Focus: Bankruptcy Litigation Committee
For this issue of the newsletter, we interviewed Mark M. Maloney, co-chair of the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee. He is a partner in the Atlanta office of King & Spalding and a graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Before he joined King & Spalding, Mr. Maloney served as law clerk to the Hon. Rhesa H. Barksdale of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
In this interview, Mr. Maloney told us about the committee's activities, getting involved and some exciting plans that the committee is making.
What is the focus of the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee?
The Bankruptcy Litigation Committee focuses on big surprise litigation. We are not constrained at all in terms of the substantive bankruptcy law topics, but we do try to stay focused on issues that are the subject of actual litigation in the bankruptcy courts. Our members have written and spoken recently on issues such as attorney client privilege issues in bankruptcy, litigating motions to appoint chapter 11 trustees, inadvertent email disclosures in bankruptcy litigation and litigating preference and avoidance actions, but any bankruptcy issue that could be the subject of litigation is fair game. We also focus on bankruptcy litigation skills and effective advocacy. Many of our members participate, as faculty or students, in ABI's annual Bankruptcy Litigation Skills Workshop in New Orleans.
Who should want to join the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee, and why?
Any ABI member who might find the need to step up to the podium to ask a bankruptcy court for relief should be interested in the Litigation Committee. Likewise, any professional, whether an attorney, a financial advisor, restructuring advisor or investment banker, who might find the need to testify in bankruptcy court or otherwise advocate a position in a contested matter or adversary proceeding, should be interested in our committee. The potential for litigation arises in virtually everything that goes on in bankruptcy court-because any party in interest can object to what someone else wants to have happen in the case. For this simple reason, we think staying in tune with bankruptcy litigation issues is critical for most any bankruptcy professional. In addition, it should go without saying that our committee is ideally suited both for members of the bankruptcy bench (who ultimately have to decide these issues) and academics (who teach and publish on these issues). Finally, younger members who are new to bankruptcy and bankruptcy litigation will find our committee particularly interesting because, as noted, we also focus on core litigation and advocacy skills that are particularly helpful for the younger practitioner. Visit the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee webpage to join the committee.
What does the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee do during the year?
We publish at least four newsletters each year that contain articles from our members and other information relevant to bankruptcy litigation. In addition, we plan educational programs for each of ABI's two national seminars-the Annual Spring Meeting and the Winter Leadership Conference. Our program at this year's WLC will cover e-discovery in bankruptcy litigation and, as some of your members know, we are co-presenting this program with the Young & New Members Committee. We also have regular interactive e-mail dialogues among our members on ABI's e-mail listserve system. Someone will raise a bankruptcy litigation topic, and frequently, there will be a lot of interest and exchange about the subject-sometimes lasting for days. Some of our educational programs have come from ideas that pop up on our listserve dialogues. We also try to have several all-member conference calls each year to provide an open forum for ideas on upcoming newsletter articles, future educational programs and other projects that the committee wants to pursue.
Is there anything notable that the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee has done recently that you would like highlighted?
Two of our former committee co-chairs recently published ABI's Quick Evidence Handbook. This publication, written by Evan Slavitt and edited by the Hon. Barry Russell, is an excellent practical resource for bankruptcy lawyers who don't get into court very often and need a quick primer on the evidentiary issues that typically arise in bankruptcy controversies. It is full of step-by-step examples of how you go about introducing evidence and eliciting testimony on a variety of common bankruptcy litigation topics. Visit the ABI Bookstore to purchase the Quick Evidence Handbook.
We are also planning a law student writing competition that we hope to kick off this year. We'll ask law students to submit papers on bankruptcy litigation topics and reward the best paper with a financial prize, free ABI membership and publication in the ABI Journal. It should be a lot of fun and a great way for ABI to further its recognition and profile with law students and law schools.
How can a Young or New Member of ABI become involved in the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee?
New members who want to get involved should contact our membership director, Andrea Schwartz. We try to keep a list of new members who are eager to get involved and we are proactive in trying to find projects that they can contribute to. We have several ongoing projects (our two annual educational programs and our newsletter) that can always benefit from fresh perspectives and involvement from our members. We also have several other projects in the works, including the law student writing competition, that new members can get involved in.