Alexandria, Va.— Baylor University School of Law won the 31st Annual Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, held March 4-6 in New York City. The competition is co-sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and St. John’s University School of Law. The University of Alabama School of Law took second place in the competition, and teams from the University of Miami School of Law and Fordham University School of Law shared third-place honors. The University of Miami School of Law won for Best Brief, and Trent Mansfield of Samford University won the Best Advocate award.

The competition consisted of eight rounds of oral arguments and final rounds. ABI practitioners and academics coached many of the teams, and nearly 200 lawyers and federal judges donated their time and expertise to help judge the event. The fact pattern for the competition focused on two key developments stemming from chapter 11 case law. The first issue looked at whether a bankruptcy court has the authority to approve nonconsensual releases of direct claims held by third parties against nondebtor affiliates as part a chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The second issue looked at whether a corporate debtor proceeding under subchapter V of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code may, pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1192, discharge debts of types specified in subparagraphs (1) through (19) of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a).

Final-round judges for the 2023 competition were Bankruptcy Judges Lisa G. Beckerman (S.D.N.Y.) and Heather Z. Cooper (D. Vt.), and Chief Bankruptcy Judges Martin Glenn (S.D.N.Y.) and Alan S. Trust (E.D.N.Y.). Paul Hage of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, LLP (Southfield, Mich.) and Prof. G. Ray Warner (St. John’s University School of Law; Jamaica, N.Y.) drafted this year’s fact pattern.

The Duberstein Competition, named for the late Judge Conrad B. Duberstein, a St. John’s alumnus and former ABI director, has grown into the largest appellate moot court competition in the nation. ABI’s Endowment Fund awarded $12,000 in cash prizes for the winners during a gala reception held at the New York Marriott Downtown on March 6.

For more information on the Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, please go to https://www.stjohns.edu/law/academics/centers/31st-annual-duberstein-bankruptcy-moot-court-competition.

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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 10,000 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.