Jeffrey S. Nicolet
Attorney
Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD.

Graduate of Luther College (B.A. 1991); Graduate of William Mitchell College of Law (J.D. 1994); Licensed to practice in MN (1994) and WI (2002); Member of Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota Bar Association, and Wisconsin Bar Association; Shareholder of Wagner, Falconer & Judd, Ltd. – joined firm in 1998; Leads WFJ’s Commercial Collection and Litigation Practice.

Born and raised in the Midwest living in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but has called MN home for over 30 years. Jeff enjoys spending time with friends and family.

www.Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD.

Dr. Jur. Thomas Voller
Attorney At Law, Special Attorney for Commercial- and Corporate Law; Special Attorney for International Business Law; Attorney-Mediator (DAA)
Voller Rechtsanwaelte PartG 

Born in Frankfurt am Main on 14 August 1953, Thomas Voller studied in Tübingen, Göttingen and Geneva. He received his doctorate at the University of Tübingen in 1983 with a thesis on “Criminal offences created by the state – the right to employ agent provocateurs and the usability of evidence thus produced”. His legal training included time in the United States and England.

 After his admission as an attorney in 1982, he worked for large law firms in Frankfurt am Main before setting up his own office in 1987. Dr. Voller represents domestic and foreign firms both in and out of court and in all areas of business law including international debt collection. He is authorized to represent clients before all German local, regional and higher regional courts.

 Dr. Voller’s focus is on national and international commercial and corporate law. He is a certified specialist lawyer for commercial and corporate law as well as a certified specialist lawyer for international business law. In addition, he is a qualified lawyer-mediator (DAA) active in the area of out-of-court dispute settlement.

 In recent years his professional activity has increasingly focused on client credit management. This includes membership in the Federal Association of Credit Management (BvCM) as well as publications such as “Outlines of Debt Collection in Europe” or “Goods Dealers and Money Laundering”, which was released in its 2nd edition in January 2020.

 Dr. Voller is a founder of the European network EuroCollectNet and has intensively engaged in developing this network since its start in 2008.

You may contact Dr. Voller at DrVoller@vollerlaw.com.

David Gamache
Kramer & Frank, P.C.

Mr. Gamache is a Senior Attorney with the suburban St. Louis, Missouri law firm of Kramer & Frank, PC where his practice is limited to the area of Creditors’ Rights. The firm practices in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Illinois. He is licensed in both Missouri and Arkansas. Prior to his employment with Kramer & Frank PC he was a principal in the firm of Gamache & Myers, PC.

 He is a Past-President of the Commercial Law League of America, past CLLA Treasurer and Past Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section of the Commercial Law League of America. He currently serves on the CLLA board as Recording Secretary. His firm was a founding member of the Missouri Creditors Bar Association of which he was the first President.

 He was the 2015 recipient of the Robert E Caine Leadership Award, given by Caine & Weiner and the CLLA. David is “AV Preeminent” rated through Martindale Hubbell.   

 David is a frequent speaker for many organizations including but not limited to The CLLA and the Missouri Bar Association. He has spoken on the topics of collection law, judgment recovery, creditor liability and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). He has authored during several publication years the chapter entitled “Handling Collections” for the Missouri CLE publication Creditor-Debtor Remedies. He has authored numerous articles related to FDCPA and has been quoted in a number of national publications.

David is a member of the Commercial Law League of America, the American Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, and the Arkansas Bar. His firm are members of NCBA and is an associate member with CCA of A.

 He has also served for four years as chair of the Commercial Law League’s FDCPA Committee, and as the Chair of the Midwestern Members Association.

Tim Wan
Senior Partner and CEO, Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh

Timothy Wan, Esq. is Senior Partner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. His areas of expertise include managing the creditor’s rights and collection law practice, serving as General Counsel to various small businesses in the local business community and spearheading practice areas of entertainment law, music law, copyright and intellectual property.

Jay Westbrook
Benno C. Schmidt Chair of Business Law
Professor
(University of Texas)

Jay Westbrook is one of the nation’s most distinguished scholars in the field of bankruptcy, leading scholarship in both empirical research and international/comparative studies. He teaches and writes in commercial law and international business litigation. Professor Westbrook also serves as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the National Bankruptcy Conference, and the American College of Bankruptcy. He has twice been named the Outstanding Teacher at Texas Law and received the “Larry King Award” from the Commercial Law League.

Clifford J. White III
Former USTP Director

Clifford J. White III is the former head of the Justice Department’s United States Trustee Program (USTP), known as the “watchdog” of the bankruptcy system. Before retiring in 2022, Cliff served as the USTP’s Director for 17 years. During his tenure, the USTP implemented key provisions of the comprehensive Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Prevention Act of 2005 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019. He also developed new enforcement strategies to address creditor violations of bankruptcy law and to uphold chapter 11 requirements limiting executive bonuses, policing professional conflicts of interest and fees, and scrutinizing other controversial practices. 

During his tenure, the USTP objected to non-consensual third-party releases, including in the Purdue Pharma case which was decided by the Supreme Court in favor of the government’s position. Cliff received two Presidential Rank Awards, the highest awards given to career government senior executives, from President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. Cliff is currently employed by a financial services and technology firm with clients in the banking and lending industry. He is a frequent commentator on bankruptcy issues before professional associations and in the news media.

John Pucin
Caine & Weiner

John is a creditor’s rights attorney with over 20 years of experience managing multiple priorities as a former partner at a large law firm.

