Focus on Fellows
We invite all fellows to submit information about awards, news, and / or recent publications. If you have news about yourself or a colleague, please send announcements to Michelle Foster, ACB Communications Director, at focus @ amercol. org.
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Effective May 15, 2025, Class XIII inductee and Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School Professor Peter C. Alexander will be retiring after 33 years in legal education. Professor Alexander will be a visiting faculty member at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2025, then he plans to represent clients in bankruptcy matters with a law firm in Southern Illinois. During his long career, Professor Alexander has published 32 law review articles, the majority of which focus on bankruptcy topics, co-authored a monograph on bankruptcy and family law, and wrote a book about the financial life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
J. Scott Bovitz observes that every lawyer in Los Angeles has a creative side project. Bovitz’ side project is producing music— 747 original songs to date, all free and available on bovitz. com( click on the guitar picks).
Thomas L. Canary, Jr. is the President-Elect of the National Creditors Bar Association and will be installed as President, for a one year term, at the Association’ s October NCBA Connect / Annual Meeting.
Hon. Justice Paul R. Heath was appointed as a Judge of the Abu Dhabi Global Market( ADGM) Courts, with effect from 7 December 2024. He is sitting in the Commercial and Civil Division of the Court of First Instance.
James R. Irving was appointed to serve as the American Bankruptcy Institute’ s Vice- President of Membership, where he will serve on the ABI’ s Executive Committee.
Michael Jacoby was named Practice Lead of J. S. Held’ s newly formed Strategic Advisory practice.
The American Bankruptcy Institute( ABI) has elected Stephen D. Lerner, partner and global chair of the Squire Patton Boggs Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group, as President-Elect. Stephen will serve in this capacity for a one-year term and assume the position of President in April 2026.
Marc B. Merklin recently joined the law firm of Roetzel & Andress after the lawyers in his prior firm, Brouse McDowell joined Roetzel in a combination.
Roger J. Minch, Fargo ND, authored the book“ Capital Projects, a Case Study”, published in May of 2024 by Community Associations Institute, a 40,000 member association of board members and managers of HOAs and condominium associations throughout the USA. The book aims to help associations raise funds for badly needed structural repairs, to fully fund structural integrity reserve studies( SIRSs), etc., and especially if special assessments are or might be necessary.