2010 Faculty
WILLIAM E. BREWER, JR.
William E. Brewer, Jr. is the principal in the Brewer Law Firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy Law, he limits his practice to the representation of debtors and non-institutional creditors. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) since 1997 and currently serves as its vice-president. He was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy in 2009. He has spoken on a variety of bankruptcy issues at NACBA’s annual convention and before groups of bankruptcy professionals throughout the country.
ANDREA E. CELLI
Andrea E. Celli has served as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of New York in Albany since 1995. Her office currently administers approximately 6,500 pending Chapter 13 cases and disburses approximately $35 Million to creditors each year. Ms. Celli received her B.S from St. John Fisher College in 1985, her J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University in 1988 and her LL.M. in American Banking Law Studies from Boston University School of Law in 1989. Ms. Celli is a Past President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees and founding Board Member of the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education. Over the past 20 years, she has lectured for the NACTT, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, NACBA and for many local and regional bankruptcy forums.
FREDRICK E. CLEMENT
Fredrick E. Clement has been recognized as a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State of California Board of Legal Specialization. His practice is limited to representing individuals and businesses with debt problems before federal and state courts. Admitted to the State Bar in 1987, he is an honors graduate of Westmont College and of the University of California, Hastings College of Law. He is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) and has been a speaker for NACBA and at other seminars.
MARK C. ELLENBERG
Mark C. Ellenberg is a partner in the Washington office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He advises debtors and creditors in complex financial restructurings. In the Enron Chapter 11, he was special counsel to the debtors for issues related to trading contracts. Mr. Ellenberg regularly advised Bear Stearns on bankruptcy issues relating to derivatives, and he actively participated in the preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing by that company in March 2008. Currently, he represents a number of creditors in the Lehman bankruptcies. Mr. Ellenberg is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, from which he received a J.D. in 1975. He received a B.S. from Cornell University in 1972.
JORDI GUSO
Jordi Guso, a shareholder and member of Berger Singerman’s Business Reorganization Team, represents debtors, official committees and secured creditors in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency and debtor-creditor relations. Mr. Guso represented the debtors in the Aloha Airlines, Piccadilly Cafeterias, Atco Products, Medcontrax and Rose Auto Stores cases, and served as co-counsel to debtors in the Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo cases. Mr. Guso also has substantial experience representing real estate developers. He served as counsel to Levitt and Sons, LLC and Puig, Inc. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2009) and Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2004-2009).
REGINALD W. JACKSON
Reginald W. Jackson is a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the bankruptcy practice. He has significant experience in the insolvency field having represented secured creditors, Chapter 11 debtors, trustees, creditors’ committees, equity holders, asset purchasers, vendors and suppliers. Mr. Jackson’s practice also includes all aspects of commercial collections and workouts, including loan restructurings, forbearance arrangements, receiverships and foreclosures. He has served as President of ABI. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Ohio State Bar Foundation. He has spoken at numerous national, regional and local conferences.
DOUGLAS B. JACOBS
Douglas B. Jacobs has practiced law since 1978 and has concentrated on consumer bankruptcy since 1990. He practices in Chico, California in the firm of Jacobs, Anderson, Potter & Chaplin, LLP. He is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the Sacramento Valley Bankruptcy Forum and the Bankruptcy Law Network. He has spoken on consumer bankruptcy topics for NACBA, the Sacramento Valley Bankruptcy Forum and The Central California Bankruptcy Institute and has written extensively for The Bankruptcy Law Network from its inception. Since 1988, Mr. Jacobs has taught Constitutional Law and Debtor/Creditor/Bankruptcy law for Cal Northern School of Law where he also serves as Dean of Students.
JEFF J. MARWIL
Jeff J. Marwil is a partner in Proskauer Rose’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group. He has 23 years of experience in the bankruptcy, workout and corporate restructuring area, He is devoting significant attention to hedge funds in distress, including hedge fund restructurings, wind-downs and liquidations. He represents the hedge funds, the managers/advisers, and sophisticated fund-of-fund and pension plan investors in hedge fund restructurings, wind-downs and complex litigation matters. He is pursuing in Chapter 11 cases fraudulent conveyance recoveries from Ponzi scheme recipients for the benefit of defrauded investors.