This includes negotiation, management of personnel, litigation, team leadership, and marketing. He understands how to execute strategic objectives and has a strong passion for consistent deliverance of client satisfaction. A unique combination of courtroom competency and ability to manage and help grow an organization provides John the necessary experience to coordinate, assess, and lead our Legal Department and affiliated law firm.

John is admitted to the State Bars in Illinois and Ohio along with the United States District Courts of Northern Illinois, Northern Ohio and Southern Ohio. He is currently an active member of the Commercial Law League of America, Illinois Creditors Bar Association, and the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

He graduated in 1988 from Xavier University, Cincinnati OH with a B.S.B.A./Finance and in 1992 with a Juris Doctor degree from the Capital University Law School, Columbus Ohio.  

Colin Winkler
ACA International

Colin Winkler, currently senior counsel for ACA International—the accounts-receivable management industry’s trade association—has a diverse set of legal and professional expertise. He has worked as a financial crimes consultant with Wells Fargo Bank, where he investigated potential money laundering in the context of the Venezuelan currency crisis in 2019; an attorney-editor with Thomson Reuters’ statutes editorial team, where he led early research on the California Consumer Privacy Act; a paralegal supervisor and business operations manager for CACI International at the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, where he worked hand-in-hand with DOJ attorneys to enforce civil tax liabilities through litigation in federal courts; and a collections and creditors’ rights attorney in solo practice and at a small firm in northern Virginia.

Neeraj Mendiratta
President, Knova One, Inc.

Neeraj established KnovaOne in 2012 with the aim of helping law firms in the Collections and Default industry to improve their processes and performance, provide visibility into their operations, and provide staffing support for back-office and administrative tasks. KnovaOne established its India operations in Pune, India along with IT development center (ARMGuard Solutions). KnovaOne was acquired by Data Search BY, Inc in April 2024.

KnovaOne provides operational support to its clients that helps them balance workload and focus internal resources on more complex or revenue generating tasks. KnovaOne services help clients save costs, increase production, reduce turnaround time and effectively manage workload without HR challenges. The clients include Default & Collections Law Firms, Mortgage Servicers, Debt Buyers, Collection Networks, Data Providers, and Process Servers.

ARMGuard Solutions has been helping clients automate their processes, build customized applications and improve productivity. It has also built a compliance platform, Audit Information Management (AIM), that allows organizations to not only manage internal compliance, but also audit their vendors.

Before starting his own businesses, Neeraj was Head of Default for Ocwen. Neeraj briefly served as the Head of Attorney Network at NCO Financial in 2011. Prior to this, he donned several hats at Capital One managing analytics, first-party and third-party agencies, and the legal collections network. In his various roles, Neeraj has built complex analytical models, developed risk and operation strategies, and managed vendor operations.

Neeraj has Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg (USA), and a B.Tech (Honors) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India).

Neeraj is a member of several professional organizations in Collections and Default industry, and actively participates in CLLA, NCBA, RMAi, ALFN, USFN, MBA, Five-Star, and HFMA.

Timothy Wan, Esq.
Senior Partner and CEO, Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh

Timothy Wan, Esq. is Senior Partner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. His areas of expertise include managing the creditor’s rights and collection law practice, serving as General Counsel to various small businesses in the local business community and spearheading practice areas of entertainment law, music law, copyright and intellectual property.

David Skeel
Samuel Arsht Professor
University of Pennsylvania Law School

David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is author of True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World (InterVarsity, 2014); The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2011); Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From (Oxford, 2005); Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001); and numerous articles on bankruptcy and financial distress, corporate law, Christianity and law, law and literature, and other topics. His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and elsewhere. Since August 2016, he has served on the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which he currently chairs (since October 2020).

Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Ret.)
Tucker Arensberg, Pittsburgh, PA 

Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Ret.) ia a long-time member of CLLA, and a Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, has been blessed with an exciting, challenging and intellectually stimulating career. As a Judicial Law Clerk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Professor of Law, Practitioner at Tucker Arensberg, Arbitrator, Mediator, Author and Expert Witness, she has experienced a wide variety of legal disciplines and administrative responsibilities. Judi is a Professor in the Practice of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she teaches Bankruptcy and Advanced Bankruptcy. She is active in national and local professional organizations including the Commercial Law League of America, the American Law Institute, the American College of Bankruptcy. The American Bankruptcy institute and the American Inns of Court. Among other offices, she has served as President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and as Chair of the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Committee to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Judi has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Commercial Law League’s Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy and the American Inns of Court Bankruptcy Alliance Distinguished Service Award. Judi consults and lectures in matters involving trial strategy, evidence, procedure, contracts, bankruptcy and professional responsibility, and participates on several committees and boards dedicated to fostering legal education and improving access to justice.

Maribeth Thomas
Tucker Arensberg, Pittsburgh, PA 

Maribeth Thomas focuses her practice primarily on Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Creditors’ Rights. She proficiently navigates the intersection of bankruptcy law with state law. Knowledge of the system and the ability to listen and understand the issues that clients face, attention to detail, communication, and problem-solving skills are just a few of Maribeth’s greatest strengths. Maribeth has a comprehensive understanding of all bankruptcy aspects including collections, foreclosures, representation in bankruptcy cases, and debtor’s work. When clients are dealing with difficult situations, Maribeth provides counsel and offers problem-solving solutions and then works to come up with a collaborative positive result.

