During the late 1970s, when the Bankruptcy Code was winding its way through the legislative process, I met a Senate staffer, Harry Dixon, minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee working on the new Code, and his Senate colleague, Robert Feidler, majority counsel.

Not long after the passage of the Bankruptcy Code, Harry approached me and others with the idea of forming a multidiscipline organization that could be a common meeting place for all who had interests in insolvency matters—lawyers, lenders, professors, workout professionals, appraisers and the like—so that they, as a group of experienced professionals, could provide information to and be a balanced resource for Congress. At that time, there was no organized group representing the broad range of professionals that could institutionally voice their opinions and concerns.

There were insolvency-focused groups then who were active, such as the National Bankruptcy Conference, Commercial Law League (composed of lawyers), National Association of Credit Management (composed of credit professionals), various banking groups and others, but none that spoke for all insolvency disciplines and none that were designed to provide unbiased information and guidance for Congress to consider in drafting the highly technical, complex and sophisticated revision of bankruptcy law that was then and would over the years continue to be the subject of congressional action.

On Feb. 2, 1982, the American Bankruptcy Institute was incorporated in Nebraska by its incorporators, Harry Dixon, Dirk DeRoos (Harry's partner) and me. It first officed in free space at 510 C St. NE in Washington, D.C., provided by one of its early supporters, David Vienna.

Among the first recruits were Dick Gitlin and Robin Phelan, who were active in the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the ABA; Jim Chatz, President-elect of the Commercial Law League; Leonard Rosen, soon to be chairman of the National Bankruptcy Conference; and David Vienna, who was advising the National Association of Credit Management. Another early recruit was Eric Hultman, who agreed to be the general counsel for ABI. Eric had just left Sen. Strom Thurmond's staff, where he had also been general counsel.

ABI got its first national exposure as a result of the critical jurisdictional issue that arose when the Supreme Court, in June 1982, wrote in the Marathon case that bankruptcy courts had no constitutionally permitted jurisdiction to rule on matters before them. With the new Bankruptcy Code in its infancy, the overnight loss of bankruptcy court jurisdiction created a crisis that required an emergency response.

Thus, the "emergency rule" proposed by Prof. Larry King was promulgated by the Judicial Conference of the United States, which permitted, as a practical necessity, the continuing but questionable functioning of the bankruptcy courts.

On Jan. 7, 1983, under the auspices of ABI, a then-unknown group, a national conference was held in the largest hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building provided as a courtesy by Sen. Dennis DeConcini, a member of the Senate Judicial Committee, to discuss Marathon, the "emergency rule" and the crisis facing the bankruptcy court system. Sen. DeConcini and former Congressman Caldwell Butler presided. Participating as panelists were some of the leading practitioners of the day, all invited by the fledgling ABI. The conference was well attended by congressional staffers and by others well-known in the bankruptcy community. Significantly, the conference was televised and re-broadcast by C-Span under the banner of ABI. The organization was on its way to becoming the preeminent insolvency organization in the world.

In the afterglow of the success of the ABI-sponsored conference on the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts, the tasks of creating an ABI newsletter and recruiting members were undertaken. Michael Moriarity, the program director for the National Center for Continuing Education in Denver, agreed to publish an issue of the newsletter and to design the ABI logo.

Volume I, No. 1, of the ABI Newsletter was eight pages in length. The first editor of the ABI Journal was Robin Phelan; the articles editor was Chuck Vihon, a former professor and House counsel. The first issue, in ABI's distinctive green format, was published in April 1983.

There were 2,255 free copies of the newsletter mailed to prospective members at a total cost to ABI of $2,418.34. This was the initial attempt by ABI to reach bankruptcy practitioners with an invitation to become ABI members. It was a major financial risk for the new organization, and took almost all available funds. The back page of the newsletter contained an application for ABI membership.

The initial ABI membership fee was set at $75. Within a week the checks started arriving. The first checks for ABI membership were received on April 6, 1983, from three people: Don Gardner, Leon Gary and Bob Albergotti, who is still a member today. By April 22, 1983, ABI membership stood at 51. Membership during the first year grew to an astounding 500.

