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Event Roundup40th Annual Paskay Seminar Returns to Its Roots at Clearwater Beach

The Paskay Seminar is a memorial CLE program honoring the lifetime achievements of the late Judge Alexander L. Paskay, and is co-sponsored by

ABI and Stetson University College of Law, where Judge Paskay taught for many years. This year’s event, held in Clearwater, Fla., in early April, continued its legacy of insightful and timely programming, with prominent region-al and national speakers joined by bankruptcy judges. Both commercial and consumer bankruptcy issues were covered. Topics included avoidance actions and other estate-maximizing tactics, ethics issues arising from attor-ney/client disputes, individual chapter 11 cases, how to negotiate a workout agreement, pre-confirmation

motions in chapter 11, student loan developments on nondischargeability, and a panel on the latest authority from the U.S. Supreme Court. The seminar also featured the innovative and popular “round and round” judges’ panel, where attendees had the chance to interact with each of member of the judicial faculty on assorted top-ics, in rapid-roundtable style. Retired Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber (S.D.N.Y.) delivered the Third Annual Paskay Lecture, providing his insights on the General Motors case, including the difficult legal and policy issues related to successor liability. Bankruptcy Judges Caryl E. Delano and K. Rodney May (M.D. Fla.) served as judicial co-chairs, while Leonard H. Gilbert (Holland & Knight LLP; Tampa, Fla.) served as the program chair. Financial sponsors included Anthony & Partners, LLC, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP, Stichter, Riedel, Blain & Postler, PA, and Trenam Law as Premium Sponsors; BakerHostetler, Gray Robinson, P.A. and Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP as Supporting Sponsors; and KapilaMukamal, LLP as a General Sponsor. abi

The Third Annual Paskay Lecture was given by retired Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Gerber and covered the General Motors case.

Hon. Caryl E. Delano (M.D. Fla.; Tampa), Stephanie B. Anthony (Anthony & Partners; Tampa, Fla.), W. Keith Fendrick (Holland & Knight LLP; Tampa, Fla.), David S. Jennis (Jennis & Bowen, PA; Tampa, Fla.) and ABI Director Jerry M. Markowitz (Markowitz Ringel Trusty + Hartog, PA; Miami) (l-r) discuss chapter 11 pre-confirmation issues and motions to dismiss.

Members in the News

LeClairRyan announced that Heidi J. Sorvino has joined the firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Practice Area Team

as a shareholder in New York. She represents business entities, debtors and secured creditors, including banks, financial institutions, hedge funds, creditors’ committees, distressed-debt investors, and indenture trustees in complex bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, cor-porate restructurings, and related litigation. Ms. Sorvino joined ABI in 2016. Kane Russell Coleman & Logan, PC announced that director Jason B. Binford has become board certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. An ABI member since 2005, he represents debtors and creditors in chap-ter 11 and chapter 7 cases and serves as list-serve facilitator of ABI’s Technology and Intellectual Property Committee.

R icha rds , Lay ton & F inge r , PA in Wilmington, Del., announced that Mark D. Collins and John H. Knight have been named as “Top Lawyers” by Delaware Today for bank-ruptcy. In addition, Mr. Collins, an ABI member since 1993, was also designated as one of the top vote-getters in his practice area. Mr. Knight has been an ABI member since 2004. M i d w e s t - b a s e d P l u n k e t t C o o n e y announced that the firm has been named in two legal industry magazines, Corporate Counsel and The American Lawyer, as one of the top law firms servicing corporate America. The firm was one of only nine identified in the annual nationwide survey that received 11 mentions from Fortune 100 in-house corporate counsel. ABI members with the firm include Joseph M. Ammar, Douglas C. Bernstein, Michael A. Fleming and David A. Lerner.

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Esquify, Inc. announced that the firm has been named to the “Top 50 Chicago Startups to Watch in 2016” list, compiled by Built in Chicago, a tech community and resource. Owner Scott Y. Stuart has been an ABI member since 1991, and serves as listserve facilitator for ABI’s Mediation Committee and as a fundrais-ing committee member for ABI’s Endowment Fund. Also with the firm is Executive Director Lorenzo Mendizabal, who previously served on ABI’s Board of Directors. He has been an ABI member since 1997.

Willamette Management Associates announced that managing director Robert F. Reilly has developed an audio continuing pro-fessional education course for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) entitled “AICPA Valuation and Consulting Standards.” The course applies to valuation analysts who perform business-val-uation services, forensic-analysis services and fair value accounting valuation services. An ABI member since 1990, Mr. Reilly serves as a coordinating editor for the ABI Journal and also co-authored A Practical Guide to Bankruptcy Valuation, available for purchase in the ABI Bookstore (abi.org/bookstore).

Trenk, DiPasquale, Della Fera & Sodono, PC announced that managing partner Sam Della Fera, Jr. and partners Joseph J. DiPasquale and Anthony Sodono, III were named as New Jersey Super Lawyers, and associate Joao F. Magalhaes and partner Adam D. Wolper were named as Rising Stars for 2016. Mr. DiPasquale’s practice includes commercial litigation, corporate restruc-turing, complex bankruptcy and debtor/creditor rights. He has been an ABI member since 1999. Mr. Della Fera has counseled clients in commer-cial litigation, bankruptcy, debtor and creditor rights, and in financial restructurings and work-outs both in and outside of court. He has been an ABI member since 2015. Mr. Sodono’s practice includes commercial litigation, corporate restruc-turing, bankruptcy and debtor/creditor rights, as well as the representation of chapter 11 and 7 trustees. He has been an ABI member since 2011. Mr. Magalhaes’s practice includes commercial litigation, corporate restructuring and general counseling, bankruptcy, and regulatory affairs. An ABI member since 2010, he also serves as a coordinating editor for the ABI Journal. An ABI member since 2014, Mr. Wolper is a transactional (real estate and corporate) attorney and litigator.

Howard & Howard Attorneys, PLLC announced that Timothy J. Howard has been recognized by Illinois Super Lawyers for business litigation. Based in the firm’s Peoria, Ill., office, his practice includes business, commercial, real estate and trust litigation, and bankruptcy law. Mr. Howard has been an ABI member since 1990.

F a s k e n M a r t i n e a u D u M o u l i n L L P announced that it has once again been rec-ognized as a leading firm in Canada in Chambers Global for 2016, receiving Band 1 rankings in five practice areas. ABI members with the firm include Luc Béliveau, Stuart Brotman, John F. Grieve, Kibben Jackson and Aubrey E. Kauffman. Smiley Wang-Ekvall, LLP announced that partner Kyra E. Andrassy has been named to the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation’s Southern California Chapter board of directors and will serve as the chapter’s communications direc-tor. Based in the firm’s Costa Mesa, Calif., office, she represents chapter 11 debtors, chapter 7 and chapter 11 trustees, secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, purchasers of assets from bankruptcy estates, assignees in assignments for the benefit of creditors, and borrowers in out-of-court work-outs. Ms. Andrassy has been an ABI member since 2015. Anderson Kill PC announced that Mark D. Silverschotz has rejoined the firm as Of Counsel and co-chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group. He has worked in bankruptcy and reorganization since 1981, representing secured, unsecured and subordi-nated creditors, as well as trustees, debtors in possession and official committees of credi-tors and equity-holders. An ABI member since 2014, Mr. Silverschotz has represented banks, Fortune 100 corporations and private indi-viduals in connection with the enforcement of creditors’ rights in chapter 11 cases and infor-mal workouts. Wanda Borges has been e lected to the board of directors of the International Association of Commercial Collectors. She is a principal member of Borges & Associates, LLC in Syosset, N.Y., and has been an ABI member since 2003. Greenberg Traurig, LLP announced that Keith J. Shapiro, co-chair of the firm’s Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice in Chicago, has con-tributed $50,000 to endow the Keith J. Shapiro Writing Awards Fund at his alma mater, Emory University Law School, after funding it for near-ly 20 years. The award selects two winners (con-sumer bankruptcy and corporate bankruptcy) annually, and each winner receives $1,000. An ABI member since 1983, Mr. Shapiro has more than 30 years of bankruptcy and restructuring experience and represents troubled companies, financial institutions, creditors’ committees, hedge funds and private-equity funds. Shipman & Goodwin LLP announced that Michael T. Conway has joined the firm’s New

