Members in the News

Members in the News

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ABI's Bankruptcy Taxation Committee, which monitors the activities of the Congressional committees and IRS on matters concerning bankruptcy tax legislation and regulations, is chaired by David Howard Stein. David is a partner in the business reorganization and financial restructuring practice group of Duane Morris LLP based in the firm's Newark, N.J., office. His practice concentrates in the areas of commercial litigation, bankruptcy law and creditors' rights, primarily representing secured creditors, official creditors' committees, debtors-in-possession (DIPs) and trustees, as well as parties interested in acquiring or selling distressed assets in chapter 11 reorganization cases and out-of-court workouts; negotiating DIP financing facilities; and drafting reorganization plans and disclosure statements. Mr. Stein has significant experience in the litigation of complex bankruptcy and commercial disputes, has appeared and argued extensively in different federal and state courts and has tried cases on a wide range of issues. He is a member of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Debtor-Creditor Committee of the Essex County Bar Association and the Union County Bar Association. Mr. Stein was appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve on the District V-A Ethics Committee in Essex County, N.J. In addition, he has been appointed by the New Jersey Superior Court to serve on the Juvenile Conference Committee in Union County, N.J. Mr. Stein is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned his J.D. at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

More Members in the News

Russell Munsch and Joseph Wielebinski, shareholders at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC in Dallas, have been named leaders in their field by Chambers and Partners. Mr. Munsch, a founding shareholder of the firm, is a member of the American, Texas, Dallas and Travis County Bar Associations. His practice focuses on reorganization and creditors' rights, bankruptcy, international insolvency and commercial litigation. He represents financial institutions, bank groups and significant creditors, debtors, creditors' committees and entities acquiring assets from troubled organizations. He has served as trustee and examiner and has been an ABI member since 1994. Mr. Wielebinski, a shareholder at Munsch Hardt and chairman of the Reorganization/Corporate Finance Practice Group, is a member of both the American and Dallas Bar Associations. His practice focuses on all aspects of reorganization, creditors' rights and corporate finance, as well as loan workouts and restructurings, bankruptcy litigation, and representation of committees and trustees. He has been an ABI member since 1995.

Judy Thompson, a partner with Poyner & Spruill LLP in Charlotte, N.C., has been elected network chair of the Carolinas Chapter of IWIRC this past January, where she will lead a group of more than 60 professional women in law, accounting, lending, turnaround management and other disciplines that work with troubled companies and their creditors throughout the Carolinas. IWIRC is an international professional association that works to enhance the professional status and reputation of women in insolvency practice. She has been an ABI member since 1988.

Lorenzo Mendizabal recently joined EPIQ Systems Inc. as a senior vice president, where his responsibilities include overseeing national marketing and sales efforts of various subsidiaries of EPIQ Systems and identifying and recruiting talent to broaden the scope of services EPIQ Systems provides in the bankruptcy and class action markets. Mr. Mendizabal is the former president of the Trumbull Group, a claims consulting firm, where he managed large and complex matters in bankruptcy and class action areas. Prior to joining Trumbull, he served as counsel in the law department of the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. Mr. Mendizabal earned his a B.A. in International Business from Hartwick College in 1982. He received a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1990 where he was articles editor of the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review.

The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has appointed Laurel M. Isicoff as bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of Florida. She is the first woman to be named to the post. Ms. Isicoff joins the court following more than two decades as a bankruptcy law practitioner, 14 years of which have been with Miami firm Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. Ms. Isicoff, a native of New York, earned her law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, where she graduated with honors. She was recently selected to become a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and in 2005, the Best Lawyers in America named her as one of the country's top bankruptcy attorneys, marking her fourth consecutive appearance in the publication. Likewise, Chambers USA recently included Ms. Isicoff in its listing of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business."

The national law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, based in New York, made international bankruptcy law history this January by obtaining the first order granting a petition under the new chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the aid of a non-U.S. proceeding involving a foreign business debtor. The order was entered by Judge Burton R. Lifland in In re La Mutuelle du Mans IARD United Kingdom Branch MMA Account (chapter 15 case No. 05-60100), filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York Nov. 11, 2005. The EAPD team of attorneys was led by insurance and reinsurance department Chair Alan J. Levin and insolvency and creditors' rights partner Selinda A. Melnik. Ms. Melnik, who worked with the United Nations to develop the Model Law, fashioned the first comprehensive pleadings translating chapter 15 law, rules and theory into practice.

