The American Bankruptcy Law Journal and NCBJ Conference News
In 1971, the academic and news aspects of the Journal of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Referees were separated into two publications: the American Bankruptcy Law Journal (“ABLJ”) and the NCRB Conference Newsletter (now known as the NCBJ Conference
News).
Conrad K. Cyr was the Editor of the last issue of the Journal of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Referees and the first ABLJ Editorin-Chief. Conrad was a Referee in Bankruptcy or bankruptcy judge from 1961 to 1981, a district judge from 1981 to 1989 in the District of Maine, President of NCBJ from 1976 to 1977, and a justice on the First Circuit Court of Appeals from 1989 to 2007.
The following individuals sent letters to Conrad to honor the establishment of the ABLJ as a separate publication: Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States; Warren M. Burger, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Alfred P. Murrah, Senior Circuit Judge and Director of the Federal Judicial Center; James Q. Eastead, Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary; Emanuel Cellar, Chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Rowland F. Kirks, Director of the AO; Royal E. Jackson, Chair of the Bankruptcy Division of the AO; Charles Seligson, Chair of the National Bankruptcy Conference; and Leonard M. Salter, President of the Commercial Law League of America. These letters were quite a testament to the quality and prestige of the Journal, the importance of the bankruptcy laws to the nation, and the accomplishments of the National Conference of Referees in Bankruptcy.
Both the ABLJ and Conference News flourished as separate publications. The ABLJ has a 12-member Editorial Advisory Board that includes its bankruptcy judge Editor-in-Chief and four Associate Editors, as well as other bankruptcy judges, law professors, and attorneys. The ABLJ is the most prestigious academic bankruptcy publication in America.
The NCBJ Conference News currently has a 12-member editorial staff, consisting of an Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Meeting Reporter, and Issue Editors. Its two photographers also serve as Issue Editors. The quarterly publication is a lifeline between NCBJ and its membership. The NCBJ Conference News is the primary source of information for most bankruptcy judges about NCBJ’s activities and activities of fellow judges.
Herbert M. Bierce (D. Minn.) deserves special recognition for his service as the first Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Association of Bankruptcy Referees from its inception in 1926 until 1949.