Featured Speakers

Michael Bates, Esq.

Michael T. Bates is a Senior Managing Attorney for Bankruptcy Compliance at RAS Legal Group, a full-service law firm specializing in creditors’ rights and real estate legal services at both the state and federal level.

Hon. Suzanne Bauknight

Honorable Suzanne H. Bauknight was sworn in as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee (at Knoxville) on November 10, 2014.

Hon. Lisa G. Beckerman

Hon. Lisa G. Beckerman is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York. Judge Beckerman is a Fellow and a Member of the Board of Directors of the American College of Bankruptcy. She is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) and was a member of the 2021 NCBJ Education Committee

Geoff Berman

Geoff Berman retired from DSI as Senior Managing Director Emeritus at the end of 2022. He joined DSI in 1997 and was a resident in our Los Angeles office with over 45 years of experience in all types of insolvency case administrations with a special emphasis in the area of general assignments for the benefit of creditors and post-confirmation estate management through liquidating and creditor trust under confirmed Chapter 11 Plans of Reorganization. He is a past president of ABI and authored the ABI’s book on ABCs, “General Assignments For The Benefit of Creditor’s, The ABCs of ABCs”. He has been involved in the ULC ABC project since its creation.

Hon. Rachel M. Blise

Hon. Rachel M. Blise is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. She was appointed by the Seventh Circuit on March 17, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Judge Blise was an attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she focused her practice on representing financial institutions and other lenders and servicers in a variety of insolvency-related disputes.

James V. Block

Jim is a partner at Krautkramer & Block LLC in Wausau, Wisconsin. He represents clients in bankruptcy, foreclosure, and collection matters. In 2023, the American Bankruptcy Institute named Jim to its Top 40 Under 40 Class. Outside of his legal career, Jim is an Eagle Scout and volunteers as a Cub Scout den leader, teaching values like community service and leadership.

Hon. Hannah L. Blumenstiel

Judge Hannah L. Blumenstiel is a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Northern District of California (San Francisco). Prior to her appointment to the bench in February 2013, Judge Blumenstiel was a commercial litigator with a large Chicago-based law firm. Judge Blumenstiel is an Executive Editor of the ABI Journal and serves on ABI’s Executive Committee as its Vice President for Research & Grants.

Hon. Jacob “Jay” Brown

Before joining the bench in 2021, Judge Brown was in private practice for over 20 years, representing creditors, committees, debtors, and trustees in bankruptcy, and handled commercial litigation and business law matters in state and federal courts. Judge Brown is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, former chair of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar, and past president of the Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association.

Prof. Ralph Brubaker

Prof. Ralph Brubaker is the James H.M. Sprayregen Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, where he teaches courses in bankruptcy, bankruptcy procedure, corporate reorganizations, federal courts, conflict of laws (private international law), contracts, and restitution.

L. Todd Budgen

Mr. Budgen is a Director of the Central Florida Bankruptcy Law Association and a member of MENSA. He has served as a Subchapter v Trustee since 2020. He was born in Daytona Beach, FL. He is a former firefighter and enjoys amateur track driving events.

Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky

Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky is Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court.

Hon. Bonnie L. Clair

Hon. Bonnie L. Clair sits as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Judge Clair currently serves as a pro tem member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit. She is also the Editor in Chief for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ Conference News and sits on the NCBJ/U.S. Trustee Liaison Committee.

Robert J. Cleary

Bob Cleary is Of Counsel at Patterson Belknap in New York City, where he has a white-collar defense and trial practice. He is also the court-appointed Examiner in the FTX bankruptcy case.

Hon. Daniel P. Collins

Judge Daniel P. Collins was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, effective as of January 18, 2013, and served as Chief Judge from 2014-2017, as well as the 2023 President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.

Hon. Heather Z. Cooper

Heather Z. Cooper, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont, was appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 14, 2022. Judge Cooper is a member of the Texas, Massachusetts, and Vermont Bar Associations, the Federal Bar Council, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, American Bankruptcy Institute, and the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees.