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York office as a partner. His practice includes litigation on behalf of financial institutions and companies, and he has represented clients in chapter 11 reorganizations. Mr. Conway has been an ABI member since 2002. MorrisAnderson announced the promotion of Steven F. Agran to principal and share-holder. He oversees the firm’s Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Practice and is based in New York. In his eight years with MorrisAnderson, Mr. Agran has led restructuring, turnaround and interim-management projects for finan-cially distressed companies. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor and a Certified Turnaround Professional. Mr. Agran has been an ABI member since 2011. S ie r raCons te l l a t ion Pa r tne r s , LLC announced that it has opened two new offices in Texas, and its Houston office will be headed by managing director Drew McManigle. He has more than 25 years of experience in operational leadership, business turnarounds and financial restructurings, and his experience includes C-level positions for various industries. Mr. McManigle joined ABI in 2016. Oak Point Partners announced that Jocelyn Keynes Szekretar has joined the firm as vice president and counsel in New York. She has represented financially distressed companies, officers and directors, chapter 7 and 11 trustees, debtors, creditors and official committees of unsecured creditors. Ms. Szekretar has been an ABI member since 2000. Heritage Equity Partners announced that Matthew LoCascio is a 7th Annual M&A Advisor Emerging Leaders Award Winner. A managing director in the firm’s Annapolis, Md., office, he has spoken on panels related to dis-tressed sales, as well as testified in numerous bankruptcy courts regarding sales process and procedure. Mr. LoCascio joined ABI in 2016. Van E. Conway, a turnaround specialist and business consultant, announced the open-ing of his newly formed firm, Van Conway & Partners, LLC, headquartered in Birmingham, Mich. The firm specializes in generating value and restoring performance for clients at every stage of the business lifecycle, with a special focus on the health care industry and munici-palities. In addition, the firm is positioned to bring non-traditional sources of capital to the franchise, retail and hospitality sectors. An ABI member since 1988, Mr. Conway is recognized as a leader in restructuring, bank-ruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, financing, reorganization and management of troubled companies, and litigation support. B. Ri ley Financia l , Inc . announced tha t Perry M. Mandarino has jo ined

B. Riley & Co., LLC to form its newly cre-ated Restructuring Solutions Team. He will serve as senior managing director and head of Corporate Restructuring. Mr. Mandarino brings more than 28 years of corporate restruc-turing experience and will be based in New York. An ABI member since 1992, he was named “Turnaround Consultant of the Year” in 2014 by The M&A Advisor and a “Top 100 Global Restructuring and Turnaround Professional” by Global M&A Network. Brandlin & Associates announced that Martin A. Cauz has joined the firm as a man-aging director. He brings more than 25 years of experience in advising capital sources, manage-ment teams and legal counsel on financial due diligence, forensic investigations, litigation sup-port, workouts and restructurings. Based in New York, Mr. Cauz will build the firm’s East Coast presence. An ABI member since 2008, he previ-ously worked with senior management teams, lenders, equity sponsors, attorneys and other professionals to develop and implement restruc-turing plans and financial turnarounds. Mr. Cauz is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor, and cur-rently serves on the board of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors. Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP announced that James R. Irving has been promoted to partner. Based in Louisville, Ky., his practice includes bankruptcy and restructuring, as well as commercial litigation. Mr. Irving has repre-sented debtors, creditors, committees, trustees and interested third parties in chapter 11 and 7 cases. He has been an ABI member since 2010. Stinson Leonard Street LLP announced that Benjamin Court has joined the firm’s Minneapolis office as a partner in its Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Practice Group. He repre-sents equipment finance organizations, consen-sual, statutory and judgment lienholders, banks,

Jocelyn Keynes Szekretar

Steven F. Agran

Perry M. Mandarino

James R. Irving

Have News?

Send your announcements

to Elizabeth at estoltz@

abiworld.org!

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asset-buyers, lenders and creditors involved in the leasing of personal property, secured trans-actions, distressed asset and workout scenarios, lien-enforcement situations, insolvency proceed-ings, bankruptcy and restructuring matters, and complex litigation throughout the nation. Mr. Court has been an ABI member since 2014.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP announced that New York-based par t -ner Deryck A. Palmer will lead the firm’s Insolvency and Restructuring Practice. He has 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions and has advised domestic and multi-national clients on out-of-court workouts, cor-porate restructurings and bankruptcy cases. Mr. Palmer has been an ABI member since 2001 and services on the advisory board for ABI’s Views from the Bench program.

Ankura Consulting Group announced that it has acquired Marotta Gund Budd & Dzera, LLC (MGBD). MGBD is led by its two prin-cipals and founders, Stephen Marotta and Phillip J. Gund, whose experience includes advising investors, boards of directors and senior management, as well as the creditor constituencies of underperforming companies. Ankura now has more than 100 professionals with offices in Atlanta, Dallas, New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Marotta and Mr. Gund have been ABI members since 2003. Wick Phillips announced that Jason M. Rudd has joined the firm as head of its Bankruptcy Practice in Dallas. He has more than 16 years of experience in the commercial chapter 7 and 11 process, including related liti-gation and corporate transactions. His practice is focused on commercial insolvency, restructuring and bankruptcy. An ABI member since 2003, Mr. Rudd has been recognized by Texas Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” for 2006, 2008-11 and again in 2015. Baker Tilly announced that it has expanded its Forensic, Litigation and Valuation Services practice, which will be led by two-time ABI Resident Scholar Jack F. Williams. His experi-ence includes bankruptcy and distress, as well as fraud, forensics, and national and international insolvencies. Mr. Williams is a professor at Georgia State University College of Law and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. An ABI member since 1990 and a Legacy Member of the ABI Endowment Fund, he is a 2010 recipient of ABI’s Annual Service Award and co-author of Admitting Expert Valuation Evidence Before the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts (ABI 2016), available for pre-order in the ABI Bookstore (abi.org/bookstore). abi

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ABI and Bloomberg Law Host Credit Markets and Restructuring Update

The three-panel seminar held on March 29 at Bloomberg’s Manhattan conference center pro-vided keen insights and guidance to bankruptcy and

restructuring professionals on current developments. More than 180 attended. A panel on the outlook for high-yield debt and coming corporate defaults featured Jamie Baird of PJT Partners Inc., Peter S. Kaufman of Gordian Group LLC and Prof. Stephen Lubben of Seton Hall University School of Law. The session was moderated by Aleksandrs Rozens of Bloomberg.

