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President ’ s Message : Rogues , Rascals & Rattlesnakes
Charles A . Beckham , Jr ., Haynes and Boone , LLP President , American College of Bankruptcy
Hey , it was great seeing so many of you in Orlando at the College meetings . Tip of the hat to Melissa Kibler , our Chair for running a great Board of Directors meeting and compliments to Shari Bedker and her team for coordinating and running a great College get-together . Getting together confirms our dedication to the enhancement of professionalism , civility , scholarship and service to the bankruptcy community .
While I ’ ve got ya , let me tell you a tale about Rogues , Rascals and Rattlesnakes . In May I told you about part of my journey to becoming a bankruptcy lawyer in Old El Paso . I didn ’ t start as a bankruptcy lawyer ; I thought I was going to become a litigator . After clerking for United States District Judge Halbert O . Woodward in Lubbock , I moved home to El Paso to become a litigator . But , Lubbock is where this story of Rogues , Rascals and Rattlesnakes begins .
One of my duties as a law clerk was answering the phone when the Judge ’ s secretary was away . ( Ruth , the Judge ’ s secretary , was a chain smoker and spent a lot of time on the courthouse steps .) A regular caller to Judge Woodward was his University of Texas law school roommate . The calls would go something like this . ME : “ Hello , Judge Woodward ’ s Office .” THE ROOMMATE : ( In a Texas twang ) “ Is Hal there ?”
ME : “ May I ask who is calling ?” THE ROOMMATE : “ Just put me through , I ’ m his old Roommate .”
I reluctantly put the call through the first time and once I knew the distinct Texas accent , on many other occasions . Sometimes , the Roommate would engage me in some friendly banter about whether Ole Hal was treating me right . Of course , he was . From time to time while the calls were still going on , I would go into Judge Woodward ’ s office to remind him it was time to return to the Court . I would overhear the two lifelong friends laugh over politics and the news of the day . It is the same type of conversation we all have with our college and law school buddies .
After my clerkship ended , I moved to El Paso to become a litigator . I missed my exchanges with the Roommate and I didn ’ t become a litigator . I became a bankruptcy lawyer . Soon , I learned the ways of bankruptcy and the parties involved . I started as a secured lenders ’ lawyer filing motions for relief from stay to seek to foreclose on cars , trucks , tractors , trailers , cattle , oil wells and ranches . My mentor in the bankruptcy practice often referred to debtors as Rogues , Rascals and Rattlesnakes ; characters to be cautious around . Once we started doing some debtor work , I soon learned that while some debtors may be Rogues , Rascals or Rattlesnakes , not all were necessarily dangerous , bad or evil . Many were good folks simply trying to weather the storm .
Comically , I found that some of my first debtor clients were more rascal or rogue