Maribeth’s professional experience includes handling litigation and bankruptcy counsel for financial institutions, mortgage servicers, homeowners associations, and automotive financing companies. She also has experience with collections litigation and collection of money judgements for both individuals and commercial clients. In addition, she has represented multiemployer trust funds with issues related to withdrawal liability and transactions to “evade or avoid” withdrawal liability, as well as controlled group liability along with multiemployer trust funds in contributing employers’ bankruptcy proceedings nationwide to assert and protect the funds’ interests as creditors.

Prior to joining Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Maribeth was a judicial law clerk for The Honorable Gregory L. Taddonio and The Honorable Judith K. Fitzgerald (ret.) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. This valuable experience allows Maribeth to understand the procedures and nuances of the judges and the court. She has an eye toward knowing what the court wants. In addition to her federal clerkships, Maribeth worked for a boutique creditors’ rights law firm in Pittsburgh. She also completed judicial clerkships with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence County.

Maribeth earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq.
Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA 

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq. is a shareholder, and was previously chairperson, of the Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights Department of the law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. in Pittsburgh. Ms. Manne is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Her practice includes complex bankruptcies and reorganizations, creditors’ rights, commercial loan originations, restructuring and liquidations, receiverships, and commercial lending/leasing workouts. Beverly also is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where she teaches Commercial Paper and Banking (Payment Systems) and has taught Secured Transactions. Ms. Manne is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the ABA, PBA and Allegheny County Bar Association, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Commercial Law League (“CLLA”), American Bankruptcy Institute, and a past Chair of the ACBA Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section. She is the immediate past Chair of the PBA Business Law Section Council, co-chair of the Insolvency Law Modernization Task Force and the UCC Chapter 12 Adoption Task Force, and BLS’ representative in PBA’s House of Delegates. Ms. Manne is a member of the CLLA Education and Bankruptcy Executive Committee and has served on Western District Bankruptcy Court Chapter 11 Subchapter V Small Business procedures committees as well as the Complex Chapter 11 Procedures committee. Ms. Manne received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and her law degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights Category for 2006 through the present, and; has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2007 through the present in the Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law category.

Candice Kline

Partner, Saul Ewing LLP, Chicago, IL

Candice Kline is a partner at Saul Ewing focused on bankruptcy and restructuring situations and litigation. She serves in leadership at various bar and trade associations and is a member of the CLLA’s Bankruptcy Section Executive Council and Board of Governors. Candice has an MBA and JD and began her legal career after many years in global commercial banking and business, including startups. She practices in Illinois and Ohio with a nationwide docket in complex commercial matters. Candice is a frequent speaker and writer on mass tort bankruptcies and third-party releases, including a long-running series in the Commercial Law World magazine.

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq.

Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA 

Beverly is an experienced attorney who represents secured and unsecured creditors, lessors, and buyers of assets in bankruptcy cases, non-judicial restructurings and in complex, and distressed business and commercial credit situations and commercial finance matters. Ms. Manne is licensed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She also is an adjunct professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and teaches Payment Systems and Banking, and also taught Secured Transactions for many hears. From 1981 to 1986, she was an attorney with the USDA Office of General Counsel. Ms. Manne obtained her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh as well as her B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She is a member of the Commercial Law League of America, serves on the Executive Council of its Creditors’ Rights Section and has served on the Executive Council of its Bankruptcy Section. Ms. Manne is immediate past Chair of the PBA Business Law Section, member, and ex-officio of the PBA Shale Energy Law Committee, the 2014 Uniform Voidable Transfer Act adoption task force, 2013 Insolvency Law Task Force, UCC Article 9 Revisions Adoption Task Forces in 2000 and 2010, and the Insolvency Law Task Force in 1994-1996. Ms. Manne is a founding member and ex-officio of the Judith K. Fitzgerald Bankruptcy Inn of Court. Ms. Manne frequent is a speaker, panelist, and course planner, locally and nationally on bankruptcy, mechanics lien, oil and gas and commercial issues. She is included in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Edition and Best Lawyers in America.  

Jeffrey S. Nicolet
Attorney
Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD.

Graduate of Luther College (B.A. 1991); Graduate of William Mitchell College of Law (J.D. 1994); Licensed to practice in MN (1994) and WI (2002); Member of Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota Bar Association, and Wisconsin Bar Association; Shareholder of Wagner, Falconer & Judd, Ltd. – joined firm in 1998; Leads WFJ’s Commercial Collection and Litigation Practice.

Born and raised in the Midwest living in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but has called MN home for over 30 years. Jeff enjoys spending time with friends and family.

www.Wagner, Falconer & Judd, LTD.

Richard Payne
Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors

Richard received a B.A. and an LL.B from Dalhousie University and was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1987. He is the Principal with Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors. Richard practices in the area of Commercial Litigation with a primary focus on Debtor-Creditor work including collections for lawyers and other professionals. He has practiced in Collections Law extensively since he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1987 and has represented both unsecured and secured Creditors in collection proceedings.

Richard is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Commercial Law League of America. He is a former Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section, and is currently the President Elect of the League.

