From The Chair
In typically gracious fashion Bill chose to share the spotlight with his long-time friend and colleague Jamie Gorelick, in a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation about the current climate and prospects for change in Washington, the potential impact of the elections on economic, trade and antitrust policy, and how COVID-19 may change the practice of law. We congratulate Bill on receiving the College's most prestigious honor, and thank him and Jamie for sharing their keen insights into so many of the issues that shape our time.
The College also remains active on the educational front:
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On November 18, our International Committee presented a panel on Arbitration for Cross- Border Insolvency, as part of ABI’s 16th International Insolvency & Restructuring Symposium.
The SBRA program is available on the password-protected of the College website, www.amercol.org, and the entire 7th Circuit Program is available on the website and Youtube. We are grateful to the many Fellows who shared their talents and insights with us in all of these virtual presentations, and to Stephen Lerner and our International Committee for its collaboration with ABI on the two international programs.
In addition, again in the Fall 2020 semester we are offering our International Insolvency course at eight of the country's leading law schools, and seeking to register additional law schools for the Fall 2121 semester course as well.
On the policy front, the College's Bankruptcy Policy Committee chaired by Hon. Robert Gerber continues to address many of the leading insolvency issues of the day. Since our last edition of College Columns, the Committee has submitted or prepared letters to Congress on the needs of the judicial system during the COVID-19 crisis, debtor discrimination under the federal Paycheck Protection Program, and other issues, all consistent with the Committee's objective to identify and analyze relevant issues and coordinate with other organizations, as appropriate, to enhance the quality and scope of bankruptcy practice. Once submitted to Congress, all of the letters are posted on our website.
By any measure, the College has continued to thrive and prosper during these times of travel restrictions and limited personal interaction. Despite the loss of revenue from both our 2020 meetings the College's financial condition remains strong. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our Executive Director Shari Bedker and her dedicated staff, we were able to recover the great bulk of our costs associated with the March 2020 Annual Meeting, and offer a refund of registration fees to every Fellow who requested one.
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