Prof. Laura Coordes

Laura Coordes is a Professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Her research and teaching interests include bankruptcy, commercial law, international and comparative insolvency law, and local government finance and policy.

David Cox

David Cox is the founding member of Cox Law Group and practices bankruptcy law throughout the Western District of Virginia. Prior to entering private practice, David served as a law clerk for the late Hon. William E. Anderson.

Jason J. DeJonker

An experienced dealmaker and litigator, Jason is adept in the courtroom, in the boardroom, and at the closing table. His experience includes lender and borrower-side loan workouts, representations of debtors and secured creditors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, the plan confirmation process, commercial real estate and UCC foreclosures, and complex collection and judgment collection matters.

Robert “Bob” Eisenbach

Robert L. Eisenbach III of Cooley LLP has more than 35 years of experience guiding companies and their boards of directors through Chapter 11, out-of-court restructurings, and recapitalizations, and he helps private equity and company clients navigate distressed M&A transactions.

Prof. Veronica J. Finkelstein

Veronica J. Finkelstein is an Associate Professor of Law at the Wilmington University School of Law and a Litigative Consultant to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She serves as a Program Director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and travels across the country teaching advocacy skills.

Hon. Katherine B. Forrest (ret.)

Katherine is among the nation’s foremost advisors on legal issues relating to technology, including artificial intelligence, big data, the digital environment, and high-speed trading and content distribution. A partner in the Litigation Department, chair of the Digital Technology Group, and a member of the Antitrust Practice Group, Katherine previously served as a federal district judge for the Southern District of New York and as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

Jeffrey S. Fraser

Jeff Fraser focuses on creditor representation at Albertelli Law (“ALAW”) and is the firm’s national Bankruptcy Partner. Jeff was named a 2017 Blackshear Fellow by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ), a 2020 American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 40 Under 40 honoree.

Hon. Meredith S. Grabill

Judge Meredith Grabill started her tenure as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana in 2019. Before then, she practiced chapter 11 bankruptcy, commercial, and oil and gas litigation in Louisiana and New York. In addition to her duties in the courtroom, Judge Grabill has taught chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring for eight years at Tulane Law.

Debra Grassgreen

Debra Grassgreen is a partner in the San Francisco office of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP. She has significant experience representing debtors, trustees, and creditors’ committees in large and complex chapter 11 cases nationwide and internationally in the technology, media, telecommunications, and life sciences industries both in and out of court. Debra is the past president of the International Insolvency Institute, is widely regarded as a leading expert on cross-border restructuring matters, frequently speaks and writes on cross-border matters, and chairs the firm’s international insolvency practice.

Hon. Scott M. Grossman

Judge Scott M. Grossman was sworn in as a bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, on October 2, 2019.

Gregory S. Grossman, Esq.

Greg Grossman is a founding shareholder at Sequor Law. His practice focuses on bankruptcy, insolvency litigation, international asset recovery, international litigation, and litigation involving the Uniform Commercial Code.

Hon. Paul R. Hage

Judge Hage was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge on September 30, 2024. Since 2017, Judge Hage has served as Co-Director of the Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, the largest single-site moot court competition in the country. 

Hon. Michelle M. Harner

Hon. Michelle M. Harner is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Maryland and Editor-in-Chief of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

Hon. Shon Hastings

Shon Hastings, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of North Dakota; Chief Judge, Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Todd Headden

Todd Headden is a partner in the Austin office of Hayward, PLLC, a boutique firm focusing on business bankruptcy and litigation. Todd is a Subchapter V Trustee in the Western District of Texas. If not doing any of the above, he is probably running (for himself or chasing a kid). Ideally, he would read and cook more (maybe one day). Notably, he did take second place in a margarita-making competition, losing to Judge Mott (aka Willie Nelson).

Hon. Peter Henderson

Peter W. Henderson is the Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of Illinois. He was appointed in April 2023 after serving as an attorney with the Federal Public Defender’s Office. He graduated from Brown University (A.B. 2007) and the University of Illinois College of Law (J.D. 2012).

