Alexandria, Va. — The American Board of Certification (ABC), a national organization dedicated to serving the public and improving the quality of the bar by certifying lawyers in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, elected new officers and board members at its annual meeting, which was held virtually on Dec. 7, 2020. The ABC is pleased to welcome the following new members to its Board of Directors:

• Edward C. Boltz of the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, PC (Durham, N.C.)
• Matthew T. Faga of Markus Williams Young & Hunsicker LLC (Denver)
• Stephanie Crane Lieb of Trenam Law (Tampa, Fla.)
• Adam E. Nach of Lane & Nach, PC (Phoenix)
• Grace Robson of Markowitz, Ringel, Trusty + Hartog, PA (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Keith Slocum of Harlan, Slocum & Quillen (Columbia, Tenn.)

In addition to these new board members, ABC selected the following new officers and executive committee members for 2021:

• Chair: Kirk B. Burkley of Bernstein-Burkley, PC; Pittsburgh)
• President: Patricia B. Fugée of FisherBroyles, LLP (Perrysburg, Ohio)
• President-Elect: Donna T. Parkinson of Parkinson Phinney (Sacramento, Calif.)
• Treasurer: Mary Beth Ausbrooks of Rothschild & Ausbrooks, PLLC (Nashville, Tenn.)
• Secretary: Randy Nussbaum of Sacks Tierney PA (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

ABC Committee Leaders include the following:

• Dean of Faculty: Prof. Bob Cooper of Rutgers University School of Law (Camden, N.J.)
• Chair of Standards: Jimmy D. Parrish of BakerHostetler (Orlando, Fla.)
• Co-Chairs of State Bar Liaison: Wesley H. Avery of the Law Offices of Wesley H. Avery, APC (Pasadena, Calif.) and Brian L. Davidoff of Greenberg Glusker LLP (Los Angeles)
• Chair of Long-Range Planning: Robert C. Furr of Furr & Cohen, PA (Boca Raton, Fla.)
• Chair of Marketing: Justin M. Luna of Latham, Luna, Eden & Beaudine, LLP (Orlando, Fla.)
• Chair of Technology: Mark A. Craige of Crowe & Dunlevy, PC; (Tulsa, Okla.)
• ABI at Large Representative: ABI Executive Director Amy A. Quackenboss (Alexandria, Va.)
• CLLA at Large Representative: Robert L. Pollak of Glassberg, Pollak & Associates (San Francisco)

ABC acknowledges the good work of the 2020 Officers and Executive Committee, led by Robert C. Furr of Furr & Cohen, PA (Boca Raton, Fla.). Despite the challenges of 2020, ABC remained active and achieved a number of accomplishments that included participating in Insolvency 2020, hosting virtual happy hours for members, engaging ABI to serve as its management firm, providing extensions for certification applications, recruiting new members and administering exams.

ABC is the nation’s premier legal specialty certification organization, and is focused solely on certifying attorneys as specialists in business bankruptcy, consumer bankruptcy and creditors’ rights law. Board certification assists the public in identifying those attorneys who have the skills and have taken the extra time and effort to meet the ABC’s rigorous standards, and is the mark of a dedicated legal professional. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of certification, please email ABC Director Mary Kleppinger at [email protected] or visit abcworld.org.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.