Rebecca Robitaille
Vice-President, Franklin & O’Brien Legal Services

Rebecca Robitaille has over 20 years of experience in the legal field, with a focus within the commercial collection industry for the last 18 years. She is Vice-President of Franklin & O’Brien Legal Services (formerly Franklin & Franklin), a Montreal-based law firm providing commercial collection (B2B) services across Canada and internationally. Rebecca spearheads the International Claims Division, having developed and cultivated an unrivalled network of professional collection partners over the years, operating in almost every jurisdiction worldwide. Our goal is to offer a reliable “one-stop shop” for our creditor and commercial collection agency clients, regardless of the claim size or location. Rebecca speaks English and French and can be reached at rebecca@franklinobrien.com

Dr. Jur. Thomas Voller
Attorney At Law, Special Attorney for Commercial- and Corporate Law; Special Attorney for International Business Law; Attorney-Mediator (DAA)
Voller Rechtsanwaelte PartG 

Born in Frankfurt am Main on 14 August 1953, Thomas Voller studied in Tübingen, Göttingen and Geneva. He received his doctorate at the University of Tübingen in 1983 with a thesis on “Criminal offences created by the state – the right to employ agent provocateurs and the usability of evidence thus produced”. His legal training included time in the United States and England.

After his admission as an attorney in 1982, he worked for large law firms in Frankfurt am Main before setting up his own office in 1987. Dr. Voller represents domestic and foreign firms both in and out of court and in all areas of business law including international debt collection. He is authorized to represent clients before all German local, regional and higher regional courts.

Dr. Voller’s focus is on national and international commercial and corporate law. He is a certified specialist lawyer for commercial and corporate law as well as a certified specialist lawyer for international business law. In addition, he is a qualified lawyer-mediator (DAA) active in the area of out-of-court dispute settlement.

In recent years his professional activity has increasingly focused on client credit management. This includes membership in the Federal Association of Credit Management (BvCM) as well as publications such as “Outlines of Debt Collection in Europe” or “Goods Dealers and Money Laundering”, which was released in its 2nd edition in January 2020.

Dr. Voller is a founder of the European network EuroCollectNet and has intensively engaged in developing this network since its start in 2008.

You may contact Dr. Voller at DrVoller@vollerlaw.com.

Richard Payne
Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors

Richard received a B.A. and an LL.B from Dalhousie University and was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1987. He is the Principal with Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors. Richard practices in the area of Commercial Litigation with a primary focus on Debtor-Creditor work including collections for lawyers and other professionals. He has practiced in Collections Law extensively since he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1987 and has represented both unsecured and secured Creditors in collection proceedings.

Richard is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Commercial Law League of America. He is a former Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section, and is currently the President Elect of the League.

Robert Ash
Legal Dept. Manager, AMS Commercial Division, Radius Global Solutions, LLC

Robert Ash is a seasoned veteran of the collection industry; with over 20 years’ experience in Accounts Receivable Management, Consumer Collections and Commercial Debt Collections. His longstanding career with AMS began in 1997, when Robert joined the collection team.

After six years of delivering exceptional recovery results and service to AMS’ clients, Robert was promoted to Legal Department Manager. Robert’s financial expertise and strong communication skills provide a seamless transition from collections to litigation.

As a member of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) and active participant within the CLLA’s Eastern Region, Robert has developed and cultivated close associations with a network of collection attorneys throughout the country, ensuring AMS’ clients have the best representation to meet their legal needs. 

David Gamache
Kramer & Frank, P.C.

Mr. Gamache is a Senior Attorney with the suburban St. Louis, Missouri law firm of Kramer & Frank, PC where his practice is limited to the area of Creditors’ Rights. The firm practices in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Illinois. He is licensed in both Missouri and Arkansas. Prior to his employment with Kramer & Frank PC he was a principal in the firm of Gamache & Myers, PC.

 He is a Past-President of the Commercial Law League of America, past CLLA Treasurer and Past Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section of the Commercial Law League of America. He currently serves on the CLLA board as Recording Secretary. His firm was a founding member of the Missouri Creditors Bar Association of which he was the first President.

 He was the 2015 recipient of the Robert E Caine Leadership Award, given by Caine & Weiner and the CLLA. David is “AV Preeminent” rated through Martindale Hubbell.   

 David is a frequent speaker for many organizations including but not limited to The CLLA and the Missouri Bar Association. He has spoken on the topics of collection law, judgment recovery, creditor liability and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). He has authored during several publication years the chapter entitled “Handling Collections” for the Missouri CLE publication Creditor-Debtor Remedies. He has authored numerous articles related to FDCPA and has been quoted in a number of national publications.

David is a member of the Commercial Law League of America, the American Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, and the Arkansas Bar. His firm are members of NCBA and is an associate member with CCA of A.

 He has also served for four years as chair of the Commercial Law League’s FDCPA Committee, and as the Chair of the Midwestern Members Association.

Tim Wan
Senior Partner and CEO, Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh

Timothy Wan, Esq. is Senior Partner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. His areas of expertise include managing the creditor’s rights and collection law practice, serving as General Counsel to various small businesses in the local business community and spearheading practice areas of entertainment law, music law, copyright and intellectual property.

Hon. Joan N. Feeney (Ret.)
JAMS

Hon. Joan N. Feeney (Ret.) joined JAMS in 2019 following almost 27 years on the bench of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts and 23 years as a member of the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit. As a judge, Judge Feeney presided over a full range of cases, including complex commercial cases with multiple parties and interests. While on the bench, she wrote over 500 opinions in many different areas of the law. Judge Feeney now serves as a mediator, arbitrator, and neutral evaluator in all types of two-party and multi-party disputes, concentrating in bankruptcy, business, and employment law. She has developed a robust national practice as a neutral at JAMS.

