Members in the News

Members in the News

Journal Issue: 
Column Name: 
Journal Article: 
ABI's Asset Sales Committee, which studies asset sales and other issues arising from the liquidation of assets both in and out of bankruptcy proceedings., is co-chaired by Weston Anson and David Peress.

Weston Anson is founder of and a chairman at CONSOR in La Jolla, Calif., an intellectual asset firm specializing in trademark, patent and copyright licensing, valuations and testimony. He is a frequent speaker and widely published author, with more than 100 published articles in the United States and overseas. He is co-chair and member of various institutions, including Licensing Executives Society International, Licensing Executives Society, the Turnaround Management Association, International IP Arbitration and Mediation (NAM), International Trademark Association, American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association, American Tax Institute, American Society of Appraisers, Institute of Property Taxation and the American Bar Assocation. He is on the editorial board of Licensing Economics Review and Licensing Business Review. Mr. Anson earned his M.B.A. with honors at Harvard University.

David Peress is a principal at XRoads Solutions Group LLC in New York, where he is a member of the firm's east coast restructuring practice group. Previously, he served as the managing director and general counsel of The Ozer Group, a firm that specializes in the acquisition of distressed consumer products companies and their assets. While at Ozer, Mr. Peress was the lead deal-maker in many transactions involving consumer products companies. Prior to joining The Ozer Group, he was a partner in the bankruptcy department at Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, where he specialized in the representation of large corporate debtors and served as lead counsel or co-counsel to the debtors in many high-profile chapter 11 cases. In addition to co-chairing the Asset Sales Committee, he is a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's "Value & Cents" column and is a member of the ABI Web Editorial Board. He is also a member of the Turnaround Management Association. Mr. Peress is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his J.D. at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

More Members in the News

he Bankruptcy Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association presented George H. Singer, a partner in the corporate and bankruptcy departments of Lindquist & Vennum PLLP in Minneapolis, with its Raeder Larson Public Service Award. The award is given annually to an individual who provides exceptional service to the public through pro bono legal services and a demonstrated commitment to equal justice for all.

H. Slayton Dabney Jr. joined the New York office of King & Spalding on Jan. 1 as a partner in King & Spalding's Financial Restructuring Group. Prior to joining King & Spalding, he practiced for more than 30 years with McGuireWoods LLP. Mr. Dabney is a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy, an active ABI participant as a speaker and author for the ABI Journal (see p. 48) and other ABI publications. He graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1974.

Berman & Norton Breman PA in Tampa, Fla., changed its name to Berman PLC in August after former partner Catherine M. Norton Breman relocated to Colorado, where she joined the firm of Hoskin, Farina & Kampf. Berman PLC's founder and president, Steven M. Berman, heads up the newly christened firm.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York elected Gary L. Kaplan to the partnership of the firm. Mr. Kaplan, an attorney in the bankruptcy and restructuring department, focuses his practice on the representation of debtors, creditors' committees, significant creditors and third-party purchasers in connection with chapter 11 cases, and restructuring situations. Mr. Kaplan joined the firm in 1998. He received his J.D. with honors from Rutgers University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Catherine Peek McEwen was last month appointed a bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Florida by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. She will succeed Judge Thomas E. Baynes Jr. The Middle District bankruptcy court is one of the busiest bankruptcy courts in the nation, with about 55,000 annual filings, one quarter of all the filings in the Eleventh Circuit. Ms. McEwen has practiced bankruptcy law in Tampa for more than 22 years.

The California State Bar Board of Governors appointed Hagop T. Bedoyan, partner at Caswell, Bell & Hillison LLP in Fresno, Calif., as chair of the California State Bar's Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission for the 2005-06 fiscal year. Mr. Bedoyan has been certified by the State Bar of California as a "Certified Specialist" in Bankruptcy Law since 1995 and has served on the State Bar's Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission since September 2001. Mr. Bedoyan received his B.A. from UCLA and his J.D. with distinction from the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Kenneth M. Misken joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC's bankruptcy and creditors' rights practice group as an associate in the Washington, D.C., office, where he will work in all aspects of bankruptcy practice, especially in cases in the D.C. metropolitan area. He will also work with the commercial litigation practice in the firm's D.C. office.

