Written by:
Beverly Hoeftman
ABI Membership Specialist
bhoeftman@abiworld.org

Web posted and Copyright © March 1, 2004, American Bankruptcy Institute.

BI's Real Estate Committee, which analyzes issues unique to the reorganization of commercial real estate, is co-chaired by John Collen and Alec P. Ostrow. The committee's ongoing activities include educational sessions at ABI's Annual Spring Meetings and Winter Leadership Conferences, and production of an electronic newsletter.

John Collen heads the bankruptcy practice of Duane Morris LLP's Chicago office. In addition to real estate law, he also practices in the areas of chapter 11 bankruptcy law, loan workouts, corporate reorganizations and creditors' rights. His experience includes representation of landlords, secured lenders, receivers, creditors' committees, general creditors, bankruptcy trustees and debtors in bankruptcy, and creditors' rights in litigation cases throughout the country. Recently, he represented landlords in the Worths Stores, Sportstown Co. and Kmart bankruptcy cases. His experience outside the real estate industry includes serving as co-counsel to the unsecured creditors' committee in the Florsheim Shoes bankruptcy case, acting as debtor's counsel in the highly successful and complex reorganizations of the Rock Island Railroad, and counseling prospective bidders in Brill Communications, the Aladdin Hotel and Casino and Rowe International cases.

Mr. Collen is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, the Northern District of Illinois and the Northern District of California, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Illinois, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined ABI in 1990 and is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. In addition to his co-chair duties, Mr. Collen also serves as a judge at the Annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court competition, which the ABI sponsors jointly with St. John's University School of Law.

Alec P. Ostrow is a partner at Salomon, Green & Ostrow PC in New York, where he specializes in bankruptcy, corporate reorganizations, workouts, creditors' rights and litigation, representing debtors, creditors, litigants and creditors' committees in chapter 7 and 11 cases. He has acted as counsel for chapter 11 debtors in cases involving Homemaker Industries Inc., Hogil Pharmaceutical Corp. and Cellular Information Systems Inc., and for the trustee in the Cuyahoga Equipment Corp. case. He has been admitted to practice before both the Eastern and Southern Districts of the U.S. District Court of New York since 1981, and the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit since 1983.

A frequent author and lecturer, Mr. Ostrow has been a panelist at ABI's New York Bankruptcy Conference and at the Real Estate Committee's educational session at the 2003 Winter Leadership Conference. He has also lectured at conferences sponsored by the American Bar Association, the Judicial Conference of the Second Circuit and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Ostrow is a 10-year member of ABI and also belongs to the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, as well as the New York State Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers Association. Since 1999, Mr. Ostrow has also been an adjunct professor of law at St. John's University School of Law in the LL.M. in Bankruptcy program. The Real Estate Committee will meet at ABI's Annual Spring Meeting (see p. 63). The committee agenda can be found at "/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home" in the committee area.

Other Members in the News

Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC announced that David W. Houston IV has joined the firm's Nashville, Tenn., office as an associate. He is a member of the firm's Finance and Development Practice Group, where he concentrates his practice in commercial bankruptcy matters. Mr. Houston serves as director of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute.

Stonefield Josephson, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based certified public accounting and business advisory firm, announced that Jeffrey L. Sumpter has been named director of the Stonefield Josephson Financial Recovery Group, which provides forensic accounting and fraud investigation services, bankruptcy services and litigation support. Mr. Sumpter has been with Stonefield Josephson since May 2003. He has practiced as an attorney for 18 years and is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience.

Lisa S. Gretchko recently joined Howard & Howard Attorneys P.C., as an attorney in their Bloomfield Hills, Mich., office. She concentrates her practice in bankruptcy and commercial litigation and has represented nearly every constituency in bankruptcy courts around the country, including secured creditors, unsecured creditors' committees, landlords, licensors of intellectual property, debtors and trustees. Ms. Gretchko is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a contributing editor to the Last in Line column of the ABI Journal (see p. 28).