Bruce Markell
Professor of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, and Edward Avery Harriman Lecturer in Law
(Northwestern University)

Bruce A. Markell was appointed the Professor of Bankruptcy Law and Practice at Northwestern in 2015. From 2013 to 2015, he was the Jeffrey A. Stoops Professor of Law at Florida State University School of Law, and before that he was a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nevada, a position he had held since 2004. After law school, he clerked for then-judge Anthony M. Kennedy on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Before taking the bench, he practiced bankruptcy and business law in Los Angeles for ten years (where he was a partner at Sidley & Austin), and was a law professor for fourteen. He is the author of numerous articles on bankruptcy and commercial law, and a co-author of four law school casebooks. He has been a visiting professor at, among other schools, Peking University School of Law in Beijing, and Harvard Law School. He contributes to Collier on Bankruptcy, and is a member of Collier ’s editorial advisory board.

He is a conferee of the National Bankruptcy Conference, a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a charter member of the International Insolvency Institute, and a member of the American Law Institute. He is a founding member of the NITA-trained faculty of the Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Institute. Professor Markell also consults with the International Monetary Fund on insolvency-related issues (having been part of the IMF’s missions to Ireland, Bosnia, Belarus, Montenegro, Serbia, Georgia, and Greece), and was the primary drafter of Kosovo’s current bankruptcy law. He is an associate editor of the Bankruptcy Law Letter, and regularly contributes articles to that publication. In 2022, Professor Markell received the Lawrence P. King Award from the Commercial Law League of America.

Jay Westbrook
Benno C. Schmidt Chair of Business Law
Professor
(University of Texas)

Jay Westbrook is one of the nation’s most distinguished scholars in the field of bankruptcy, leading scholarship in both empirical research and international/comparative studies. He teaches and writes in commercial law and international business litigation. Professor Westbrook also serves as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the National Bankruptcy Conference, and the American College of Bankruptcy. He has twice been named the Outstanding Teacher at Texas Law and received the “Larry King Award” from the Commercial Law League.

Clifford J. White III
Former USTP Director

Clifford J. White III is the former head of the Justice Department’s United States Trustee Program (USTP), known as the “watchdog” of the bankruptcy system. Before retiring in 2022, Cliff served as the USTP’s Director for 17 years. During his tenure, the USTP implemented key provisions of the comprehensive Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Prevention Act of 2005 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019. He also developed new enforcement strategies to address creditor violations of bankruptcy law and to uphold chapter 11 requirements limiting executive bonuses, policing professional conflicts of interest and fees, and scrutinizing other controversial practices. 

During his tenure, the USTP objected to non-consensual third-party releases, including in the Purdue Pharma case which was decided by the Supreme Court in favor of the government’s position. Cliff received two Presidential Rank Awards, the highest awards given to career government senior executives, from President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. Cliff is currently employed by a financial services and technology firm with clients in the banking and lending industry. He is a frequent commentator on bankruptcy issues before professional associations and in the news media.

Richard Payne
Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors

Richard received a B.A. and an LL.B from Dalhousie University and was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1987. He is the Principal with Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors. Richard practices in the area of Commercial Litigation with a primary focus on Debtor-Creditor work including collections for lawyers and other professionals. He has practiced in Collections Law extensively since he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1987 and has represented both unsecured and secured Creditors in collection proceedings.

Richard is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Commercial Law League of America. He is a former Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section, and is currently the President Elect of the League.

Wanda Borges
Borges and Associates, LLC

For more than forty years, Ms. Borges has concentrated her law practice on commercial litigation and creditors’ rights in bankruptcy matters, representing corporate clients and creditors’ committees throughout the United States in Chapter 11 proceedings, out of court settlements, commercial transactions, and preference litigation.

She is a member and Past President of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) and has been an Attorney Member of its National Board of Governors, a Chair of the Bankruptcy Section and Creditors’ Rights Section as well as President of the Commercial Law League Fund for Public Education. She is a member of several bar associations, including the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Ms. Borges serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Commercial Collectors (IACC), of which her firm is an associate member.

She is an internationally recognized lecturer and author on various legal topics which impact trade creditors. She is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Associate Editors for the Commercial Law League of America’s “Commercial Law World” magazine and regularly contributes articles to that magazine as well as her column “Heard and Overheard.” Her treatise Hidden Liens: Who is Entitled to What? was published in the Fall, 1998 Edition of the Commercial Law Journal. She has authored Antitrust, Restraint of Trade and Unfair Competition: Myth Versus Reality, published by the NACM and most recently updated in 2017. Ms. Borges is the lead author and Editor-in-Chief of Enforcing Judgments and Collecting Debts in New York, a treatise updated annually and published by Thomson West Publishing Company. She routinely publishes articles for the National Association of Credit Management “Business Credit” magazine and has published articles for its “Fraud Prevention News.”

Upon the passage of the BAPCPA in 2005, Ms. Borges prepared and presents educational programs on this new legislation and co-authored The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 – An Overhaul of U.S. Bankruptcy Law, published by the NACM. Her article titled “Uniform Voidable Transactions Act” was published in Insolvency Intelligence, a law journal published by Thomson West in the UK. Ms. Borges has been included in the New York Super Lawyers – Metro Edition list (Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights) each year since 2009. In November 2010, Ms. Borges received the “Robert E. Caine Award for Leadership” from the Commercial Law League of America and in 2023 she was the recipient of the Warren Pinchuck Volunteer Service Award. She is listed in Who’s Who in America.

John Pucin
Caine & Weiner

John is a creditor’s rights attorney with over 20 years of experience managing multiple priorities as a former partner at a large law firm.

This includes negotiation, management of personnel, litigation, team leadership, and marketing. He understands how to execute strategic objectives and has a strong passion for consistent deliverance of client satisfaction. A unique combination of courtroom competency and ability to manage and help grow an organization provides John the necessary experience to coordinate, assess, and lead our Legal Department and affiliated law firm.