A second panel provided a fore-cast of where the work will be in 2016 for restruc-turing profession-als, focusing on the energy, health care and retail sec-tors. Expert speak-ers were Hol ly F e l d e r E t l i n ( A l i x P a r t n e r s

LLP; New York), Deborah D. Williamson (Dykema Cox Smith; San Antonio) and Suzanne Koenig (SAK Management Services, LLC; Chicago). The panel was moderated by ABI’s Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle. A final panel looked at the impact one year later of the recommendations from the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11. The panel featured Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey (D. Del.), Stephen D. Lerner (Squire Patton Boggs; Cincinnati) and Danielle Spinelli (WilmerHale; Washington, D.C.).

ABI to Host Free Webinar in May In May, ABI will once again provide free, high-quality programming to its members through the abiLIVE webi-nar series. More than 300 members attended two recent abiLIVE webinars hosted by ABI’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee, and the Secured Credit and Health Care Committees. ABI expects similar attendance at a free webi-nar on May 17 to be hosted by ABI’s Unsecured Trade Creditors’ Committee. The webinar will discuss current developments relating to § 503(b)(9). Understanding the latest in 503(b)(9) claims is a must for any practitioner. Debtor-side attorneys need to appreciate the implications that 503(b)(9) claims may have on their case strategies. Likewise, in order for creditor-side attorneys to maximize recoveries, they must understand what constitutes a 503(b) (9) claim and when they may be asserted both offensively and defensively. Speakers Mark Felger (Cozen O’Connor; Wilmington, Del.), Lucian (Luke) Murley (Saul Ewing LLP; Wilmington, Del.) and Jill Bienstock (Cole Schotz PC; Hackensack, N.J.) will explore the latest hot-button legal issues and the recent trends in 503(b) (9) procedures. Sign up today at abi.org/events (CLE credit will be offered for $25 for this webinar).

New Podcasts on Creditors’ Committees, Puerto Rico and Asset Forfeiture ABI’s Spring 2016 Resident Scholar Prof. Melissa B. Jacoby of the University of North Carolina recent-ly recorded three new podcasts in ABI’s studio. In one podcast, she talks with Mark E. Felger (Cozen O’Connor; Wilmington, Del.) and Paul R. Hage (Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss; Southfield, Mich.) about the challenges that professionals face when representing

What’s Happening at ABI

ABI Vice-President-Publications Alane A. Becket (Becket & Lee, LLP; Malvern, Pa.) (r) received a publication award for her contributions on Best of ABI 2015: The Year in Consumer Bankruptcy from ABI Director of Communications James Carman.

Publication Awards Presented at Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C.

ABI Director of Communications James Carman (far left) and ABI Vice-President-Publications Alane A. Becket (Becket & Lee, LLP; Malvern, Pa.) (far right) presented publication awards to Jennifer McLain McLemore (Christian & Barton, LLP; Richmond, Va.), Henry Jaffe (Pepper Hamilton LLP; Wilmington, Del.) and Laura Davis Jones (Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; Wilmington, Del.) (center, l-r) for their contributions on Representing the Creditors’ Committee: A Guide for Practitioners.

Deborah D. Williamson (Dykema Cox Smith; San Antonio) (c) received a publication award as author of When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy, Second Edition, from ABI Director of Communications James Carman (l) and ABI Vice-President-Publications Alane A. Becket (Becket & Lee, LLP; Malvern, Pa.).

Holly Felder Etlin (l) and Deborah D. Williamson discussed the outlook for retail and energy restructurings during the Bankruptcy Update program at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters.

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creditors’ committees. Felger and Hage are co-authors of ABI’s Representing the Creditors’ Committee: A Guide for Practitioners, available for purchase in ABI’s Bookstore (abi.org/bookstore).

Prof. Jacoby also speaks with Prof. Charles J. Tabb, the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair in Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, about his article prepared for the ABI/Illinois Symposium on Chapter 11 Reform in 2014 entitled, “The Bankruptcy Clause, the Fifth Amendment, and the Limited Rights of Secured Creditors in Bankruptcy.” Prof. Tabb, who served as ABI’s Spring 2014 Resident Scholar, applies his research on bankruptcy and the Fifth Amendment’s “takings” clause to current legislative proposals for remedying Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. To round out her recent podcasts, Prof. Jacoby host-ed Prof. Karen M. Gebbia of Golden Gate University School of Law to discuss clashes between asset-forfei-ture actions and bankruptcy. Prof. Gebbia, who cur-rently chairs the American Bar Association’s Working Group on White Collar Crime, Asset Forfeiture and Business Bankruptcy, talks about her research on the topic and the ABA’s resolution on asset forfeiture and bankruptcy law. These podcasts are available on ABI’s Newsroom site at abi.org/newsroom/podcasts.

CARE CornerThe Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) pro-

gram had a busy April, which is also Financial Literacy Month. CARE kicked off the month by participating in Financial Literacy Day on April 5 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., where we exhibited CARE materi-als alongside more than 60 nonprofit, for-profit and gov-ernment agencies. In addition, CARE programs around

the country conducted numerous presentations during Financial Literacy Month. Here are some of the highlights:

CARE National Board of Directors Meeting CARE held its second board of directors meeting in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting in mid-April. The CARE Executive Committee was elected at the meeting, and we congratulate and thank the following board leadership:

• Chair: Lynn L. Tavenner (Tavenner & Beran, PLC);• Secretary: Patrick A. Clisham (Engelman Berger, PC);• Treasurer: Allen J. Guon (Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC); and• At-Large: Ted King (Frost Brown Todd LLC).

CARE also hosted an informational session during ABI’s national conference to share information about our work and to recruit new volunteers.

CARE Chicago This spring, CARE Chicago has 26 presentations scheduled, 12 of which will take place in new venues. These presentations will be conducted by core volunteers and with the support of the employees of Chicago-based TransUnion. Additional partners include Communities

In April, ABI Editor-at-Large Bill Rochelle sat down with distinguished ABI members to discuss bankruptcy’s hottest topics. Guests included (top row, l-r) Corinne Ball (Jones Day; New York), Robert J. Feinstein (Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP; New York), District Court Judge Pamela Pepper (E.D. Wis.; Milwaukee), Patricia A. Redmond (Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA; Miami), (second row, l-r) Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath (D. Del.; Wilmington), retired Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (ABI’s new President-Elect), Edward S. Weisfelner (Brown Rudnick LLP; New York), Deborah D. Williamson (Dykema Cox Smith; San Antonio) and (bottom left) Bankruptcy Judge Gregg W. Zive (D. Nev.; Reno). These videos are available through ABI’s social media channels.

ABI Members Participate in “Quick Takes” Discussions at Annual Spring Meeting

CARE Executive Director Anna Flores (r) leads the informational session with CARE Staff Assistant Charles Bowles during ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting. They also manned an exhibitor booth and chatted with ABI members about CARE chapters in their areas.

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ABI Vice President-Development Ted Gavin presented Endowment awards to (top row, l-r) 30th Anniversary Circle donor Mark G. Stingley (Bryan Cave LLP; Kansas City, Mo.); Lifetime Members Douglas M. Foley (McGuireWoods LLP; Washington, D.C.), Soneet R. Kapila (KapilaMukamal, LLP; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), (middle row, l-r) Prof. Nancy B. Rapoport (UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law; Las Vegas) and Donald A. Workman (BakerHostetler; Washington, D.C.); Benefactor Jason S. Brookner (Gray Reed & McGraw, PC; Dallas); and (bottom row, l-r) Sustaining Members Lisa Sommers Gretchko (Howard & Howard Attorneys, PLLC; Royal Oak, Mich.) and Oak Point Partners (represented by Jocelyn Keynes Szekretar and David Linn).

