Members in the News

Journal Issue

Jul/Aug 2006

Column Name

Inside ABI

Citation

ABI Journal, Vol. XXV, No. 6, p. 87, July/August 2006

Topic Tags

Health Care

Journal HTML Content

ABI Committee Leaders Profile

ABI's Health Care Committee focuses on issues unique to insolvency and restructuring
efforts in the health care industry and is co-chaired by William W. Kannel
and Samuel R. Maizel.
Mr. Kannel is a member at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC
in Boston in its bankruptcy, restructuring and commercial law sections. He practices
primarily in the areas of commercial law, workouts and corporate reorganization
and has represented various institutional lenders, indenture trustees, bondholders,
other creditors, debtors and trustees in all manner of insolvency proceedings
in courts throughout the United States.ÊHis practice also includes addressing
bankruptcy and documentation issues in securitizations, receivable sales, bond
transactions and structured financings, generally. Mr. Kannel is a member of
the Banking and Commercial Law Section of the American Bar Association and the
Massachusetts Bar Association, and is a former chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section
of the Boston Bar Association. He frequently lectures and writes on insolvency
issues in front of these groups and numerous other bar, trade and industry groups,
including the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and the Association
of Insolvency Accountants. He is a co-editor of the second edition of ABI's
Health Care Insolvency Manual and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and
the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his A.B. from
Wesleyan University in 1981 and his J.D. cum laudeÊfrom Boston University
School of Law in 1985.
Samuel Maizel is a partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub
PC in Los Angeles, where he concentrates his practice on bankruptcy matters
and financial restructurings in and out of court. He has also served as lead
bankruptcy counsel to debtors in chapter 11 cases, as an examiner appointed
pursuant to the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as lead
counsel to various official bankruptcy committees and individual creditors.
Since 2000, he has led the firm's representation of the attorneys general of
46 states and six territories that are parties to the Master Settlement Agreement
with the tobacco industry. Before joining the firm, he represented the federal
government in bankruptcy, district and appellate courts nationwide as a trial
attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice's Commercial Litigation Branch. He
has also served in the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps, including
service in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, for which he was awarded the
Bronze Star. Previously, he served as an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne
Division and the 3rd U.S.Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Mr. Maizel earned
his B.S. at the U.S. Military Academy, his M.A. at Georgetown University and
his J.D. from George Washington University.
<h3>Members in the News</h3>
<img src="/AM/images/letters/t.gif" align="LEFT" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="5">
he law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin recently announced that
Ashely M. Chan and Matthew A. Hamermesh have become shareholders
of the firm. Ms. Chan concentrates her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and
corporate restructuring. In addition to routinely representing debtors, creditors
and committees in bankruptcy proceedings, she also handles out-of-court restructurings
and consumer workouts. She earned her J.D. at Rutgers Law School-Camden, where
she received Tax Honors with distinction. From 1996-97, Ms. Chan served as a
law clerk to Hon. Gloria M. Burns of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District
of New Jersey. Ms. Chan received her B.A. from Douglass College, Rutgers University.
She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and has been an ABI
member since 2004. Mr. Hamermesh represents debtors, creditors and committees
in bankruptcy court proceedings, litigation and various business transactions.
He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where
he served as article editor of the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the
Order of the Coif. He received his B.S. from Yale University. Mr. Hamermesh
served as law clerk to the late Edward R. Becker, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He joined ABI in 2001 and is admitted to practice
in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin has offices
in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pa. and Cherry Hill, N.J.

Berry D. Spears recently joined Fulbright and Jaworksi LLP's Austin
office as a partner, where he is a member of the firm's bankruptcy, reorganization
and restructuring team. A past co-chair of ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditor Committee,
he has been an ABI member since 1998.
Thomas J. Beane, president of Beane Associates Inc. in Wilmington, Del.,
was accredited in April as a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor
(CIRA) by the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors. He has more
than 20 years of broad-based business experience, including more than 10 years
of turnaround and crisis-management consulting. He has been an ABI member since
1997.
AccuVal has received National City's Secured Credit Appraisal Firm of the Year
award for 2005, which is given annually to the company that best meets National
City's rigorous quality standards. ABI members include Daniel Quirk,
David S. Gronik Jr., MAI, ASA, Richard E. Schmitt, ASA and Roy
D'Souza.
Former ABI Executive Committee member James H.M. Sprayregen is a new
managing director with the Goldman Sachs in New York. He was previously with
Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York. Mr. Sprayregen can be reached at james.sprayregen@gs.com.

Miller Nash LLP announced that Teresa Pearson, a partner in the firm's
Portland, Ore. office, was certified in business bankruptcy law by the American
Board of Certification. An ABI member since 2002, Ms. Pearson joins David
W. Hercher, John Casey Mills and Geoffrey Groshong among Miller
Nash partners to earn this designation.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP has announced the addition of David Christian as a
partner in the firm's Chicago office, where he will join the bankruptcy practice
group.
Gary D. Barnes of Husch & Eppenberger LLC in Kansas City, Mo., has
been named as the chair of the Missouri Bankers' Association's bank counsel
advisory board. An ABI member since 1997, Mr. Barnes chairs Husch's insolvency
practice group and is a member of the firm's management committee. He also serves
as national insolvency counsel for several lenders and as special insolvency
counsel for many regional, metropolitan and rural banks.