John is admitted to the State Bars in Illinois and Ohio along with the United States District Courts of Northern Illinois, Northern Ohio and Southern Ohio. He is currently an active member of the Commercial Law League of America, Illinois Creditors Bar Association, and the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

He graduated in 1988 from Xavier University, Cincinnati OH with a B.S.B.A./Finance and in 1992 with a Juris Doctor degree from the Capital University Law School, Columbus Ohio.  

Colin Winkler
ACA International

Colin Winkler, currently senior counsel for ACA International—the accounts-receivable management industry’s trade association—has a diverse set of legal and professional expertise. He has worked as a financial crimes consultant with Wells Fargo Bank, where he investigated potential money laundering in the context of the Venezuelan currency crisis in 2019; an attorney-editor with Thomson Reuters’ statutes editorial team, where he led early research on the California Consumer Privacy Act; a paralegal supervisor and business operations manager for CACI International at the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, where he worked hand-in-hand with DOJ attorneys to enforce civil tax liabilities through litigation in federal courts; and a collections and creditors’ rights attorney in solo practice and at a small firm in northern Virginia.

Richard Payne
Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors

Richard received a B.A. and an LL.B from Dalhousie University and was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1987. He is the Principal with Payne Law, Barristers and Solicitors. Richard practices in the area of Commercial Litigation with a primary focus on Debtor-Creditor work including collections for lawyers and other professionals. He has practiced in Collections Law extensively since he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1987 and has represented both unsecured and secured Creditors in collection proceedings.

Richard is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Commercial Law League of America. He is a former Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Section, and is currently the President Elect of the League.

Lori J. Frank
Markoff Law Michigan Office

Lori J. Frank is the managing attorney for Markoff Law’s Michigan office, is the immediate past president of the Michigan Creditors Bar Association, Chair of the Creditors Rights Section and is a past board member for the Commercial Law League of America, has lobbied in Congress and in Lansing. She is an active member of the Michigan State Bar and is the proud dog mom of Big Popi & Little Khalessi. Lori received her undergraduate degree from Boston University and law degree from Detroit College of Law now known as Michigan State University College of Law.

Neeraj Mendiratta
President, Knova One, Inc.

Neeraj established KnovaOne in 2012 with the aim of helping law firms in the Collections and Default industry to improve their processes and performance, provide visibility into their operations, and provide staffing support for back-office and administrative tasks. KnovaOne established its India operations in Pune, India along with IT development center (ARMGuard Solutions). KnovaOne was acquired by Data Search BY, Inc in April 2024.

KnovaOne provides operational support to its clients that helps them balance workload and focus internal resources on more complex or revenue generating tasks. KnovaOne services help clients save costs, increase production, reduce turnaround time and effectively manage workload without HR challenges. The clients include Default & Collections Law Firms, Mortgage Servicers, Debt Buyers, Collection Networks, Data Providers, and Process Servers.

ARMGuard Solutions has been helping clients automate their processes, build customized applications and improve productivity. It has also built a compliance platform, Audit Information Management (AIM), that allows organizations to not only manage internal compliance, but also audit their vendors.

Before starting his own businesses, Neeraj was Head of Default for Ocwen. Neeraj briefly served as the Head of Attorney Network at NCO Financial in 2011. Prior to this, he donned several hats at Capital One managing analytics, first-party and third-party agencies, and the legal collections network. In his various roles, Neeraj has built complex analytical models, developed risk and operation strategies, and managed vendor operations.

Neeraj has Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg (USA), and a B.Tech (Honors) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India).

Neeraj is a member of several professional organizations in Collections and Default industry, and actively participates in CLLA, NCBA, RMAi, ALFN, USFN, MBA, Five-Star, and HFMA.

Timothy Wan, Esq.
Senior Partner and CEO, Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh

Timothy Wan, Esq. is Senior Partner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. His areas of expertise include managing the creditor’s rights and collection law practice, serving as General Counsel to various small businesses in the local business community and spearheading practice areas of entertainment law, music law, copyright and intellectual property.

Melissa B. Jacoby
Graham Kenan Professor of Law
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Melissa B. Jacoby is the Graham Kenan Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of Unjust Debts: How our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal, which Publishers Weekly described as a “startling debut” and an “eye-opening look at the laws that undergird American inequality.” Jacoby testified on mass tort bankruptcy before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2023 and just published an essay on that topic in the New York Times. She will be a visiting professor at Harvard Law School in Fall 2024.

Candice Kline
Partner, Saul Ewing LLP, Chicago, IL

Candice Kline is a partner at Saul Ewing focused on bankruptcy and restructuring situations and litigation. She serves in leadership at various bar and trade associations and is a member of the CLLA’s Bankruptcy Section Executive Council and Board of Governors. Candice has an MBA and JD and began her legal career after many years in global commercial banking and business, including startups. She practices in Illinois and Ohio with a nationwide docket in complex commercial matters. Candice is a frequent speaker and writer on mass tort bankruptcies and third-party releases, including a long-running series in the Commercial Law World magazine.

David Skeel
Samuel Arsht Professor
University of Pennsylvania Law School

David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is author of True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World (InterVarsity, 2014); The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2011); Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From (Oxford, 2005); Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton, 2001); and numerous articles on bankruptcy and financial distress, corporate law, Christianity and law, law and literature, and other topics. His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and elsewhere. Since August 2016, he has served on the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, which he currently chairs (since October 2020).

Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Ret.)
Tucker Arensberg, Pittsburgh, PA 

Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Ret.) ia a long-time member of CLLA, and a Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, has been blessed with an exciting, challenging and intellectually stimulating career. As a Judicial Law Clerk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Professor of Law, Practitioner at Tucker Arensberg, Arbitrator, Mediator, Author and Expert Witness, she has experienced a wide variety of legal disciplines and administrative responsibilities. Judi is a Professor in the Practice of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she teaches Bankruptcy and Advanced Bankruptcy. She is active in national and local professional organizations including the Commercial Law League of America, the American Law Institute, the American College of Bankruptcy. The American Bankruptcy institute and the American Inns of Court. Among other offices, she has served as President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and as Chair of the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Committee to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Judi has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Commercial Law League’s Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy and the American Inns of Court Bankruptcy Alliance Distinguished Service Award. Judi consults and lectures in matters involving trial strategy, evidence, procedure, contracts, bankruptcy and professional responsibility, and participates on several committees and boards dedicated to fostering legal education and improving access to justice.

Eric Langston
Aegis Law, Cedar Rapids, IA 

Eric Langston is a highly skilled attorney based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who chairs the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group at his law firm. Prior to starting his solo practice, Eric worked at the largest law firm in the Eastern Iowa region and, while in Chicago, with the restructuring group of a global law firm.

With over a decade of experience in business law, Eric has extensive expertise in complex commercial real estate transactions, corporate governance, and banking and finance law. His experience includes negotiating large commercial transactions, such as a $40 million asset-based loan facility on behalf of a borrower, negotiating a private equity investor’s investment of $75 million as debt, and handling the disposition or acquisition of distressed assets.

In bankruptcy and restructuring, Eric has represented a variety of stakeholders, including debtors, unsecured creditors’ committees, liquidating trustees, and statutory equity committees, in matters such as fraudulent conveyance actions and bankruptcy motion practice. Eric’s experience in this area is highly sought after, and he is recognized as a leading bankruptcy and restructuring attorney in Iowa.

Eric is also a passionate advocate for pro bono impact litigation. He has partnered with the ACLU to successfully challenge the constitutionality of a policy of the Michigan Secretary of State that made it impossible or unduly burdensome for transgender individuals to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses. Eric has also challenged the constitutionality of the Louisiana Department of Corrections’ denial of auxiliary aids or services to hearing-impaired probationers and parolees and represented an LGBT client seeking asylum from Kyrgyzstan. Eric’s dedication to pro bono work has made him a respected member of his community.

Before becoming a lawyer, Eric worked as a data scientist in the higher education industry for seven years. The skills he developed during this time have proven invaluable in his legal practice, particularly in representing clients in complex real estate transactions and bankruptcy proceedings. Eric is licensed to practice law in Colorado, Iowa, and Illinois and is also a Notary Public in Iowa.

In his free time, Eric enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and playing tennis. He has a strong interest in astrophysics and space travel, quantum computing, generalized artificial intelligence, and abstract mathematics. Eric has a motorcycle endorsement on his driver’s license and enjoys riding sport-bikes.

Eric is a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, where he focused his studies on tax law. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Knox College. Eric is a member of local and state bar associations and is committed to the civil justice movement. He regularly volunteers for efforts surrounding community enhancement, such as Iowa Legal Aid and other partners to deliver legal assistance via Linn County’s Expungement and Employment Barriers Resource Clinic. Eric also held a pro bono estate planning workshop for people living with HIV to prepare and execute wills and powers of attorney for healthcare and property.

Maribeth Thomas
Tucker Arensberg, Pittsburgh, PA 

Maribeth Thomas focuses her practice primarily on Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Creditors’ Rights. She proficiently navigates the intersection of bankruptcy law with state law. Knowledge of the system and the ability to listen and understand the issues that clients face, attention to detail, communication, and problem-solving skills are just a few of Maribeth’s greatest strengths. Maribeth has a comprehensive understanding of all bankruptcy aspects including collections, foreclosures, representation in bankruptcy cases, and debtor’s work. When clients are dealing with difficult situations, Maribeth provides counsel and offers problem-solving solutions and then works to come up with a collaborative positive result.

Maribeth’s professional experience includes handling litigation and bankruptcy counsel for financial institutions, mortgage servicers, homeowners associations, and automotive financing companies. She also has experience with collections litigation and collection of money judgements for both individuals and commercial clients. In addition, she has represented multiemployer trust funds with issues related to withdrawal liability and transactions to “evade or avoid” withdrawal liability, as well as controlled group liability along with multiemployer trust funds in contributing employers’ bankruptcy proceedings nationwide to assert and protect the funds’ interests as creditors.

Prior to joining Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Maribeth was a judicial law clerk for The Honorable Gregory L. Taddonio and The Honorable Judith K. Fitzgerald (ret.) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. This valuable experience allows Maribeth to understand the procedures and nuances of the judges and the court. She has an eye toward knowing what the court wants. In addition to her federal clerkships, Maribeth worked for a boutique creditors’ rights law firm in Pittsburgh. She also completed judicial clerkships with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Court of Common Pleas of Lawrence County.