To continue the momentum and to add credibility to this new organization, it became important to attract to its Board of Directors top insolvency professionals. As a new organization with no history, this was a difficult task because many of the most experienced professionals were skeptical about ABI's mission and its future. Because the essential purpose of ABI was to open its doors to all disciplines and to offer the opportunity to its members freely to express their opinions for the purpose of assisting the Congress and educating the ABI membership, it was critical that the new organization have a prominent board.

The initial efforts were, in fact, very successful. The first board consisted of: Neil D. Baron, Newell Blair, Thomas Drennan, Robert B. Evans, Richard A. Gitlin, Kenneth Klee, Prof. Lawrence King, Farrell Kupersmith, Michael S. Lurey, Mark E. McDonald, Hon. William L. Norton Jr., Melvin A. Peters, Richard B. Polivy, Leonard Rosen, Robert J. Rosenberg, Howard Ruda, Dennis Spellman, Harvey Schochet, David Vienna and Charles F. Vihon. The first officers were: Harry D. Dixon Jr., chairman; Ed Creel, president; Robin E. Phelan, vice-president; Vernon Teofan, vice-president; James A. Chatz, secretary/treasurer; and D. Eric Hultman, general counsel.

The ABI By-laws were prepared by Eric Hultman and ultimately adopted on April 30, 1983. By April 29, 1984, those who had contributed $1,000 or more to the founding-member category of membership were Richard Gitlin, Hon. William L. Norton Jr., Mel Peters, Vernon Teofan, Chuck Vihon, David Vienna, Ed Creel and Harry Dixon.

On April 30, 1983, ABI held its first Executive Committee meeting together with an informal directors meeting. The meeting was held in Boston at the Copley Hotel with approximately 15 actual and prospective directors attending. The results of the meeting included the adoption of the ABI By-laws.

The first executive director (then designated as "administrator") was Grace Marshall, who, beginning in February 1984, ran ABI from an upstairs bedroom in her Alexandria, Va., home. At that time, membership fees, ABI's sole source of cash flow, were insufficient to cover operating costs, so several of the "founders" had the pleasure of funding all shortfalls with their personal checks.

On Nov. 7, 1983, ABI sponsored its first formal televised program—a discussion of the interaction of chapter 11 proceedings and collective bargaining agreements in the wake of Bildisco. Eric Hultman arranged the panel discussion, which focused on the then-pending Continental Airlines bankruptcy case. The program was held in the historic Senate Caucus room in the Russell Senate Office Building. Harvey Miller, attorney for Continental Airlines, was a key participant. I had the pleasure of presiding over the panel. The moderator for the panel discussion was former Rep. Caldwell Butler, with Hon. Roger Whelan, Phillip Bakes (vice-president of Continental Airlines), Harry Dixon, Margery Lieber (Department of Labor) and Fred Pierce participating in the discussion. The forum was televised on C-Span.

In December 1983, ABI co-sponsored a series of seminars with the National Center for Continuing Legal Education on Oil and Gas Industry Workouts and on Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice. Due to the growth of ABI, preparations were made to move out of the temporary space on C Street.

In January 1984, ABI produced a one-day conference on Capitol Hill on consumer bankruptcy issues and the structure of bankruptcy jurisdiction. The program was held in the Rayburn House Office Building and included two Canadian practitioners. Ken Klee, a major architect of the new Bankruptcy Code, gave a historical summary of the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction.

ABI instituted its telephone "hotline" in June 1984 and provided taped messages on the status of the pending Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984 (BAFJA) legislation. The hotline was available to all ABImembers and the media, with the original taped messages prepared by Bob Feidler. The hotline quickly became a reliable source of legislative information for Congress, ABI members and the media. Hundreds of inquiries were answered.

Grace Marshall staffed the first ABI series of educational seminars that were sponsored by ABI on BAFJA. These seminars were held in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and San Juan. The seminars were successful in soliciting and reaching out to new members and set the precedent for what was to become a major part of ABI's mission—to continue the education of its members and others.

After the passage of BAFJA, ABI sponsored two public-interest panel discussions. The first was held on Sept. 10, 1984, in Washington, D.C., and the second on Nov. 9 in San Francisco. Doug Comer, Bob Feidler, Jean FitzSimon, Hon. Alex Paskay, Bob Rosenberg and Hon. Roger Whelan participated on the Washington panel, and Harry Dixon, Bob Feidler, Hon. Lloyd King, Hon. Barry Russell, Dennis Montali, Mike Lurey and Harvey Schochet participated in the San Francisco program.

