American Bankruptcy Institute | DIRECTOR'S COLUMN: From the Director

Director's Column

From the Director Written by:
Samuel J. Gerdano
Executive Director

Brooklyn Law School Wins National Moot Court Competition

rooklyn Law School won the 10th Annual Judge Conrad B. Duberstein National Moot Court Competition, defeating a team from the University of Houston in the final round held on Monday. MariAnn Ancheta and Brian Barry from the University of Miami received an award for writing the best brief. Summer Shelton and John Ferrell of the University of Houston were runners-up. Aimee Dismore from William & Mary won the award for best oralist and Steve Thibodeau, also of William & Mary, was the runner-up. Twenty law schools competed this year. More than 500 professionals attended the gala awards ceremony and dinner at the Puck Building in lower Manhattan. The event is co-sponsored by ABI and St. John's University School of Law.

Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee Members Enjoy March Reception

Members of ABI's Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee and others attending the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM) Legislative Conference in the Washington, D.C. area on March 9 enjoyed a cocktail reception hosted by ABI and NACM-Oregon. The event was an opportunity to salute Bruce Nathan (Davidoff & Mailito; New York) and others who worked on the recently published Manual on Trade Creditors' Rights of Reclamation and Stoppage of Delivery of Goods.

Best-selling Author Scott Turow to Speak at ABI Luncheon during NCBJ Meeting

Lawyer and best-selling author Scott Turow will be the featured speaker for this year's ABI luncheon at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Annual Meeting, Oct. 4 in Chicago. Turow's first book, One L, about his experiences as a first-year student at Harvard Law School, was published in 1977. Ten years later, he achieved a life-long dream when his novel, Presumed Innocent, rose to number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and remained there for two months. A successful motion picture based on the novel and starring Harrison Ford followed in 1990. Turow's books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have sold nearly 20 million copies, while earning several literary awards. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Turow served as assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago for eight years. He continues to work as an attorney and is now a partner with the Chicago office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal.

ABI Welcomes New Staffer

Christy Jones joined the ABI staff in February as an assistant in the accounting and membership departments. Christy processes conference registrations and membership renewals, among other responsibilities. A Maryland native, she is a 2001 graduate of the University of Maryland with a B.S. in economics. ABI now has 18 full-time staff in four departments: accounting, communications, meeting planning and membership.

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