Endowment Donors Recognized at Annual Spring Meeting in Nation’s Capital

in Schools of Chicago, the Chicago Public Schools Administration and Operation Hope. CARE Chicago also recently hosted a reception for its volunteers. This event could not have been made possible without the efforts of the chapter’s new judicial leader, Hon. Janet S. Baer (N.D. Ill.), and the CARE Chicago steering committee, which includes Joseph U. Schorer of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and Erica Wax and Shara Cornell (N.D. Ill.). More information about the program and how to become a volunteer is available at carechicago.org.

CARE Greater Washington, D.C. The CARE Greater Washington, D.C., chapter gave multiple presentations on budgeting and savings and the

responsible use of credit to Walt Whitman High School and T.C. Williams High School during the spring semes-ter. T.C. Williams High School is the high school made famous in the movie Remember the Titans. These pre-sentations reached nearly 200 students, and the local chapter has been asked back to both schools for the fol-lowing school year. Special thanks go to Jack Haake of Foley & Lardner LLP, Kathryn Z. Keane of McGuireWoods LLP, Paul D. Pearlstein, and Claudia R. Tobler of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP for their assistance with the CARE presentations over the past few months. We also recognize CARE’s Staff Assistant, Charles Bowles, for serving as the chapter’s volunteer coordinator.

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CARE South CarolinaThe CARE chapter in South Carolina continues to

expand its efforts around the state. The program has devel-oped biweekly CARE presentations at the Family Shelter in Columbia, S.C., and conducts a series of presentations at state public libraries. For Financial Literacy Month, the chapter did a series of CARE presentations at Lexington County Public Libraries.

Jane Harris Downey of the Moore Taylor Law Firm, Bankruptcy Judge John E. Waites (D. S.C.) and Sarah Kistler have spearheaded CARE South Carolina’s efforts. Their work, along with numerous local volunteers, has made CARE South Carolina one of the fastest-growing chapters in the nation.

CARE Central Florida With the support of CARE’s national office, the CARE Central Florida team, lead by Bankruptcy Judge Catherine Peek McEwen (M.D. Fla.), hosted a meet-ing with community leaders, including public and private high school administrators, to discuss youth financial lit-eracy initiatives and how to expand the CARE program with their support.

CARE Southern California The Southern District of California CARE chapter has continued its outreach efforts this year to reach more financially vulnerable young people with their financial literacy program. This year, they expect to reach 1,200 high school students with CARE presentations. With the help of some newly recruited volunteers, they have also arranged to provide several CARE presentations to U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. They also helped San Diego Unified School District prepare its financial literacy curriculum that is now mandated by the State of California, and are scheduled to give a presentation to women in prison who are about to be released in con-junction with a National Association of Women Judges outreach program.

Get Involved with CARE! CARE will be exhibiting at upcoming ABI conferences and other events throughout the year. Upcoming events include the California Bankruptcy Forum (May 20-22; Indian Wells, Calif.) and the Central States Bankruptcy Workshop (June 16-19; Lake Geneva, Wis.). Register for these and other ABI programs at abi.org/events. Stop by the CARE exhibit booth at ABI events through-out the year, or contact CARE Executive Director Anna Flores at aflores@care4yourfuture.org or Staff Assistant Charles Bowles at cbowles@care4yourfuture.org to learn more about how you can start a CARE program in your area, serve as a volunteer or make a charitable contribution. Follow us on Twitter at @care4yourfuture, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/careforyourfuture, join our LinkedIn group at linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=6998035 or visit our website at care4yourfuture.org. If you are interest-ed in starting a local CARE program or becoming a CAREvolunteer, contact Anna or Charles.

ABI Endowment Fund UpdateSilent Auction at ASM Raises Funds for Endowment During ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., several attendees participated in a silent auction to benefit the ABI Endowment. Items being auctioned included electronics, jewelry and discounted ABI confer-ence registrations. Thanks go to the following people for bidding on items: Daniel Allan (Debtwire), Bernadette M. Barron (Barron Business Consulting), David D. Bird (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, D. Del.), Donald F. Campbell (Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, PC), Dian Gilmore (American Board of Certification), Mary Jo Heston (Lane Powell PC), Reginald W. Jackson (Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP), Raymond T. Lyons (Fox Rothschild LLP), Rob McDonald (Duff & Phelps), Martin Pichinson (Sherwood Partners, Inc.), Sharon Roth (Walker, Truesdell, Roth & Associates, Inc.) and Christopher A. Ward (Polsinelli). ABI also thanks Gavin/Solmonese LLP, Jerry M. Markowitz (Markowitz, Ringel, Trusty + Hartog, P.A.) and Robert P. Reynolds (Reynolds, Reynolds & Little, LLC) for donating items used in the auction. If you would like to donate an item to be used in a future Endowment auction, the cost of that item will be included in your total Endowment contribution. To donate an item, con-tact us or visit ABI’s Amazon Wish List, available at amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=AF7BMI4BS6SE1. Don’t forget that donations are tax-deductible and can be paid over five years. Please consider signing up for our automatic monthly giving program!

Yoder Tournament to Benefit Endowment, Children’s Trust The ABI Endowment once again paired up with the Steven M. Yoder Children’s Trust on May 2 to host a golf tournament at Hartefeld National Golf Club in Avondale, Pa. Thanks go to event sponsors Jim Bird (Polsinelli), Gavin/Solmonese LLC (Amy and Ted Gavin), Morris James LLP (Peter Ladig), Rust Omni (Brian Osborne and Paul Deutch), UpShot Services, LLC (Travis Vandell), Christopher A. Ward (Polsinelli), Wilmington Trust and A. Jeffrey Zappone (Conway MacKenzie). Interested in sponsoring Endowment-related events? Contact ABI Marketing Manager Sharisa L. Sloan at ssloan@abi.org or (703) 739-0800.

New Endowment Donors RecognizedLifetime Member: Soneet R. Kapila KapilaMukamal, LLPBenefactor: Irving H. Picard BakerHostetler LLPSustaining Member: Susan H. Seabury Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. abi

On p. 30 of the April 2016 issue, a feature by Eduardo J. Glas was incorrectly titled “Lyondell Bucks Precedents that Say § 548 Has Extraterritorial Reach.” The title should have been “Lyondell Bucks Precedents that Say § 548 Has No Extraterritorial Reach.” The online archives have been corrected, and we apologize for this error.

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Scenes from the 34th Annual Spring Meeting

A flurry of activity between sessions, the main lobby featured refreshment breaks, exhibitor booths and the ABI Bookstore. ABI’s Executive Committee, chaired by Jim Shea,

met to discuss initiatives for the upcoming year.A new event was speed networking, which provided one-on-one rapid-fire meetings with other attendees.

A panel for young professionals has the attention of Christian Pereyda (University of Alabama School of Law; Tuscaloosa, Ala.) (l).

Rachel Strickland (Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; New York) (l) and G. Eric Brunstad, Jr. (Dechert LLP; Hartford, Conn.) were among those participating in the Great Debates.

Christopher A. Ward (Polsinelli; Wilmington, Del.) gets ready for the ABI Golf Tournament at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Va.

Prof. Michelle M. Harner (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law; Baltimore) gave the Board of Directors an update on the Chapter 11 Commission as Bankruptcy Judge Bruce A. Harwood (D. N.H.) looks on.