In 1985, ABI briefly relocated its Washington, D.C., offices to 310 Constitution Ave., and then to 122 Maryland Ave., where it occupied a beautiful building on Capitol Hill with formal gardens where, for the first time, it had adequate facilities to hold board meetings, entertain members and congressional staffers, and become a presence on Capitol Hill.

In the spring of 1985, Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D. Ariz.), a long-time ABI supporter and a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that had jurisdiction over bankruptcy legislation, graciously consented to become ABI's honorary chairman. With his help, and with the daily oversight and management of ABI by Harry Dixon, ABI continued to grow in numbers of members and influence, as well as financially.

On Sept. 11, 1985, ABI hosted its first general membership meeting, which it termed a "legislative briefing," in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was attended by 84 participants, including a number of congressional staff members. In conjunction with the briefing, an office-warming party was held in the garden of the ABI headquarters on Maryland Avenue. The reception was presided over by former Congressman Caldwell Butler.

On Nov. 15, 1985, ABI joined with the Tennessee Bar Association in honoring Hon. Clive Bare. There were more than 200 in attendance. Chief District Court Judge Tom Wiseman (Tenn.), an ABI member, presented an award to Judge Bare on behalf of ABI.

As the membership grew and services to the membership increased, the need for a full-time executive director became apparent. In early 1986, Grace Marshall was replaced by Timothy Leighton, who had served as a legislative aide to Sen. Pete Wilson of California. Tim served as executive director until July 1987.

In 1986, ABI co-sponsored a series of seminars with the Practicing Law Institute on agricultural workouts and bankruptcy. The seminars were held in Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Mo., and San Francisco. ABI's current executive director, Sam Gerdano, spoke at the programs about his role in creating chapter 12 while a Senate staffer.

ABI held its first Annual Meeting on June 5-6, 1986, in Washington, D.C. The registration fee was $125, and 109 registrants participated in the two-day event. The meeting was commenced with a reception at ABI headquarters hosted by Honorary Chairman Dennis DeConcini, Sen. Charles Grassley and Congressman Mike Synar. There was also a committee breakfast, briefings on legislative and administrative developments and a luncheon on Capitol Hill. Hon. Ralph Kelley, then NCBJ president, was the luncheon speaker.

At the Annual Meeting, the Executive Committee announced ABI's first national survey on attitudes toward workings of the bankruptcy law. The committee appointed a distinguished 11-person project Steering Committee to oversee the survey of attorneys, judges, trustees and business-persons. The results of the survey became the basis for several of the 1984 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code.

In June 1986, Charles Tatelbaum took over the duties as editor for the newsletter. Under Robin Phelan, the newsletter had grown from three issues in 1983 to five during 1986.

In January 1987, ABI moved to its third Washington, D.C., headquarters, this one a townhouse at 107 Second St. SE, immediately behind the Supreme Court.

At the meeting Dick Gitlin, with appropriate fanfare and the assistance of Sen. Dennis DeConcini, succeeded me as ABIpresident. During the summer of 1987, Suzanne Bingham, who had been an aide to Sen. Jake Garn, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, became ABI's second executive director.

During the first years, ABI's finances had ups and downs. Harry Dixon and I resolved to create a fund that ABI could fall back on if necessary. We called it the Endowment Fund and we recruited Marvin Bloom to be responsible for raising funds and promoting the Fund. Each of the three of us pledged $25,000 as the top category of gifts as seed money for the Fund. It was successful from its inception and has grown over the years beyond its original purpose to provide significant funding for a variety of bankruptcy-related projects.

By 1987, many "firsts" were achieved, and many were yet to come. ABI evolved from the initial concept of Harry Dixon to an organization that had grown to more than 2,000 members. It had established more than 15 working committees that produced, among other things, a survey on the 1986 amendments, aided congressional staff with legislation and published a 28-page newsletter. ABI conducted seminars both in and outside the Unites States and sponsored conferences that were televised on C-Span. It had grown sufficiently to conduct two membership meetings a year and welcomed its first Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, to address our group. Sen. Dennis DeConcini had agreed to become its honorary chairman, and the support staff at ABI headquarters had grown from a single person to four staffers.

The first years were the beginning of what is now the most respected, most active and most influential insolvency organization in the world—and the best was yet to come.