Maribeth earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq.
Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA 

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq. is a shareholder, and was previously chairperson, of the Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights Department of the law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. in Pittsburgh. Ms. Manne is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Her practice includes complex bankruptcies and reorganizations, creditors’ rights, commercial loan originations, restructuring and liquidations, receiverships, and commercial lending/leasing workouts. Beverly also is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where she teaches Commercial Paper and Banking (Payment Systems) and has taught Secured Transactions. Ms. Manne is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the ABA, PBA and Allegheny County Bar Association, International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation, Commercial Law League (“CLLA”), American Bankruptcy Institute, and a past Chair of the ACBA Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section. She is the immediate past Chair of the PBA Business Law Section Council, co-chair of the Insolvency Law Modernization Task Force and the UCC Chapter 12 Adoption Task Force, and BLS’ representative in PBA’s House of Delegates. Ms. Manne is a member of the CLLA Education and Bankruptcy Executive Committee and has served on Western District Bankruptcy Court Chapter 11 Subchapter V Small Business procedures committees as well as the Complex Chapter 11 Procedures committee. Ms. Manne received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and her law degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights Category for 2006 through the present, and; has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2007 through the present in the Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law category.

Adam J. Levitin
Anne Fleming Research Professor & Professor of Law
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC

Professor Levitin specializes in bankruptcy, commercial law, and financial regulation. His scholarship has won numerous awards, including the American Law Institute’s Young Scholar’s Medal, in recognition of his work’s potential to influence improvements in law.

Before joining Georgetown faculty, Professor Levitin practiced in the Business Finance & Restructuring Department of Weil, Gotshal, & Manges, LLP and served as law clerk to the Honorable Jane R. Roth on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Professor Levitin has also previously served as the Bruce W. Nichols Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, as the Robert Zinman Scholar in Residence at the American Bankruptcy Institute, as Special Counsel to the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board.

William (Billy) Organek

Assistant Professor of Law, Zicklin School of Business

Baruch College, New York, NY

William Organek is an Assistant Professor of Law at the Zicklin School of Business, and is the Managing Editor of the Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable. His research investigates bankruptcy’s operation as a system of public law regulation and private law ordering. His scholarship develops case studies with a blend of empirical analysis and insights from law and economics. His work also draws on his nearly ten years of legal practice and real estate business experience. His articles have been or are forthcoming in major law reviews and he has been featured on several podcasts of legal scholarship.

Prior to joining the Zicklin faculty, William was a Program Fellow with the Bankruptcy Project at Harvard Law School. Before that, he practiced law in the New York offices of two major international law firms, and he clerked for Judge Michael Wiles on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Earlier in his career, he started a real estate business in China and lived in Shanghai for more than two years. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and a B.A. in Economics-Philosophy from Columbia University.

Hon. Judith K. Fitzgerald (Ret.)

Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA

A long-time member of CLLA, and Retired U.S. Bankruptcy has been blessed with an exciting, challenging and intellectually stimulating career. As a Judicial Law Clerk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Professor of Law, Practitioner at Tucker Arensberg, Arbitrator, Mediator, Author and Expert Witness, she has experienced a wide variety of legal disciplines and administrative responsibilities. Judi is a Professor in the Practice of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she teaches Bankruptcy and Advanced Bankruptcy. She is active in national and local professional organizations including the Commercial Law League of America, the American Law Institute, the American College of Bankruptcy. The American Bankruptcy institute and the American Inns of Court. Among other offices, she has served as President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and as Chair of the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Committee to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Judi has received numerous awards and recognitions including the Commercial Law League’s Lawrence P. King Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy and the American Inns of Court Bankruptcy Alliance Distinguished Service Award. Judi consults and lectures in matters involving trial strategy, evidence, procedure, contracts, bankruptcy and professional responsibility, and participates on several committees and boards dedicated to fostering legal education and improving access to justice.

Candice Kline

Partner, Saul Ewing LLP, Chicago, IL

Candice Kline is a partner at Saul Ewing focused on bankruptcy and restructuring situations and litigation. She serves in leadership at various bar and trade associations and is a member of the CLLA’s Bankruptcy Section Executive Council and Board of Governors. Candice has an MBA and JD and began her legal career after many years in global commercial banking and business, including startups. She practices in Illinois and Ohio with a nationwide docket in complex commercial matters. Candice is a frequent speaker and writer on mass tort bankruptcies and third-party releases, including a long-running series in the Commercial Law World magazine.

Beverly Weiss Manne, Esq.

Tucker Arensberg, P.C., Pittsburgh, PA 

Beverly is an experienced attorney who represents secured and unsecured creditors, lessors, and buyers of assets in bankruptcy cases, non-judicial restructurings and in complex, and distressed business and commercial credit situations and commercial finance matters. Ms. Manne is licensed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She also is an adjunct professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and teaches Payment Systems and Banking, and also taught Secured Transactions for many hears. From 1981 to 1986, she was an attorney with the USDA Office of General Counsel. Ms. Manne obtained her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh as well as her B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She is a member of the Commercial Law League of America, serves on the Executive Council of its Creditors’ Rights Section and has served on the Executive Council of its Bankruptcy Section. Ms. Manne is immediate past Chair of the PBA Business Law Section, member, and ex-officio of the PBA Shale Energy Law Committee, the 2014 Uniform Voidable Transfer Act adoption task force, 2013 Insolvency Law Task Force, UCC Article 9 Revisions Adoption Task Forces in 2000 and 2010, and the Insolvency Law Task Force in 1994-1996. Ms. Manne is a founding member and ex-officio of the Judith K. Fitzgerald Bankruptcy Inn of Court. Ms. Manne frequent is a speaker, panelist, and course planner, locally and nationally on bankruptcy, mechanics lien, oil and gas and commercial issues. She is included in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Edition and Best Lawyers in America.