The Opening Reception, held at the Old Ebbitt Grill’s atrium, featured a rooftop VIP reception (below) overlooking the Washington Monument and White House.

Visit flickr. com/photos/abiworld

for more ASM photos!

“Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace delivered the luncheon keynote and met with ABI President-Elect Jeff Pomerantz (l) and ABI President Jim Shea (inset).

ABI Vice President-Membership R. Scott Williams (Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, PA; Birmingham, Ala.) (at left) presented the “Outstanding Membership Committee” award to Consumer Bankruptcy Committee Co-Chair Elizabeth Gunn (Virginia Office of the Attorney General; Richmond, Va.) (l) and “Committee Person of the Year” award to Commercial Fraud Committee Co-Chair Kathy Bazoian Phelps (Diamond McCarthy LLP; Los Angeles).

ABI staffers such as Marketing Coordinator Taylor Wickel (l) guided attendees like former and current ABI board members Richard M. Meth (Fox Rothschild LLP; Roseland, N.J.) (c) and Annerose Tashiro (Schultze & Braun GmbH; Achern, Germany), respectively, with patriotic-themed balloons from the JW Marriott to the Opening Reception at Old Ebbitt Grill.

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Jorge L. San Miguel (l) and Sonia Colón of Ferraiuoli LLC browse the latest titles available in the ABI Bookstore.

Charles A. Beckham, Jr. (Haynes and Boone, LLP; Houston), Rebecca A. Roof (AlixPartners, LLP; New York), John-Paul Hanson (Houlihan Lokey; New York), Jonathan A. Mitchell (Zolfo Cooper; New York) and Steven D. Simms (FTI Consulting, Inc.; New York ) (l-r) discussed trends in the E&P industry and common restructuring issues.

ABI Vice President-Publications Alane A. Becket and John Rao (National Consumer Law Center; Boston) (l-r) participated in a CFPB panel with Jon T. Peterson (Ballard Spahr LLP; Philadelphia) (not pictured).

ABI’s version of “Hollywood Judicial Squares,” a new highlight to this year’s Annual Spring Meeting, featured celebrity judges delivering comical answers to help contestants forge a winning tic-tac-toe (below and right).

Former ABI Presidents Geoffrey L. Berman, James T. Markus, Brian L. Shaw, Andrew W. Caine, Michael P. Richman, James Patrick Shea, Patricia A. Redmond and Ford Elsaesser (l-r) pose on the hotel’s sunny rooftop balcony overlooking Washington, D.C.

Jane Sullivan (Epiq Systems, Inc.; New York) was part of a committee panel on public securities and the bankruptcy plan process.

ABI’s President-Elect, Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (ret.), led a panel on thorny ethical issues for consumer lawyers.

A special edition of “Eye on Bankruptcy” featured Prof. Michelle M. Harner (l) interviewing John A. Menke, assistant chief counsel to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (c), and Jean-Pierre Aubry of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (r) on the looming crisis in public and private pensions. Outgoing ABI President

Jim Shea (l) passed the gavel to his successor, Jeffrey N. Pomerantz of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, during the Final Night Reception, which featured “Saturday Night Live” alum Dennis Miller (pictured above).

Nancy Bello (l) received the ABI Law Review Editor-in-Chief Award from Vice President-Education Douglas E. Deutsch (Chadbourne & Parke LLP; New York).

ABI Director Paul H. Deutch (Rust Omni; New York) spoke on how to use social media to help your practice.

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New ABI Officers and Board of Directors

Jeffrey N. Pomerantz of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Los Angeles) has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to

be President for a one-year term, which began during ABI’s 2016 Annual Spring Meeting, held April 14-17. An ABI member since 2000, he is formerly ABI’s Vice President-Education and a member of ABI’s Executive Committee, and has served as a co-chair of ABI’s Southwest Bankruptcy Conference and Bankruptcy Battleground West conference. Pomerantz is a partner with Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, where his prac-tice includes representing companies and creditors’ committees in complex in- and out-of-court financial restructurings and is general ly focused on middle-market companies with annual revenues ranging from $25 million-$300 million. He is the author of “The Bare Necessities of Critical Vendor Motions—It’s a Jungle Out There,” 13 Journal of Bankruptcy Law & Practice (2004), and has lectured or been a panelist for ABI, the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum, Financial Lawyers Conference and Credit Managers Association. Pomerantz received his undergraduate degree Phi Beta Kappa and his J.D. from New York University, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. Retired Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff (N.D. Ill.; Chicago) has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to be President-Elect. He will become president for a one-year term, starting at ABI’s 2017 Annual Spring Meeting. An ABI member since 1995, he is a member of ABI’s Board of Directors, a regu-lar speaker at ABI conferences, and co-chaired ABI’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee. ABI’s annual consumer bankruptcy conference in Chicago was renamed in Judge Wedoff’s honor last year. Judge Wedoff served as a bankruptcy judge in the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago from 1987-2015 and as chief judge from 2002-07. After graduating from law school, he became a partner and member of the execu-tive committee of the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block. He has served as the chair of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules and was a member of the working group that drafted the means test forms adopted by the Judicial Conference for the implementa-tion of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. He also drafted the model chapter 13 plan currently used in the Northern District of Illinois. He has served as a governor and secretary of the

National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, for which he served as president for 2013. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference. Judge Wedoff received the Excellence in Education Award from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in 1995. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Barbara J. Houser (N.D. Texas; Dallas) has been named to a two-year term as ABI Vice President-Research Grants. An ABI member since 2003, Judge Houser is a member of ABI’s Board of Directors, has served as co-chair for ABI’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, and is a frequent speaker at ABI events and a con-tributor to the ABI Journal. Sworn in as a bankruptcy judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in 2000, Judge Houser previously was an attorney and shareholder at Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay PC in Dallas. While at Sheinfeld, she led the firm’s representation of clients in a variety of significant chapter 11 cases, including as her last major case the firm’s representation of Dow Corning Corporation — one of the largest chap-ter 11 cases ever filed. Judge Houser was elected a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy in 1994 and currently serves as its vice president. She was elected to membership in the National Bankruptcy Conference in 1996 and also serves as a member of its Executive Committee. In addition, Judge Houser is a past president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. A frequent author and lecturer on corporate restructuring and insolvency law, she is a visit-ing professor of law at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University, where she teaches courses on creditors’ rights. Judge Houser is a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy (15th Ed.) and the Collier Bankruptcy Manual (3d Ed.), and the National Law Journal named her one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in America in 1998. She received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Law School. Michael L. Bernstein of Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.) has been named to a two-year term as ABI Treasurer. An ABI member since 1994 and a contributing author to ABI’s Bankruptcy in Practice, Fifth Edition (available for purchase at abi.org/bookstore), Bernstein also regularly speaks at ABI events and con-tributes articles to the ABI Journal. He succeeds John Tittle, Jr. of Tittle Advisory Group, Inc. (Irving, Texas), whose term expired.

Jeffrey N. PomerantzABI President

Hon. Eugene R. Wedoff ABI President-Elect

Hon. Barbara J. Houser ABI Vice President-Research/Grants

Michael L. BernsteinTreasurer

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Bernstein is chair of Arnold & Porter LLP’s national bankruptcy and corporate restructuring practice. He represents secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ commit-tees, bondholders, investors, asset-purchas-ers, debtors and other parties in a wide vari-ety of bankruptcy and workout matters, and in related litigation throughout the United States. He is consistently distinguished as one of the top bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers in Washington, D.C., by Chambers USA Leading Lawyers for Business. He has testified before Congress as an independent expert on the status of collective bargain-ing agreements, retiree and pension benefits, and executive compensation in bankruptcy. Bernstein received his B.A. from Brandeis University and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.

