Officers
Michael L. Cook
Chair
G. Christopher Meyer
President
Hon. Mary Grace Diehl
Vice-President
Richard E. Mikels
Vice-President
R. Patrick Vance
Vice-President
Melissa Kibler Knoll
Treasurer
Susan M. Freeman
Secretary
Board of Directors
Corinne Ball
Michael St. Patrick Baxter
Francis X. Buckley, Jr.
Robert M. Fishman
Hon. Robert E. Gerber
David A. Lander
Stephen D. Lerner
Thomas E. Lumsden
Patrick Thomas McCarthy
Prof. Charles W. Mooney, Jr.
G. Blaine Schwabe, III
Edwin E. Smith
Claudia Z. Springer
Grant T. Stein
Howard J. Weg
Deborah D. Williamson
Ex Officio Directors
D.J. (Jan) Baker
Mark D. Bloom, Chair, ACB Foundation
Emeritus Director
Paul M. Singer
Board of Regents
Marc A. Levinson
Chair, Board of Regents
Mark N. Berman (1st Cir.)
Dennis F. Dunne (2nd Cir.)
Karen A. Giannelli (3rd Cir.)
Richard L. Wasserman (4th Cir.)
Charles A. Beckham, Jr. (5th Cir.)
Judy A. O'Neill (6th Cir.)
Ronald Barliant (7th Cir.)
David A. Warfield (8th Cir.)
Jeffrey H. Davidson (9th Cir.)
Carl A. Eklund (10th Cir.)
Roberta A. Colton (11th Cir.)
Timothy R. Coleman
At Large
Hon. Joan N. Feeney
At Large
Prof. Charles J. Tabb
At Large
Scholar-in-Residence
Prof. Bruce A. Markell
Counsel
William J. Perlstein
Executive Director
Shari A. Bedker
American College of Bankruptcy
P.O. Box 249
Stanardsville, VA 22973
434-939-6004
Email: [email protected]
Chair's Column
Michael L. Cook, Chair
President's Column
G. Christopher Meyer, President
What the College is doing and where it's going are the subject of this column. As shown below, the College is
Housekeeping for the College
In his Chairman's column, Mike Cook has brought you up to date on a number of the
thriving while striving to continue to enhance its capabilities.
Public Service. The College's Pro Bono Committee received 40 grant applications from legal service entities in the past year, seeking $403,429. These organizations provide critical bankruptcy-related services to indigent consumer debtors on a pro bono basis through volunteer attorneys, bankruptcy clinics, bankruptcy workshops, continuing legal education training programs, hardware and software programs, written materials and videos. The committee has reviewed all of these requests and will be making grants totaling at least $326,000, with funds coming from the College and the Foundation. The Foundation administers the grants and, thanks to increased donations from Fellows, has become better able to provide funding to these worthy efforts.
The College has also filed two amicus briefs in the Supreme Court during 2014. With strong pro bono legal support from Squire Patton Boggs, Latham & Watkins, and Professor Ralph Brubaker, the College filed an amicus brief in the Arkinson case decided by the Court in June, 2014. In September, 2014, Wilmer Hale, also on a pro bono
College's larger initiatives. While these signature programs are a justifiable source of pride and focus for all of us, College leadership is also attending to a variety of other activities that could be characterized as "good housekeeping."
Change of auditors. With the relocation of the College's headquarters from suburban DC to Stanardsville, Virginia, we decided that it would be an opportune time to request bids for a new auditor better-able to service our new headquarters. Shari Bedker, our Executive Director, presented several alternatives to the Board at its meeting in October, as well as her recommended selection. With the new auditor that we have now chosen, we believe we have been able to gain improved service at a reduced cost from our prior arrangement.
Amendment to Bylaws. The College's Bylaws were adopted over 25 years ago. From time to time, we have amended those Bylaws to clarify or supplement its provisions. This year, with the help of the College's General Counsel, Bill Perlstein, we adopted amendments to clarify the procedure for considering nominations of retired or former judges for admission as Fellows. We also updated the designation of the College's principal office