Cox Smith Matthews Inc. recently announced that three of its attorneys and
three of its practice areas have been recognized as leaders in their fields
and nationally ranked by Chambers USA. The firm's practice areas of antitrust,
bankruptcy/restructuring and intellectual property were recognized, and shareholder
Deborah D. Williamson, a Past President of ABI and a contributing editor
to the ABI Journal's Benchnotes column, was recognized in the field of
bankruptcy/restructuring. Ms. Williamson leads the firm's creditors' rights,
restructuring and bankruptcy department and is board-certified by the Texas
Board of Legal Specialization and the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification
in business bankruptcy law. Cox Smith also announced that Ms. Williamson has
been named chair of the bankruptcy law section of the State Bar of Texas. She
has been serving as the vice-chair of the section since 2004.
Elliott Warner Jones has been named of counsel to Drescher & Sharp
PC in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Jones has spent the previous three years with Husch
& Eppenberger, where he focused on business restructuring.
Brian Cove has been promoted to deputy executive director of
the Commercial Finance Association (CFA) in New York. With chapters throughout
the United States and Canada (along with international affiliates), CFA is the
official industry organization for commercial finance. An ABI member since 1998,
Mr. Cove previously served as the government-relations director.

Donald Gaffney, a partner with Snell & Wilmer's bankruptcy group
in Phoenix, has been selected by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as the first consumer
privacy ombudsman in the United States. The new role of a consumer privacy ombudsman
was created by BAPCPA and is tasked with advising the court on the issues relating
to sales of personal information from the estate. Mr. Gaffney has been an ABI
member since 1998.
Holland & Knight LLP announced that Leonard Gilbert, a partner in
the firm's banking and finance group in its Tampa, Fla., office, has been honored
by the Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association as the recipient of the Douglas
P. McClurg Professionalism Award. The award was established to recognize a lawyer
for outstanding effectiveness in judicial proceedings through preparation, civility
and courtesy to counsel and parties. Mr. Gilbert is just the second attorney
to receive the highly selective award since its inception several years ago.
He has been an ABI member since 1985.
Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green PA has been recognized by Chambers USA
as the top law firm in New Hampshire for mergers and acquisitions and real estate
law for 2006. Newly elected Bruce A. Harwood was named as the top bankruptcy
attorney in the state. He also serves as Program Chair for ABI's Northeast Bankruptcy
Conference.
Trenam Kemker announced that Michael Horan has joined the firm's St.
Petersburg, Fla., office as a shareholder, where he will practice in its Business
Reorganization and Bankruptcy Practice Group. An ABI member since 1988, Mr.
Horan is certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification
and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Gary Read of Tranzon Driggers in Ocala, Fla. has obtained an Accredited
Auctioneer, Real Estate (AARE) designation from the National Auctioneers Association.
He is one of 267 professionals to hold that designation. A new member of ABI,
Mr. Read specializes in real estate asset liquidation work in the bankruptcy
field.
Firms Buchanan Ingersoll PC and Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling have merged
to form Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. Jack Barbour, a managing shareholder
of Klett Rooney, will serve as an executive shareholder at the combined firm.
Other ABI members include Tom VanKirk, Fran Muracca and Howard
Scher. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg,
Pa.; Wilmington, Del.; Newark, N.J.; and Washington, D.C.

William I. Kohn of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP in
Cleveland has been selected as the Pro Bono Center for Disability and
Elder Law's (Pro Bono CDEL's) 2006 Volunteer of the Year in recognition
of his leadership and commitment in creating the Pro Bono CDEL's most
innovative program, the Bankruptcy Partnership Initiative. This program provides
debt-resolution assistance to low-income seniors and people with disabilities
by utilizing the Illinois exemption statute to avoid bankruptcy. Mr. Kohn has
also received the U.S. District Court and Federal Bar Association's seventh
annual Excellence in Public Interest Service Award for his work with Pro
Bono CDEL. He has been an ABI member since 1983.

Haynes and Boone LLP was listed in the latest Chambers USA rankings
as among the top antitrust law firms in the country. The latest survey also
ranks the firm's bankruptcy and reorganization, insurance, and real estate practice
groups in the ranking's first tier of law firms. Bankruptcy attorney Robert
Albergotti achieved "Star Performer" ranking by Chambers
in the 2006 survey. He joined ABI as one of its first members in 1983. Eight
Haynes and Boone attorneys were also included in the first tier of attorneys
in the annual rankings, including Robin Phelan. Charlie Beckham
was also highlighted in the 2006 Chambers USA rankings.

Kurtzman Carson Consultants (KCC) in Los Angeles was recognized as one of
the fastest-growing new companies in the United States in Entrepreneur Magazine's
12th Annual Hot 100 Listing. KCC's #41 rank marks the second consecutive year
the firm has been acknowledged. "It is an honor to have been recognized
for two consecutive years for our continued growth and innovation," said
Jonathan Carson, KCC's president and co-founder. He has been an ABI member
since 2001. Eric Kurtzman, KCC's co-founder and CEO, has been a member
since 1998.

Journal Authors

ABI

Journal Date

Saturday, July 1, 2006 - 12:00

Bankruptcy Rule

2006

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