Jay M. Goffman of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York) has been elected to serve as an at-large member of ABI’s Executive Committee. An ABI member since 2003, Goffman has served as the co-chair for ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference and is a frequent speaker at ABI events. He will serve a term of two years as an at-large Executive Committee member.

Goffman is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and co-head of its Corporate Restructuring Group, where he represents public and private corporations in out-of-court restructurings and chapter 11 cases for U.S. and international companies. He has also represented financial institutions, creditor committees, bank groups, bondhold-ers, equity-holders, investment funds and investors in all types of distressed invest-ments. Goffman was a pioneer in the use of pre-packaged and pre-arranged restructuring and is widely regarded as one of the leaders in the field. He also advises officers and directors of public companies involved in debt restruc-turings and on matters related to corporate governance and fiduciary duty.

Goffman has been included in, among others, Turnarounds & Workouts (top 10 U.S. bankruptcy attorneys), Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers and The Deal: Super Lawyers, and has been the recipient of several awards, including the “2009 M&A Advisors Award for Out-of-Court Reorganization of the Year” and the “2009 M&A Advisors Real Estate Restructuring of the Year Award.” In addi-tion, he was recently named among “The Decade’s Most Influential Lawyers” by The National Law Journal. Goffman received his B.S. from the State University of New York at

Binghamton and his J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he served on the University of North Carolina Law Review. Mark G. Stingley of Bryan Cave LLP (Kansas City, Mo.) has been elected to serve as an at-large member of ABI’s Executive Committee. An ABI member since 1988, S t ing ley co-cha i r s ABI’s Midwes te rn Bankruptcy Institute, is a frequent speaker at ABI programs, has written articles for the ABI Journal, and has been an active member of ABI’s Business Reorganization and Secured Credit Committees. He also served on the Executory Contracts Committee for the ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11. He will serve a term of two years as an at-large Executive Committee member. Stingley is a member of the Bankruptcy, Restructuring and Creditors’ Rights and Commercial Litigation Client Service Groups at Bryan Cave LLP in its Kansas City, Mo., office. He also serves as litigation coordinator of its Commercial Litigation Client Service Group. Stingley represents lending institu-tions in the areas of litigation and insolvency, as well as debtors in workout and bankrupt-cy-related matters. In addition, he has repre-sented a number of commercial and lending clients in real estate and commercial litiga-tion cases in both state and federal courts in several jurisdictions. Stingley was previ-ously an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law and co-authored a chapter on composition agree-ments in Thomson West’s Non-Bankruptcy Alternatives. Named a “Super Lawyer” in Missouri, he is also annually listed in Kansas City’s Best of the Bar and in The Best Lawyers in America. He received his J.D. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and his B.S. from William Jewell College. Eric W. Anderson of Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP (Atlanta) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1995, Anderson has been an advisory board member of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop and a contributing author to the ABI Journal. He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. Anderson concentrates his practice in bank-ruptcy, workouts, financial restructuring and commercial finance. He regularly represents banks, financial institutions, secured asset-based lenders, investors, trustees, debtors-in-possession, and other parties in bankruptcy and financial restructuring matters. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy (Eleventh Circuit Council; Chair of Eleventh Circuit Educational Programs and Law

Jay M. GoffmanExecutive Committee At Large

Mark G. StingleyExecutive Committee At Large

Eric W. Anderson ABI Director

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School Outreach Committee) and is a mem-ber of the State Bars of Georgia (Bankruptcy Section) and Wisconsin. Anderson has been named a “Leading Lawyer for Business” by Chambers USA, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and in Who’s Who Legal: Restructuring & Insolvency. He received his B.A. with distinction from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982 and his J.D. cum laude from University of Wisconsin Law School in 1986. Jessica C.K. Boelter of Sidley Austin LLP (Chicago) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2011, she is a co-chair of ABI’s Mid-Level Professional Development Program, an advisory board mem-ber of ABI’s Views from the Bench conference and a frequent speaker at ABI events. She will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. Boelter is a partner in Sidley Austin’s Corporate Reorganization and Bankruptcy group and represents clients in a wide variety of in-court and out-of-court restructuring mat-ters. Her broad range of experience includes, among other things, negotiating DIP financ-ing, cash collateral and exit financing pack-ages; drafting, negotiating and implementing plans of reorganization; negotiating debt and equity documents for reorganized compa-nies; drafting and negotiating sale documents and pleadings in connection with § 363 asset sales; strategic planning for debt-restructuring alternatives and chapter 11 filings; preparing debtors for chapter 11 filings; and structur-ing exit strategies for chapter 11 proceed-ings. Boelter has received numerous recog-nitions, including being named by Global Restructuring Review to its “40 under 40 2016” list, which featured 40 of the world’s leading restructuring specialists aged 40 and under. Turnarounds & Workouts selected Boelter as one of the Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers for 2015, and Law360 named her a Rising Star as one of the nation’s top eight bankruptcy lawyers under the age of 40. She received her B.A. in 1999 in political science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and her J.D. magna cum laude in 2002 from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review. Ch ie f Bankruptcy Judge Danie l P . Collins (D. Ariz.; Phoenix) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI mem-ber since 1998, Judge Collins has been a frequent speaker at ABI events and was a member of ABI’s Civility Task Force, which recently released its Report on Standards of

Professional Courtesy and Conduct. He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. Judge Collins was appointed to the bench in 2013 and was elevated to Chief Judge in 2014. Prior to joining the bench, he was a founding partner of Collins, May, Potenza, Baran & Gillespie, and prior to that he was a partner at Leonard, Collins & Kelly. His practice dealt primarily in commercial bankruptcy, represent-ing creditors, trustees and chapter 11 debtors. Judge Collins graduated from the University of Arizona in 1980 with a B.S. in business admin-istration and received his J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in 1983. Lisa J. Donahue of AlixPartners LLP (New York) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2000, Donahue is a past co-chair of ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference and is a frequent speaker at ABI events. She will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. Donahue serves as managing director and global leader of North American Turnaround & Restructuring Services at AlixPartners, LLC and has more than 23 years of both restructur-ing and operational turnaround and transfor-mation experience. She has been serving as the chief restructuring officer of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority since Sept. 8, 2014. Donahue has extensive experience in business plan development, operational alignment, business transformation, cash management and cost-reduction, negotiation, situational analysis, and debt restructuring for domestic and international organizations. She is a member of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Donahue was named one of New York’s “40 under 40” by Crain’s New York Business in 2002 and “Woman of the Year” by IWIRC in 2007. She received a degree in finance with a minor in accounting from Florida State University in 1988. Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain (S.D.N.Y.; White Plains) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2000, he has been a judicial chair of ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy conference and a frequent speaker at ABI events. Judge Drain also served on an advisory committee for ABI’s Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11. He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. Judge Drain was appointed as a Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York in May 2002. Prior to his appointment, he was a

Jessica C.K. Boelter ABI Director

Lisa J. Donahue ABI Director

Hon. Robert D. Drain ABI Director

Hon. Daniel P. Collins ABI Director

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partner in the bankruptcy department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he represented debtors, trustees, secured and unsecured creditors, official and unofficial creditors’ committees, and buyers of distressed businesses and distressed debt in chapter 11 cases, out-of-court restructurings and bank-ruptcy-related litigation. Judge Drain was also actively involved in several transnational insol-vency matters. He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the International Insolvency Institute, and is a past member and secretary of the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. An adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law, he has lectured and written on numerous bankruptcy-related topics. Judge Drain received his B.A. cum laude from Yale University and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar for three years.

