Court Administration Committee Meeting Minutes
2006 Winter Leadership Conference
The Court Administration Committee held a joint meeting with the
Legislation Committee on Friday morning, December 1, 2006. The Court
Administration Committee was represented by Co-Chair Lynn Tavenner and
the Legislation Committee was represented by R. Scott Williams,
Co-Chair.
The panel discussion was jointly led by The Honorable. James D.
Gregg, United States Bankruptcy Court, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Scott
Williams, and Lynn Tavenner.
The discussion began with a presentation on the historical and
statutory background related to the appointment of judgeships. The
interactive dialogue then focused on the current process of the
appointment of bankruptcy judgeships and related practical
considerations. Upon the conclusion of the discussion of bankruptcy
judgeships, the presentation switched focus to the proposed revisions to
the bankruptcy rules and the need for input from bankruptcy
practitioners. The panel also addressed the current rules survey being
conducted by the ABI Bankruptcy Rules Task Force. The Task Force has
requested all ABI members to fill out the survey, which is available
online at the ABI Web site
(www.abiworld.org/source/auls_survey/loginpage ). The
information from the survey will be compiled and used by the ABI in
submitting comments to the Rules Committee. ABI has filed a request to
testify at the upcoming hearing in January 2007.
The Committee meeting ended with open discussion with participants
concerning changes expected in the new Congress and upcoming legislative
priorities.
Following is a list of Court Administration committee members in
attendance:
The Honorable EugeneWedoff
The Honorable Eileen Hollowell
Patti Bass - Tucson, Arizona
Larry Ahern - Nashville, Tennessee lahern@burr.com
Jerry Markowitz - Miami, Florida jmarkowitz@mdrtlaw.com
Ken Freda - GCG - Melville, New York
James Katchadoris - jkatchadoris@bsi.llc.com
Jeffrey Stein - GCG - Melville, New York
David Warren - Rocky Mount, North Carolina
2006 Annual Spring Meeting
The Health Care Insolvency Committee jointly sponsored a
program with the Court Administration Committee at the 2006
Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. The program was titled:
"The Patient Care Ombudsman: Who Are They
and What Are They Going To Do Your Health Care
Business Bankruptcy." Bill Kannel from Mintz Levin
in Boston served as the program
chair. He reminded the attendees that the ABI recently published
the Second Edition of the ABI Health Care Insolvency
Manual. The program's panel included: Sam Maizel, Pachulski
Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub, LLP, Los
Angeles as moderator; along with Nancy Peterman,
Greenberg Trauig, Chicago; and Suzanne Koenig, SAK Management, Inc., in
Chicago.
Nancy, who was instrumental in drafting the ombudsman
legislation, described the historical evolution of the ombudsman
provision. She explained, among other things, that she and Keith
Shapiro, then Chair of the new ABI Health Care Insolvency Committee,
were asked in 1997 by Senator Grassley to assist in drafting legislation
to deal with a perception that the bankruptcy courts were not adequately
addressing the issues. This perception was based in part on
problems which had arisen from the Raseda Care Center case
from the Central District of California. Sam then described the
obligations and duties of the ombudsman under the current Bankruptcy
Rules and Code provisions. Suzanne then described the various ways
in which an ombudsman could contribute to a chapter 11 case of
a healthcare business. Sam concluded the program by
describing some of the issues which had arisen already in the few cases
in which an ombudsman had been appointed. About 20-25
persons attended the program, and the audience participation was
vigorous. The handouts included three articles on
the ombudsman (including two from the ABI
Journal), Bankruptcy Code section 333 (requiring the appointment of
a patient care ombudsman), and copies of various pleadings related
to patient care ombudsman from two cases in which ombudsman
had already been appointed.
2004 Winter Leadership Meeting
This joint committee program explored the challenges faced by both
professionals and the courts in connection with selection of The Right
Venue for the filing, management and “successful conclusion”
of a bankruptcy case. Offering differing perspectives from the debtor,
the court/bankruptcy clerk’s office, creditors and “the
outside world,” this program addressed the various criteria that
factor into a debtor’s (and/or its counsel’s) decision to
choose one bankruptcy court over another, as well as the court’s
ability to administer the case once filed and its procedures for
managing the debtor(s) and creditors (and their claims) going forward.
In addition, the panelists explored issues such as the
“best” way and time to file a motion to transfer venue, the
impact of local rules and procedures, the extent to which local case law
on ethics issues influences the venue selection process, and the roles
and responsibilities of local counsel, the court and the clerk’s
office.
2004 Annual Spring Meeting
The Court Administration Committee met to a full, standing room only,
house at the Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. April 17, 2004.
In addition to the chair, the panel was joined by Kathleen Farrell,
Clerk of Court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District
of New York; Gary Bockweg, Chief Technology Division of the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; and Edward Cowen and James
Kathadurian, consultants of BSI (formerly Poorman-Douglas), an outside
servicing center used by the courts.
The first order of business was to introduce the Court Administration
Committee, which was formed last year with the first meeting chaired by
co-chair Richard Kipperman of San Diego, Calif., and a chapter 7 panel
trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of
California. The committee's goal is to provide a national forum for
improving the relationships between the practioners and the
administrative officials necessary to the court functions. (Office of
the Clerk, AOUST).
Gary Bockweg then brought us up-to-date with CM/ECF nationally:
- CM/ECF is progressing very well in both implementation and
development
- 91 Bankruptcy Courts in the implementation process: 72 already
"live"
- Averaging approximately 4-5 new courts per month on both start and
live
- 150,000+ attorneys trained and registered Ð 75,000 have
filed
- 4 Million CM/ECF docket entries in March Ê
- In Bankruptcy Courts allowing electronic filing in March:
- 41% of all document filings were made electronically by attorneys
Ê Ê
- 66% of all petitions were filed electronically by attorneys
- On target to have all courts operational in 2005.
Ê Ê Ê
In addition to her official duties as clerk, Kathleen Farrell serves
on the two technology and facilities advisory committees, one as a
member and one as liaison and on two technology subcommittees working on
CM/ECF. Kathleen graciously gave some "helpful hints" to using
CM/ECF:
- Call the clerk with suggestions for modifications.
- Make use of all of the reports.
- Don't get too creative, use the court's dictionary.
- Take advantage of having 24/7 access to the court.
- The court's help desk is answered by a person between 8:30 a.m. -
5:00 p.m.
- You can go to the system and change your password so you can have
the same password for multiple courts.
- Update your attorney profile and view your transaction logs to make
sure your password has not been compromised.
Edward Cowen and James Kathadurian helped with understanding the use
of outside consultants for a more efficient use of the bankruptcy
process:
- Effective use of the web in a chapter 11 case
- Functions a claims administrator can perform today
- Selective issues relating to e-mails and electronic noticing
After the meeting the committee added three new members.
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