Crossroads LLC, an international consulting firm, announced today that John Tittle, who has nearly 25 years of experience in bankruptcy advisory, restructuring and financial consulting, has joined the firm as a principal in its Dallas office. His industry expertise includes manufacturing, retail, wholesale distribution, airlines, Internet and e-business. Previously, Mr. Tittle served as a partner with Deloitte, where he led the firm's Reorganization Services Practice in the Mid-America region.

The Cleveland law firm of Javitch, Block & Rathbone announced it has been named to the 2003 Weatherhead 100 list of the fastest-growing companies in northeastern Ohio. The list is compiled by the Case Western University Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland. Joel H. Rathbone and Cynthia A. Jeffrey are partners in the firm, which also has offices located in Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

Conway, MacKenzie & Dunleavy, a corporate revitalization and turnaround management consulting firm, announced that Gregory A. Charleston, Charles M. Moore and John R. Stelter were promoted from senior associate to director. The firm also announced that it has been selected as one of the 14 "Outstanding Turnaround Firms for 2003" by the industry publication Turnarounds & Workouts. The firm offers crisis management expertise in specific areas, such as manufacturing and operations consulting.

Steven N. Cousins, a partner, member of the Executive Committee and chair of Armstrong Teasdale LLP's bankruptcy practice in St. Louis, was named among an elite group of America's top lawyers in Black Enterprise magazine. Criteria included practicing partner or shareholder status at a major law firm. Mr. Cousins, who is the founder and chair of the firm's Financial Restructuring, Reorganization and Bankruptcy Practice, represents debtors' and creditors' committees in chapter 11 cases. A fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the American Law Institute, he is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

David Buxbaum, chairman emeritus of Buxbaum Group in Calabasas, Calif., has been appointed a commissioner of the Palm Springs International Airport. He will represent his hometown of Rancho Mirage on the commission. Mr. Buxbaum, who founded the firm, has been involved in retailing, inventory, liquidations and consulting for more than 50 years.

Gordon Brothers Group LLC in Boston announced that Kenneth S. Frieze has been named principal of the financial, operating and advisory services company. As president of GB Asset Advisors, the appraisal group, he oversees the group's overall management and strategic direction. Mr. Frieze was a member of the firm's Board of Advisors for 12 years and has worked as a management consultant and workout specialist.

Poyner & Spruill LLP announced that Terri L. Gardner and Judy D. Thompson have been ranked among Business North Carolina magazine's "Legal Elite." Ms. Gardner is a partner practicing in the areas of corporate reorganizations, bankruptcy law, workouts and creditors' rights in the firm's Raleigh, N.C., office, and is recognized in this issue for her work in bankruptcy law. She is a Board-certified specialist in bankruptcy law by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization and is certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. Ms. Gardner has represented companies, partnerships and individuals in successful out-of-court negotiations with creditors. Ms. Thompson is chair of Poyner & Spruill's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights practice in its Charlotte, N.C., office and is recognized for her work in this area. In business bankruptcy cases, she represents banks and other secured creditors, unsecured creditors, lessors and creditors' committees as well as chapter 11 debtors; in consumer bankruptcy matters, she advises national lenders on policy issues and represents them in exception cases nationwide. Ms. Thompson previously served on ABI's Southeast Bankruptcy Workshop Advisory Board and as ABI's Vice President-Education.

Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP announced that Carl A. Eklund has joined the firm as a partner in its Denver office. Mr. Eklund's areas of practice focus on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring and workouts, concentrating in large and complex chapter 11 bankruptcy cases as debtors' and/or creditors' committee counsel. He has been an active ABI member since 1986 and served on the ABI's Law Review Advisory Board from 1993 to 2000. He is joined by associates Christina L.C. McDonald and Alan K. Motes in the firm's Bankruptcy, Reorganization and Capital Recovery Group. Ms. McDonald, who focuses her practice in the bankruptcy area, is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and Denver Bar Association and is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court of Colorado and the Tenth Circuit. Mr. Motes has experience in representing clients in many facets of chapter 11 and chapter 7 business bankruptcy cases, including the representation of secured lenders, debtors, trustees, asset purchasers, landlords and other creditors. He joined ABI in 2002, and is also a member of the Colorado Bar Association. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the District of Colorado and the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas.