Contact: Rali Mileva    
                 (703) 739-0800
             rmileva@abiworld.org

Judge Wesley Steen Named ABI President-Elect

May 4, 2005, Alexandria, Va.— The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) announces that Judge Wesley Steen of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas (Houston) has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to be President-Elect. He will become President for a one-year term, beginning with ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting in 2006. He has been an ABI member since 1991, served on the 60-member ABI Board of Directors since 1999, and for the last four years has been ABI’s Vice President of Research, overseeing the Research Grant Committee in assessing, recommending and approving awards from the Endowment Fund.

“I'm thrilled with having Judge Steen named as the first judge to become ABI's President next year,” said ABI President John D. Penn of Haynes and Boone LLP (Fort Worth, Texas). “Having a judge as President confirms ABI's commitment to allowing all of its members to advance to its highest office regardless of their chosen profession. We've already shown that the presidency is open to academics, financial advisors, lawyers, minorities, women and professionals from all around the nation.   Opening the door for judges merely confirms that anyone willing to put in the time and effort can advance to the top.”

Judge Steen is a former Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Louisiana and a member of the Board of Governors of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. He practiced law at Winstead Sechrest & Minick in Dallas. Judge Steen received his J.D. from Louisiana State University in 1974 and B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1968.

                                                                ###

ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, non-partisan 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 over 10,700 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 ABI World. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.