SECTION UPDATE
Bankruptcy Section Update
By Jennifer Meyerowitz
Epic Systems
T
jmeyerowitz@epiqsystems.com
he Bankruptcy Section of the Atlanta Bar Association
wrapped up a very busy and successful year with its
annual Pollard CLE program and award luncheon. On
May 7, 2013, the Bankruptcy Section presented its annual
David Pollard Award, which is presented to “a person who is
a member of the Atlanta Bar who best exemplifies the highest
standards of professionalism and ethics in the bankruptcy
practice.” The Board of the Bankruptcy Section of the Atlanta
Bar presented this year’s Pollard Award to James A. Pardo,
Jr. from King & Spalding for his tremendous contributions
to the Section and the Atlanta Bar over many decades. In
addition, the Section hosted an interactive CLE course led
by AlixPartners and Bankruptcy Judges Diehl and Bonapfel
and Alston & Bird Partner, Grant Stein, discussing and
analyzing ethical issues that arise in insolvency situations,
turnarounds and restructurings.
The Bankruptcy Section is especially proud to be a host
and sponsor of the “Atlanta Aquatic Adventures Party” that
is associated with the National Conference of Bankruptcy
Judges (NCBJ), which will have its 87th Annual Conference
in Atlanta, Georgia from October 30th to November 2nd,
2013. This is the first time in recent history that this event
has been in Atlanta. As a result, the Bankruptcy Sections of
the Atlanta Bar Association and the State Bar of Georgia are
hosting the “Atlanta Aquatic Adventures Party” at the Georgia
Aquarium during the evening of October 31st in honor of
the United States Bankruptcy Judges and specifically our
own Chief Judge and NCBJ President, Honorable C. Ray
Mullins. This event is free of charge to all registrants and is
sure to be a memorable evening that will provide bankruptcy
professionals with an exclusive opportunity to network
amongst 1,000 professionals from around the country.
The Bankruptcy Section continues to be excited about its
participation in the Credit Abuse & Resistance Education
Program (the “ CARE Program”). Members of the Bankruptcy
Section, along with Bankruptcy Judges for the Northern
District of Georgia participated in the CARE Program for the
seventh year in a row. Founded in 2002 by John C. Ninfo II,
now-retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District
of New York, CARE seeks to educate high school students
on the responsible use of credit and other fundamentals of
financial literacy, as well as the potential consequences of
poor money management and credit card abuse. Since
2005, our local Bankruptcy Judges and members of the
Bankruptcy Section have worked together to provide more
than 65 CARE presentations to over 4,000 students at
nearly 30 metro-Atlanta high schools. This year, members
of the Bankruptcy Section and our local Bankruptcy Judges
brought the CARE Program to nearly 200 students in metro
Atlanta this Spring. Judges Bonapfel, Diehl and Hagenau
teamed up with Brett Berlin, Darren Hensley, Katie Merrell
Keane, Brandi Kirkland, John Mills and Shayna Steinfeld
to present to classes at Alpharetta, Cross Keys, Redan and
South Cobb High Schools.
The Bankruptcy Section is looking forward to presenting
additional programs, breakfasts and socials in the Fall so
please be on the lookout for our upcoming events. The
Bankruptcy Section has had a very successful year. We
would like to thank our Section sponsors for their contributions
and support of our Section. Without their support we would
not be able to provide such exceptional programming and
events to our members. ■
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THE ATLANTA LAWYER
June/July 2013
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association