Hon. Stacey G. C. Jernigan

Stacey G. C. Jernigan is Chief Judge of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the NDTX. She was appointed in 2006, after 17 years at Haynes and Boone, LLP, where she headed the Bankruptcy practice group. She is an adjunct professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law. She is a frequent speaker and author, including many published legal articles and three legal thriller novels: He Watches All My Paths (2019), Hedging Death (2022), and Mystic Spires Post-Mortem (Oct. 2025).

Hon. David S. Jones

Judge Jones has served in the SDNY since February 2021. He presides over a mix of adversary proceedings and cases under Chapters 7, 11, and 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. Before joining the bench, he was an AUSA in the SDNY for 24 years, with prior experience in private practice and as a district court law clerk.

Hon. William Lafferty III

Hon. William J. Lafferty, III, is a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Northern District of California and the 2024 Education Chair.

Sharon Cohen Levin

Sharon Cohen Levin is Co-Head of the Firm’s National Security Practice and a partner in the Firm’s Litigation Group and Criminal Defense and Investigations Group.

Hon. Craig Goldblatt

Hon. Craig Goldblatt is a judge on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. He earned his law degree, with honors, in 1993 from the University of Chicago Law School.

Hon. August B. Landis

Hon. August B. Landis was appointed as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nevada on November 27, 2013. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa.

Joseph J. Mascali

Mr. Mascali has extensive experience in large property losses, especially large, complex losses arising from Superstorm Sandy and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Ian, Helene, and Milton. His experience includes preparing, documenting, and quantifying insurance and FEMA claims on behalf of clients. Other projects include COVID-19 disaster recovery engagements, grants management support, litigation support, and embezzlement cases. In 2022, following over a decade of experience in the insurance and FEMA disaster recovery industry, Mr. Mascali cofounded Frame Group LLC.

Michael McCormick

Michael McCormick is a senior partner in the bankruptcy department at McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia, where he assists in the bankruptcy representation for dozens of mortgage lenders and servicers nationwide. He has been with the firm since 2004.

Hon. Catherine Peek McEwen

Catherine Peek McEwen is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Florida. She was appointed by the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on August 22, 2005. She is also an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School (2014-date).

Mark Moore

TBD

Hon. H. Christopher Mott

Judge Mott retired in 2023, having served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Texas in the Austin and El Paso Divisions. In retirement, Judge Mott (Ret.) plays much more golf, does much more fly fishing, enjoys much more pleasure travel, undertakes much more babysitting of his grandchildren, and does much more (primarily unintentionally) to annoy his wife of 43 years.

Hon. Mark X. Mullin

Hon. Mark X. Mullin – Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth division. Undergraduate degree (accounting) from Creighton University (1979) and a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law (1986). Judge Mullin was also a CPA and prior to law school, worked at a big eight accounting firm. After law school, Judge Mullin joined Haynes and Boone, LLP, where he practiced for thirty years. Judge Mullin is a member of the NCBJ Board of Governors.

HP Newquist

HP Newquist is one of the foremost authorities on the history and application of artificial intelligence. Newquist oversees The Relayer Group, a consulting firm that tracks the development of practical Artificial Intelligence while developing technology experiences for a wide variety of audiences. The company’s expertise is in defining the reality and relevance of science and technology concepts in actual application.

Hon. Cynthia A. Norton

Chief Judge Cynthia A. Norton was appointed to the bench in the W.D. of Missouri on February 1, 2013, and is the immediate Past President of the NCBJ.

Bach W. Norwood

Bach W. Norwood is an attorney with Hayward PLLC in Austin, Texas, where his practice focuses on bankruptcy law and related litigation. He is also a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist.

Hon. Tiiara N.A. Patton

Hon. Tiiara N.A. Patton is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of
Ohio.

Hon. Pamela Pepper

From 2005 to 2014, Pamela Pepper was a bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. In 2014, President Barak Obama appointed her to the district court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, where she has served as chief judge since November 1, 2019. She is a former member of the NCBJ board.

