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Professor Jack D. Ayer
Resident
Scholar Final Report
Spring 2006
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My most satisfying
initiative as resident scholar at ABI was to conceive the format for the ABI Podcasts, and to
record the first 10 interviews. I think the podcasts are a great
addition to the overall package of information that
ABI provides to members
and the public. The
podcasts were an enjoyable exercise for me and continue to be as both my
successors, David Skeel and Lois Lupica—and ABI Executive
Director Sam Gerdano—have
proceeded with furthering the ABI Podcast program.
I also had the privilege
of revising the Bankruptcy Overview, which
ABI keeps in print for
Congressional staffers, journalists and the like. I worked with an
earlier version ably assembled by my predecessor, Margaret Howard
(Resident Scholar Spring 2002), and others, but made obsolete by
Congress with the adoption of BAPCPA in 2005.
Additionally, I was able to work on a new
edition of "The Orange Book”—Bankruptcy in Practice, an
introduction to business bankruptcy for lawyers who didn’t take
the course in law school (we find it also sells to accountants,
investment bankers, turnaround managers, and even some law students),
once again with my co-author Michael J. Bernstein.
Fielding requests from
the media directed from ABI also provided a challenge as the questions ran the gamut of
bankruptcy and legal issues. Questions from trade, regional and national
media ranged from general analysis on bankruptcy trends to
clarifications on specific areas of the Bankruptcy
Code.
Jack D. Ayer
Professor of Law
University of
California – Davis
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