Soneet R. Kapila of KapilaMukamal, LLP (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) has been elect-ed to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1994, Kapila is a co-chair of ABI’s Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop, a contributing author to ABI’s Fraud and Forensics: Piercing Through the Deception in a Commercial Fraud Case (available for pur-chase at abi.org/bookstore), a regular speaker at ABI events and an active member in the ABI Anthony H.N. Schnelling Endowment Fund. He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors.

K a p i l a i s a f o u n d i n g p a r t n e r o f KapilaMukamal, LLP (formerly Kapila & Company). For more than 20 years, he has concentrated his efforts in the areas insol-vency, fiduciary and creditors’ rights mat-ters. He represents other bankruptcy trust-ees, debtors and both secured and unsecured creditors in and out of bankruptcy court. Kapila is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, and has been named one of the Power Leaders in Law and Accounting by the South Florida Business Journal and Best Trustee by Daily Business Review’s Best of 2012. He has also been a Key Partners Award Honoree by the South F lor ida Business Journal. He received his M.B.A. from the Cranfield School of Management Studies in England.

Deirdre A. McGuinness of Epiq Systems, Inc. (New York) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 1999 , she i s an adv i so ry board mem-ber of ABI’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference, a frequent speaker at ABI events

and a contributor to the ABI Journal. She will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. McGuinness has been managing direc-tor of Epiq Systems, Inc. since Jan. 1, 2016. She previously was with Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLP (KCC), where she served as managing director of corporate restruc-turing services. Prior to KCC, she was a managing director with Wells Fargo Capital Finance in New York, focusing on distressed lending with expertise in providing financ-ing solutions for companies facing challeng-es. She served as a U.S. Trustee for Region 2 and oversaw the administration of some of the largest and most complex chapter 11 restructurings, including Delphi Corporation, Delta Airlines, Dana Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Refco Inc., Calpine Corporation and St. Vincent Medical Center. McGuinness received her J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law and her B.A. from New York University. She is licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut, and is also an adjunct professor of law in St. John’s University’s LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program. Christopher A. Ward of Polsinel l i (Wilmington, Del.) has been elected to ABI’s Board of Directors. An ABI member since 2003, Ward is the chair and education director of ABI’s Technology and Intellectual Property Committee, a member of the Mid-Atlantic ABI Endowment Committee and a co-author of ABI’s The Chief Restructuring Officers Guide to Bankruptcy: Views from Leading Insolvency Professionals (available for pur-chase at abi.org/bookstore). He will serve a term of three years on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors. As co-chair of Polsinelli’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring practice and manag-ing shareholder of its Delaware office, Ward routinely tackles financial restructurings and litigation. He has significant experience in representing chapter 11 debtors and unse-cured creditors’ committees, which allows him to provide his clients with compressive insight into both sides of the restructuring industry. Ward is ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Delaware), has been selected for inclusion in Delaware Super Lawyers and in The Best Lawyers in America for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and was featured in Delaware Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2012. He received his B.A. from Moravian College in 1995 and his J.D. cum laude from Widener University School of Law in 1999. abi

Soneet R. Kapila ABI Director

Deirdre A. McGuinness ABI Director

Christopher A. Ward ABI Director

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Letter to the EditorAnother View: Trustee Sales in First Circuit

By David G. Baker1

The First Circuit’s decision in In re Traverse2 has resulted in con-fusion and consternation because

it dramatically reorders the relationship between trustees and debtors, particu-larly in chapter 7 cases.3 In essence, the First Circuit held that when a trustee avoids an unperfected lien and pre-serves it for the benefit of the estate, all that the trustee can sell is the lien itself — not the property — when there is no equity available over the perfected liens and the debtor’s exemption. Indeed, the court in Shubert, supra, stated at a sub-sequent hearing in that case that “[e] verybody’s scratch-ing their heads over Traverse.” As might be predicted, as Virginia Traverse’s attorney at all litigation stages of the case (but not the underlying bankruptcy case), the First Circuit got it exactly right,4 and in doing so, correctly applied both state and bankruptcy law to the facts before it. In his article in the November 2015 issue,5 Edmond J. Ford of Ford & McPartlin, PA (a chapter 7 trustee) sug-gests that the First Circuit cannot mean what it appears to say in Traverse. On the contrary — the decision was true to the statutory language, which, of course, is always the starting point in statutory interpretation.6 As the First Circuit said, § 544 allows a trustee to avoid an unper-fected lien and § 551 preserves it for the benefit of the estate, but the avoided lien (and its value) is all that the trustee receives. The fundamental legal principles are not complex, but apparently have been misunderstood for so long that the error has become ingrained in courts’ and trustees’ think-ing about the issue.7 Properly understood, the question is not whether the trustee may sell property, but what is the property that may be sold. Phrased that way, the answer is obvious: The trustee can only sell property of the estate.

The logical error stems from the conflation of “the property” with “the debtor’s interest in property.” Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 541(a), only “interests of the debtor” come into the bankruptcy estate as of the petition date; some other interests (such as the recovery of preferences or an avoidance of unperfected liens) only come into the estate later, if at all. Elsewhere in the Bankruptcy Code, the statutes also speak of “interests” in property. The U.S. Supreme Court itself has consistently spoken of “interests” in property.8 Thus, it is incorrect to speak of “the property” coming into the estate. This is true even if there are no liens or encumbrances on the property, as this would mean only that the value of the debtor’s interest is equal to the prop-erty’s fair-market value.9

Where there are other entities with interests in the property, those other interests do not come into the estate on the petition date. They can be brought into the estate pursuant to a trustee’s “strong-arm” powers under Part V of the Bankruptcy Code, but those property interests are separate and distinct from the debtor’s interest. The Code permits a debtor to exempt his/her interest in the property, pursuant to § 522. An exemption withdraws the debtor’s interest from the bankruptcy estate,10 which means that the trustee cannot administer or liquidate the debtor’s interest since he/she no longer owns or controls it. As Schwab makes clear, a debtor must be sure to claim the maximum dollar amount legally possible,11 and it is only the unencumbered, nonexempt value of the debtor’s inter-est that can be administered, aside from any other interest in the property recovered by the trustee. With this background, Traverse becomes more com-prehensible. The value of Traverse’s home was scheduled at $223,500, which no one challenged. She listed the first mortgage of $185,777.30 as unsecured, since she knew it was unrecorded and therefore avoidable, and a perfected second mortgage of $29,431.04. She also claimed the maximum dollar value available under the Massachusetts homestead exemption ($500,000) as exempt. The arith-metic is clear: Adding the second, unavoidable mortgage

1 Aside from Traverse, the author represented the petitioner in Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, et al., 127 S. Ct. 1105 (2007), among other published decisions.

2 753 F.3d 19 (1st Cir. 2014), cert. denied sub nom., DeGiacomo v. Traverse, 135 S. Ct. 459 (2014).3 See, e.g., In re Dupuis, 524 B.R. 1 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2015); In re Shubert, 535 B.R. 488 (Bankr.

D. Mass. 2015); In re Spodris, 516 B.R. 196 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2014); Joseph v. Cooper, Case No. 1:14-CV-223 (W.D.N.C. 2015); In re Soppick, 516 B.R. 733 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 2014); see also In re Maisonet, Adv. Pro. No. 14-00139 (Bankr. D.P.R. April 10, 2015) (distinguishing Traverse).

