Distinguished Service Award to be Presented to R . Patrick Vance
Beth Wiggins Chair , Distinguished Service Award Committee
The American College of Bankruptcy announced that it will present its 2025 Distinguished Service Award to R . Patrick Vance , Partner at Jones Walker LLP . Mr . Vance will receive the award on March 21 , 2025 in Washington , DC on the occasion of the Class 36 Fellows Induction . The award will be presented on behalf of the College by Marc Levinson , Chair of the College from 2018-2020 .
The Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor of the College . Criteria for the award include : significant accomplishments in improving the administration of justice in the insolvency and bankruptcy field ; distinguished service consistently rendered over a considerable period of time or a single outstanding achievement in a particular year ; accomplishments arising from voluntary activities rather than for services rendered to a client as a paid professional ; membership in the College ; and distinguished in the Fellow ’ s institution in a manner and in matters that are consistent with the goals and purposes of the College .
Mr . Vance has a long , distinguished history of service to the College – a member of Class VI , he has served over the years as member , Vice-President , or General Counsel of the College Board of Directors from 2009-2024 , on its Board of Regents from 2003-2007 , and as member or President of the College ’ s 501 ( c )( 3 ) Foundation Board from 2010-2014 . Fellows who interacted with him in these capacities praised him for his approach to each task with dedication ,
focus and excellent judgment – always steering the College in the right direction . With Mr . Vance ’ s vision and under his and his successors ’ leadership , the College ’ s Foundation has become the single largest financial supporter of pro bono legal services to indigent debtors in the United States . As General Counsel , he marshaled the bylaw amendments proposed by the College ’ s Select Commission on Diversity , Equity and Inclusion with legal skill and commitment to the diversity initiatives of the Commission , the College , and the legal profession at large . “ Let ’ s run this by Patrick ” came to be a recurring refrain among the College leadership and membership .
Like his service to the College , Mr . Vance ’ s service to the broader bankruptcy community and federal bar spans decades . As one of only two active Fellows of both the College and the American College of Trial Lawyers , Mr . Vance is both an expert in substantive bankruptcy law and of trial practice . Since 1991 , he has been a member of the American Law Institute and since 1996 , a conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference , the nation ’ s leading “ think tank ” on bankruptcy and insolvency issues . One colleague explained , this is the equivalent of the EGOT – that is , winning an Emmy , a Grammy , an Oscar , and a Tony !
Mr . Vance has also served his local bar community with esteem , having held leadership positions in the New Orleans Bar Association ( and its Foundation ), the Louisiana Bankers Association , the
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