Hon. Alfredo R. Perez

Judge Alfredo R. Pérez joined the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court in July. Prior to his position on the bench, Judge Pérez practiced in Houston for 43 years.
For the past 22 years, he was a partner in Weil’s restructuring department and served, for
10 years as the managing part of the Weil’s Houston office. He represented large
corporate debtors and other parties in complex bankruptcy cases across the country.
Judge Pérez retired from Weil at the end of 2023.

Adam R. Prescott

Adam R. Prescott is a shareholder in the Business, Restructuring, and Insolvency Group at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, PA in Portland, Maine.

Prof. Nancy B. Rapoport

Prof. Nancy B. Rapoport is a UNLV Distinguished Professor, the Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and an Affiliate Professor of Business Law and Ethics in the Lee Business School at UNLV. 

Patricia Redmond, Esq.

Patricia Redmond focuses her practice on Chapter 11 reorganizations, out-of-court restructuring, and Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors, bankruptcy litigation, and appeals.

Carla L. Reyes

Carla L. Reyes is an Associate Professor of Law at SMU Dedman School of Law. Professor Reyes is a nationally and internationally recognized leader on issues raised by the intersection of business law and technology. She served as an Advisor to the Uniform Law Commission and American Law Institute 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code, served as an Expert Member of the UNIDROIT Work Group on Private Law and Digital Assets, and served as Chair of the Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters.

Hon. Grace E. Robson

Grace Robson was appointed in November 2021 and sits in the Orlando Division of the
Middle District of Florida.

Ciara L. Rogers, Esq.

Ciara L. Rogers is an attorney licensed in North Carolina and Virginia. Her practice focuses on debtors’ and creditors’ rights, chapter 11 bankruptcy, representing bankruptcy trustees in chapter 7 and 11 cases, serving as a subchapter-V trustee, and litigating adversary proceedings

Hon. Michael E. Romero

Hon. Michael E. Romero was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado in 2003, served as Chief Judge of that Court from 2014 to 2021, and is currently serving as the Chief Judge for the Tenth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Oksana Koltko Rosaluk

Oksana Koltko Rosaluk is a nationally and internationally recognized restructuring lawyer with fifteen years of experience advising companies as they navigate financial headwinds, untangling legal issues that straddle many disciplines and jurisdictions, and crafting the most optimal strategic solutions that best position businesses to maximize their enterprise value and for long-term success.

Christina Sanfelippo, Esq.

Christina Sanfelippo is an associate in Cozen O’Connor’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Restructuring Practice and is based in the firm’s Chicago office. Christina represents debtors, trustees, and creditors in a range of Chapter 7 proceedings, including preference and fraudulent transfer actions, as well as complex bankruptcy litigation. Christina also assists debtors and official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings. In addition, she handles commercial disputes, including contract claims and business torts.

Rob Saunders, Esq.

Rob Saunders is a distinguished restructuring and transactional attorney at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP, specializing in chapter 11 cases and assignments for the benefit of creditors (ABCs). Rob practices across various industries nationally and internationally.

Hon. Brendan L. Shannon

Hon. Brendan Linehan Shannon is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Delaware. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Hon. Deborah L. Thorne

Hon. Deborah L. Thorne was sworn in as a bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Illinois and the 2021-2022 president of NCBJ.

Michelle F. Zaltsberg

Michelle Zaltsberg is a Shareholder at Baker Donelson in Orlando, Florida. Ms. Zaltsberg primarily practices in the area of disaster recovery with a focus on the laws, regulations, polices, and procedures relating to eligibility for federal disaster and mitigation assistance under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance program.

Bill Rochelle

Hon. Michael B. Kaplan

The Honorable Michael B. Kaplan was appointed as a bankruptcy judge on October 3, 2006, for the District of New Jersey and designated Chief Bankruptcy Judge on May 1, 2020.

Katie Catanese

Katherine R. Catanese is a partner and vice chair in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group, as well as a member of the Bankruptcy and Health Care Restructuring sub-team.