MARGARET DEE MCGARITY
Margaret Dee McGarity has been a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin since 1987, having been appointed for a second fourteen year term in 2001. She was appointed Chief Judge in 2003. Judge McGarity is a frequent lecturer on various marital property and bankruptcy related topics, especially on the interrelationships between family law and the Bankruptcy Code. She is a co-author of Marital Property Law in Wisconsin, and co-author of Collier Family Law and the Bankruptcy Code. She is also the author of numerous articles dealing with the practical aspects of bankruptcy practice and is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
ROBIN E. PHELAN
Robin E. Phelan is a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP, resident in the Dallas office. His practice is exclusively devoted to insolvency, reorganization and related areas, including extensive litigation in the bankruptcy court and other federal courts. He works with other Haynes and Boone attorneys to analyze the effect of bankruptcy on corporate and financial transactions, is a frequent speaker on panels and programs throughout the U.S. and internationally regarding developments in bankruptcy and insolvency law and is the author of numerous publications and contributor to treatises. Mr. Phelan has recently participated in a White House program to improve the U.S. bankruptcy system.
MICHAEL SABBATH
Michael Sabbath has been teaching at Mercer University School of Law since 1978, serving as an Associate Dean from 1997-2002, and as the Interim Dean from 2002-2004. He was a visiting professor at Emory University School of Law in fall, 1989, and at Wake Forest University School of Law in fall, 2004. Professor Sabbath served as an editor of the Emory Law Journal and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He worked from 1975-1978 in the ligigation section of an Atlanta law firm. He teaches in the areas of Bankruptcy, Commercial Law, and Contracts, and has done writing and speaking in these areas. He currently is the holder of The Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute/W. Homer Drake, Jr. Endowed Chair in Bankruptcy Law.
THOMAS J. SALERNO
Thomas J. Salerno is the co-chair of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey’s international financial restructuring practice. He has done restructurings in 30 states and several countries. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Southwest Super Lawyers, and The International Who’s Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers. In addition to dozens of articles, he is the co-author of three books: Executive Guide to Corporate Bankruptcy, Advanced Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Practice, and Bankruptcy Litigation and Practice.
FRANK J. SANTORO
Frank J. Santoro is a bankruptcy judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division. He previously served as managing partner of Marcus, Santoro & Kozak, P.C., a law firm located in Chesapeake, Virginia, which focuses exclusively on bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, and corporate finance since 1981. As Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for filings in Norfolk and Newport News Divisions of the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Santoro supervises the administration of approximately 5,000 bankruptcy cases. Judge Santoro is a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy. He participated inthe 2005 National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and has participated in the Mid-Atlantic Institute on Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice since 1987.
ROBIN R. WEINER
Robin R. Weiner was appointed Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Southern District of Florida in 1993. She has served as President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT) and has chaired The Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the Seventeenth Circuit (17D) as well as The Florida Bar Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Committee for the Seventeenth Circuit (17B). She is a frequent speaker at local and national bankruptcy seminars and conferences.
BRETT WEISS
Brett Weiss currently heads the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Group at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA in Greenbelt, MD. He has experience in complex individual Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 business cases, and in Chapter 11 small business restructuring and reorganization. He has represented individual and corporate debtors and creditors and litigated a number of cases of first impression. He has served on the Board of Directors, MSBA Consumer Bankruptcy Council; Co-Chair, CLE Committee Greenbelt; Assistant Chair, Bankruptcy Bar Association of Maryland; National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA); Civil Justice Network; and Bankruptcy Law Network.
JACK F. WILLIAMS
Jack F. Williams is a Professor at Georgia State University College of Law and at the Middle East Institute of Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches and/or conducts research in the areas of bankruptcy and business reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, taxation, Islamic Commercial Law, and law and terrorism. He is also a Managing Director at BDO Consulting, a division of BDO Seidman, in the New York and Atlanta offices. His areas of focus include restructuring and financial advisory services, financial fraud and fraudulent transfers, distressed business valuations, restructuring and insolvency taxation, forensic accounting, commercial damages modeling, investigation, litigation consulting, and the foreign corrupt practices act. He is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and is a prolific writer and speaker.
MICHAEL G. WILLIAMSON
Michael G. Williamson was appointed to the bench on March 1, 2000 and sits as a bankruptcy judge in the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. He began his bankruptcy practice serving as a Chapter 7 panel trustee in 1977. Thereafter, in the following 23 years, he represented numerous Chapter 11 corporate debtors, creditors’ committees, and trustees in bankruptcy cases pending throughout the state of Florida. Judge Williamson is past chair of the Committee on Creditors’ Rights, Section of Litigation, American Bar Association; past chair of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar and that section’s Bankruptcy/UCC Committee; and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
MARK S. ZUCKERBERG
Mark S. Zuckerberg is a Board Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Specialist practicing in Indianapolis, IN and has filed over 20,000 bankruptcy cases. He frequently lectures both locally and nationally on consumer bankruptcy law. He is past Chairman of the Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. He has been interviewed by numerous television and news publications. He was the only consumer bankruptcy attorney to debate Senator Grassley on the merits of bankruptcy reform on National Public Radio. He was awarded Master Distinguished Fellow by the Indianapolis Bar Association.