Robert B. Dove, the Parliamentarian Emeritus of the U.S. Senate, will be the featured speaker during the American College of Bankruptcy's luncheon program at the ABI Annual Spring Meeting on April 30. Mr. Dove served as Parliamentarian for two periods: from 1995-2001 and from 1981-87, while in the interim serving as Parliamentary Counsel to Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole. Mr. Dove now teaches federal legislative practice at both Georgetown University and George Washington University, in addition to serving as of counsel on House and Senate procedure in the Washington, D.C., office of Patton Boggs, one of the city's most prominent lobbying firms. He will provide timely insight into the important Constitutional issues facing the Senate today with regard to changing the rules of procedure for judicial nominations, including a likely upcoming nomination to the Supreme Court. The College-hosted event is a first, we hope, of many future joint events during our Annual Meeting. We thank College Fellow and former ABI Director Judge Thomas Small (E.D.N.C.) for his help in setting up the program. You can register to attend the luncheon online at http://www.abiworld.org/ASM05

Judge Duberstein Honored at Courtroom Dedication in Brooklyn

Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein (E.D.N.Y.) was honored by all the federal judges of the Eastern District of New York during a ceremony dedicating the newly renovated courtrooms and chambers on Feb. 10. Judge Duberstein is one of the longest-serving bankruptcy judges in the nation, and the packed Brooklyn, N.Y., courtroom was evidence of his many friends in the bankruptcy world after a lifetime of dedicated service. Judge Duberstein was appointed to the bench in 1981. A former ABI director now nearing his 90th birthday, he continues to mentor and inspire law students at his alma mater, St. John's University. Judges David Adams (E.D. Va.), current president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ), and George Paine (M.D. Tenn.) made a special presentation on behalf of the NCBJ.

L.A. Battleground Program Another Success

More than 150 professionals attended the 13th annual Bankruptcy Battleground West program at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. This year's program again offered a one-day supplemental program on bankruptcy fundamentals for new and young practitioners. Program co-chairs were Peter M. Gilhuly (Latham & Watkins) and Marc Bilbao (Giuliani Capital Advisors), while Judge Mitchel R. Goldberg (C.D. Cal.) served as judicial chair. The theme for this year's main program was "Looking Ahead to the Next Bankruptcy Cycle." Topics included so-called "second lien" deals, insurance industry insolvencies under state law, bad-faith filings under chapter 11 and the latest on the "deepening insolvency" theory of liability. Major financial sponsors included BMC Group, Giuliani Capital Advisors LLC, Klee Tuchin Bogdanoff & Stern LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP, Stutman Treister & Glatt PC, Xroads Solutions Group and Braun Auctioneers & Appraisers Inc.

New Meeting Planner Joins Staff

Jennifer Walker joined the ABI staff in March as a meeting planner. She has more than four years of experience in event planning and meeting management, for both nonprofit and corporate clients. Jennifer worked most recently for Allied Capital Corp. and previously was events associate manager for the Young Entrepreneurs Organization. She has a B.A. in communications and marketing from Virginia Tech University. Jennifer will work on the ABI Litigation Skills Symposium, the Corporate Restructuring Competition and other CLE programs. Jennifer replaces Vanessa York Girardi, who is relocating to Florida after more than five years on the ABI staff.