Angela Shortall

Angela Shortall serves as a Chapter 11 Subchapter V Trustee in the Districts of Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Hon. Kathy Surratt-States

Hon. Kathy A. Surratt-States was sworn in as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri on March 17, 2003, and served as Chief Judge from February 1, 2013 to June 30, 2022.

Ben Weller

Postal Inspector, Chicago Division. He investigates white-collar frauds, including mail and wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, consumer fraud, investment fraud, mortgage fraud, and public corruption.

Hon. Frank J. Bailey (ret.)

Judge Bailey retired from the bench on June 1, 2022. He is now the President of Pioneer Public Interest Law Center, a public interest non-profit law firm in Boston.

Hon. Martin Barash

Hon. Martin Barash has been a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Central District of
California since 2015. Prior to his government service, he was a partner at Klee, Tuchin,
Bogdanoff & Stern LLP (now called KTBS Law) in Los Angeles, representing debtors,
creditors and other parties in chapter 11 cases and bankruptcy litigation.

Hon. Denise E. Barnett

Hon. Denise E. Barnett is a Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee (Memphis), appointed on November 8, 2021. She was a trial attorney with the United States Trustee Program, DOJ, in Tampa, Florida (2002-2021).

Hon. Jeffery W. Cavender

Hon. Jeffery W. Cavender was sworn in as a bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Georgia on March 2, 2018. Judge Cavender graduated from Berry College, summa cum laude, in 1990 with a degree in history, and from the University of Georgia School of Law, cum laude, in 1993 where he was a member of the Georgia Law Review and inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Hon. Beth W. Jantz

Magistrate Judge Beth W. Jantz was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2019. Judge Jantz was the President of the Chicago Inn of Court from 2019 to 2020.

Hon. Thomas M. Lynch

Hon. Thomas M. Lynch is a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is also an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University and has taught at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Hon. Patricia M. Mayer

Hon. Patricia M. Mayer is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sitting in the Reading Division. In her spare time, she enjoys ballet class, yoga, Peloton and watching sports or Netflix with her husband and sons.

Hon. Mina Nami Khorrami

Hon. Mina Nami Khorrami was appointed on September 10, 2021 by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to serve as bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Ohio. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Nami Khorrami also served as a chapter 7 panel trustee.

Hon. Michael B. Slade

Hon. Michael B. Slade was sworn in as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois in November 2024. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Emory University.

Hon. Lori v. Vaughan

Hon. Lori V Vaughan is a judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court Middle District of Florida. She assumed office on February 25, 2020. Her current term ends on February 25, 2034. Judge Vaughan obtained a B.A. in political science with high honors from Eckerd College and a J.D. with honors from the University of Florida College of Law.

Hon. Andrea R. Wood

Hon. Andrea R. Wood is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She was nominated for her position by President Barack Obama.

Hon. Laura K. McNally

Laura K. McNally is a United States Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. Before joining the bench, she was a trial lawyer, focusing primarily on complex commercial disputes. Judge McNally is a program director for the NITA and travels the country teaching advocacy skills. She also teaches in litigation skills programs at the University of Chicago Law School and Tulane Law School.

Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer

Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer was sworn in as Chief Judge for the Northern District of Illinois on July 1, 2019, the first woman to serve in that role in the Court’s 200-year history.

Hon. Michele Kim

Hon. Michele Kim was appointed to the bankruptcy bench in 2017. She has served as the chief bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Georgia since 2024 and is a member of the Eleventh Circuit Civics Education Committee.

James H.M. Sprayregen

Jamie Sprayregen is Vice Chairman at Hilco Global, overseeing the firm’s growing financial services platform. Previously, he founded and led the Restructuring Group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and served on its worldwide management committee. Jamie received his law degree from the University of Illinois and his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Hon. Selene D. Maddox

Hon. Selene Maddox was appointed to the bankruptcy bench in 2018 for the Northern District of Mississippi. She previously served as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Panel Trustee, 2004-2018.