4 With one minor quibble. In footnote 4, the court said that “a debtor who remains current on her loan payments must also enter into a valid reaffirmation agreement in order to prevent a mortgagee from foreclosing....” This is an incorrect statement of law and conflicts with the First Circuit’s own decision in In re Jamo, 283 F.3d 392 (1st Cir. 2002), in which the court held that reaffirmation requires a contractu-al “meeting of the minds” (i.e., the mortgagee must agree, contractually, to reaffirmation, which would not necessarily be the original terms). Absent reaffirmation, the mortgagee is left to exercise its in rem rights, which, as Traverse recognized, cannot be exercised as a matter of state law in the absence of a default under the promissory note. Furthermore, Massachusetts law requires that the mortgagee also be the holder of the note at the time of foreclosure. Eaton v. FNMA, 462 Mass. 569 (2012). Since the trust-ee is not the holder of the note, he could not foreclose even if Traverse were in default, and conversely, neither could the holder of the note since it is not the mortgagee. The circuit denied Traverse’s petition for rehearing on that point, stating essentially that the footnote was dicta.

5 Edmond J. Ford, “Trustee Sales in the First Circuit,” XXXIV ABI Journal 11, 14-15, 69, November 2015, available at abi.org/abi-journal.

6 See, e.g., Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 540 U.S. 26 (2004).7 Not unlike Law v. Siegel, 134 S. Ct. 1188 (2014), which dramatically cabined the equitable powers of

bankruptcy judges, limiting them to usage only when doing so does not contravene the express statu-tory provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

8 See, e.g., Schwab v. Reilly, 130 S. Ct. 2652 (2010) (discussing exemptible value of debtor’s interest in property).

9 See, e.g., BFP v. Resolution Trust Corp., 511 U.S. 931 (1994).10 Owen v. Owen, 500 U.S. 305 (1991).11 Debtor’s counsel often claim as exempt only the value of the property above other interests in

the property, even if the statutory amount of the exemption could be higher. For example, the Massachusetts homestead exemption is $500,000, but if the equity above the mortgage is estimated at only $100,000, only $100,000 would be claimed as exempt. One bankruptcy judge (who has since retired) has expressed bewilderment at that thinking, the reason for which is precisely what caused problems for the debtor in Schwab.

David G. BakerLaw Office of David G. Baker; Boston

The fundamental legal principles are not complex, but apparently have been misunderstood for so long that the error has become ingrained in courts’ and trustees’ thinking about the issue.

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January (partial list)Jesus Gomez MartinezNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Matt MayerNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Robert W. MayoMayo Auction and Realty, Inc.Belton, Mo.

Robin McDonaldNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Francisco MendezLLMD, PSCSan Juan, Puerto Rico

Michael MillerNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Nathan MillsErnst & YoungRoad Town, British Virgin Islands

Lydia MorrishNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Omar MustafaNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Shauna NaousDigital RiskColorado Springs, Colo.

Brad NasoMelville CapitalSherman Oaks, Calif.

Steve NichollsU.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Colo.)Denver

Kenneth E. NobleHolland & Knight LLPBoston

Ryan OleskiSummit Investment Management LLCDenver

Lucas PalocciNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Chris PascaleNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Geoffrey T. PavlicSteinberg Shapiro & ClarkSouthfield, Mich.

Juliel PerezJose R. Carrion, Chapter 13 TrusteeSan Juan, Puerto Rico

Anna PerryMaples and CalderGeorge Town, Cayman Islands

Karen PerseDouglas Kiel Chapter 13 TrusteesDenver

Luis PillichVersa Capital Management, LLCPhiladelphia

Don J. PoolWild, Carter & TiptonFresno, Calif.

Mohamed PoonjaPoonja & Co.Los Altos, Calif.

Diane N. RallisWorcester, Mass.

Diana A. RayGlenwood Springs, Colo.

Jeremy ReckmeyerAndrews Kurth LLPNew York

Sandra Epperson RichEpperson & Rich, PATampa, Fla.

Anne E. Riordan-TunnellU.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Colo.)Denver

Melissa L. RiversSilbiger & SilbigerBaltimore

Alexandra RodriguezJose R. Carrion, Chapter 13 TrusteeSan Juan, Puerto Rico

Marta E. RodriguezKevane Gran ThorntonSan Juan, Puerto Rico

John RollinsNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Lisa RossiKeen-Summit Capital Partners LLCMelville, N.Y.

Gregory A. RougeauDiamond McCarthy LLPSan Francisco

Joseph M. SantoraIronTraxCleveland

Vicky SanvilleNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Brad W. SchachtOtten Johnson Robinson, et al.Denver

James P. Seery, Jr.River Birch Capital, LLCNew York

Sonja M. ShahEskew LawIndianapolis

Jay ShallenbergerM&A Tax SolutionsAtlanta

Amit ShankarNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Kathleen SherwinNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Lindsey SimonKilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLPAtlanta

Inder SinghAtlantic First Realty, INCMontclair, N.J.

Ken SinghNYU, Stern School of BusinessNew York

Ryan N. SingletonLeavengood, Nash, Dauval & BoyleSt. Petersburg, Fla.

Liza SkorokhodNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York

Joseph H. SmolinskyWeil, Gotshal & Manges LLPNew York

Timothy SparksNYU Stern School of BusinessNew York. abi

New Members

to the exemption, there was no equity in the property for a trustee to administer. Viewed this way, the Traverse court recognized that if the trustee sold Traverse’s home, the only entities that would get paid would be the second mortgagee and Traverse (and conceivably, a real estate broker). The trustee, arguably would not be paid unless he could make a deal with the second mortgagee, since Traverse’s exempt interest had been withdrawn from the estate and, as Law v. Siegel makes clear, exempt prop-erty cannot be touched by the trustee or any other entity, except in very limited circumstances. General unsecured creditors (including the unperfected first mortgagee) would get nothing. Ford was correct in his article that there is nothing in § 363 that overcomes this problem, but for another reason as well. Once the debtor’s interest in the property has been exempted, and thus withdrawn from the estate, the trustee cannot sell that interest. The result is that the trustee can-not convey a good and clear title to anyone who would purchase “the property”; the trustee could only convey the mortgagee’s interest in the property, which he avoided

and thereby “stepped into the shoes” of the mortgagee. Realistically, the only entity that probably would want to buy that interest is the (former) mortgagee, or possibly the title insurance company. The question then becomes: What is the value of the mortgagee’s interest?12 The trustee cannot reform the mort-gage in order to perfect it.13 It is not necessarily the value of the payments remaining under the promissory note,14 nor is the trustee entitled to receive those payments.15

There is no easy answer to that question (i.e., the value of that interest), since the First Circuit left it unanswered. As the foregoing shows, however, the First Circuit got it right on the law; now the bankruptcy courts must grapple with the “head-scratching” factual question of valuation. abi

David Baker is a sole practitioner in Boston, and his prac-tice includes consumer bankruptcy and litigation.12 See, e.g., In re Shubert, 535 B.R. 488 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2015).13 In re Dupuis, 524 B.R. 1 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2015) (denying trustee’s motion to settle with mortgagee

for $10,000 by reforming mortgage).14 Shubert; see also In re Spodris, 516 B.R. 196 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2014).15 Id. (both citing Traverse, fn.9).

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