Hackensack, N.J.-based Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard PA announced its second merger in three months in January. The New York law firm of Angel & Frankel PC will join with Cole Schotz. The firm will continue to be known as Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard PA. While the firm will retain its strong bankruptcy and corporate restructuring presence, the New York office will now become a full-service office, with the addition of several attorneys from the firm's New Jersey office. In particular, Leo Leyva, one of the firm's premier litigation and bankruptcy partners, will become a resident partner in New York and chair the firm's New York litigation practice.

Prof. Mary Jo Wiggins of the University of San Diego School of Law has been selected by the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as a consultant for a project to study fraud and abuse in the bankruptcy system. The project will be conducted by the RAND Corporation. The goal of the project is to develop a white paper on the identification of fraud and abuse in the bankruptcy system and to develop a research agenda to address those issues. Prof. Wiggins' principal task will be to review RAND's work product and provide guidance on "best practices" for the integrity and accountability of the bankruptcy system.

Haynes and Boone LLP, an international corporate law firm, has named Scott W. Everett as partner. Over the last seven years, Mr. Everett has focused his practice on bankruptcy and reorganization, representing debtors, creditors and trustees in all types of bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings.

MGLAW PLLC in Nashville, Tenn., named Robin Bicket White a member of the firm in January. Ms. White practices in the firm's insolvency group, where she represents debtors and creditors in chapter 11 cases and restructurings. Her practice involves representing defendants in preference actions, and she frequently writes and speaks on preference topics. In addition to her bankruptcy practice, Ms. White also represents businesses and their owners in business formation, planning, transactions and general commercial matters. She is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations and serves as CLE co-chair for the Nashville Bar Association's bankruptcy court committee. Ms. White earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University and her B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

James E. Cross, a bankruptcy attorney at Osborn Maledon PA in Phoenix, has been appointed to a three-year term as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. Since 1989, Mr. Cross has been certified in bankruptcy law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of Arizona. His practice is focused on distressed/insolvent businesses in restructurings in and out of bankruptcy proceedings, and his client representation covers the entire spectrum of bankruptcy and insolvency from trustees, examiners, secured and unsecured creditors, equity-holders and indentured trustees to equity and unsecured creditor committees. Mr. Cross also has served as a court-appointed examiner and is a past chair of the State Bar of Arizona. He often provides pro bono assistance on bankruptcy matters to the Student Civil Legal Clinic of his alma mater, the Arizona State University College of Law.

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP in Philadelphia announced the opening of its newest office in Wilmington, Del., which will provide additional services and options for both new and existing clients. Nicholas J. LePore III is a partner with the firm.

The international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP's bankruptcy partner Berry D. Spears recently joined the firm's Austin, Texas, office. He was previously with Winstead Sechrest & Minick PC. Mr. Spears has represented clients in restructuring matters across the country in numerous industries and commercial sectors, including financial institutions, manufacturers, telecommunications, real estate, retail, distribution, food services and oil and gas. He has significant experience in the Texas bankruptcy courts, and during the last several years he has actively represented clients in New York and Delaware, as well. An ABI member since 1998, he is the immediate past chair of ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditors' Committee. His honors include being listed in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers & Partners USA, Texas Monthly's "Super Lawyers in Bankruptcy and Workouts" and Texas Monthly's "Central Texas Top 50 Attorneys." He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and his B.A. from Austin College.

Michael D. Sousa, current judicial law clerk to the Hon. Donald H. Steckroth and candidate for the LL.M. in bankruptcy degree from St. John's University School of Law, has been recently named as a contributing editor for the Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, the Norton Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law and the treatise, Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 2d (West). Mr. Sousa is also a contributing editor to the ABI Journal's Code to Code column.

McGuireWoods LLP in Pittsburgh had three of its associates recently awarded the title of "super lawyer." Sally E. Edison, David I. Swan and James H. Joseph were named "2006 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars" by Law & Politics magazine. All three practice within the firm's financial services department and focus on commercial bankruptcy, insolvency and creditors' rights. "Rising Stars" are age 40 or younger or have been practicing law for 10 years or less.

Alan D. Holtz, CPA, CIRA, joined AlixPartners in New York as a managing director last month, where he will focus on expanding the firm's restructuring advisory practice. Mr. Holtz has managed all aspects of the restructuring process both in and out of court over the past 18 years. Previously, Mr. Holtz was a managing director at Giuliani Capital Advisors LLC, where he spent more than 20 years practicing and was named a partner in 1995. He has been an ABI member since 1997. Mr. Holtz is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and completed an executive management program at the Kellogg Business School.

John M. Duck has been re-elected as chairman of the Executive Committee of Adams and Reese LLP in New Orleans, which oversees the strategic operations of the firm. A member of the firm's Transactions and Corporate Advisory Services Practice Group, he practices in corporate restructuring matters, including DIP transactions.

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Wednesday, March 1, 2006