b>John R. Boken,</b> Kroll
Zolfo Cooper LLC, Los Angeles, for the turnaround of NRG Energy Inc.,
Minneapolis. </li><li>International Company Turnaround
of the Year: <b>Jeffrey A. Brodsky,</b> Quest Turnaround
Advisors LLC, Rye, N.Y., for the turnaround of PTV Inc.,
London. </li><li>Mid-Size Company Turnaround of the
Year: <b>Frank Guidone,</b> Corporate Revitalization
Partners LLC, Dallas, for the turnaround of Measurement
Specialties Inc., Fairfield, N.J.

</li></ul>"The individuals and firms that won awards this year were
engaged to solve extremely complex financial and operational
problems," said <b>James Matthews,</b> chair of the TMA Awards
Committee and president of Prime Locations LLC in Dallas.
"The record number of nominations and the effort put in by
the individuals to bring the best possible resolution to
these difficult corporate struggles was nothing short of
spectacular. It made me proud to be part of this industry."
"These award-winning professionals and all of our members
are dedicated to the mission of corporate renewal and the
value they can bring to the corporate world," said <b>John
Rizzardi,</b> 2004 chairman of TMA and a partner
in Seattle law firm Cairncross &amp; Hempelmann. "Their
skills, resources and contributions made—and continue
to make—a positive impact on the economy by restoring
profitability and jobs and inspiring customer, vendor and
lender confidence in well-managed organizations." For more
information, visit <a href="http://www.turnaround.org">www.turnaround.org</a&gt;.