Mr. Misken was previously with the Little Rock, Ark., firm of Mitchell Williams Selig Gates Woodyard, where he was a bankruptcy and business litigation associate for one year. Before that, he clerked for Hon. Stephen S. Mitchell, a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and a 2002 cum laude graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock W.H. Bowen School of Law.

The law firm of Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge in Grand Rapids, Mich., last month announced that Michael W. Donovan joined the firm as a shareholder, where he will practice bankruptcy and commercial law. Mr. Donovan has practiced bankruptcy and commercial law for more than 20 years. He primarily represents clients involved in the workout and bankruptcy arenas. Mr. Donovan is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned his J.D. at DePaul University College of Law.

Haynes and Boone LLP announced it moved its midtown Manhattan offices to the 49th floor of Citicorp Center at 153 East 53rd Street in New York in August. The space, encompassing more than 20,000 square feet, effectively triples the firm's physical presence in New York City. Haynes and Boone has 10 offices throughout Texas, as well as in Washington, D.C., Mexico City, Moscow and New York, and is ranked among the largest law firms in the nation by The National Law Journal and The American Lawyer. The firm has been recognized as one of the "20 Best Law Firms to Work for" (Vault.com, 2004) and one of the "Best Corporate Law Firms in America" (Corporate Board Member Magazine, 2001-04), and it has received the Minority Corporate Counsel Associations 2002 Thomas L. Sager Award for commitment to diversity. ABI members include Robert D. Albergotti, Blaine F. Bates, Charles A. Beckham Jr., Jason Binford, Doug H. Edwards, Judith Elkin, Mark J. Elmore, Scott W. Everett, Henry Flores, Sarah B. Foster, Tom A. Howley, Patrick L. Hughes, Stacey C. Jernigan, Kenric D. Kattner, Kourtney P. Lyda, W. Abigail Ottmers, Lenard M. Parkins, Ian Peck, John D. Penn, Stephen M. Pezanosky, Robin E. Phelan, Frances A. Smith and Eric B. Terry.

The Alaska State Legislature recently issued legislative citations to attorney Thomas J. Yerbich of Anchorage for his extraordinary pro bono contributions. The Alaska Bar Association joins the state legislative leaders in honoring his life's work. Mr. Yerbich is a rules attorney for the U.S. District Court of Alaska and is the author of ABI's new Consumer Bankruptcy Manual. He is a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's "Consumer Corner" column.

Hon. Keith M. Lundin, bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, has been appointed Weihofen Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law for the Spring of 2006. Judge Lundin is a leading U.S. scholar on chapter 13 bankruptcy and has written a number of law review articles, as well as the definitive treatise on chapter 13 bankruptcy. He has served as a bankruptcy judge in Nashville for 23 years and has received a number of other honors throughout his successful career. In spring 2006, Judge Lundin will teach both beginning and advanced bankruptcy.

The Boston-based Gordon Brothers Group launched an expanded industrial division in July. John Coelho, a key member of senior management, will capitalize on the firm's experience in the disposition of manufacturing, construction and industrial equipment and inventories.

Lester J. Levy, managing director of JAMS's bankruptcy practice, was recently appointed by the Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to its panel of mediators. Members of the panel resolve complex disputes assigned to mediation by the court. Mr. Levy is a co-chair of the ADR Committee of ABI as well as a member of the ADR Panel for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. He has mediated hundreds of bankruptcy matters, as well as settled, adjudicated and managed thousands of complex cases in a broad array of subject-matter areas. Mr. Levy is an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Francisco Law School.

Topic Tags: 
Journal Date: 
Thursday, September 1, 2005