On Monday night this week, I participated in a group that presented an educational bankruptcy program for the Theodore Roosevelt Chapter of the American Inns of Court.

 

The presentation, which discussed various issues of bankruptcy law, was held at the Nassau County Bar Association, and was attended by about 70 judges, attorneys and law students.

 

The program took the format of a role-playing demonstration and subsequent discussion.  It centered around a detailed fact pattern about an individual who owned a small company that has financial difficulties and needs Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief.  The individual also had his own financial consumer problems complicated by the possibility of divorce, not to mention some serious tax problems as well.  These are all issues that commonly arise in bankruptcy matters.

 

Our hard-working group was led by Long Island Bankruptcy Court Judge Dorothy T. Eisenberg, who hosted several meetings in her chambers at the Courthouse in Central Islip over the past several months.

 

I naturally played the role of the consumer bankruptcy attorney.  Chapter 7 trustee Andrew M. Thaler played the role of my lawfirm partner who specializes in matrimonial bankruptcy issues.  Chapter 7 trustee Robert L. Pryor played the role of the Chapter 11 business attorney.  Tax attorney Bernard S. Mark played the role of the seasoned bankruptcy tax attorney.  Commercial litigator Jaspreet S. Mayal played the role of the creditor’s attorney.

 

We were very fortunate to have three very hard-working Hofstra Law School students participate in the project.  Matthew R. Amon played the role of the businessman who suffered from corporate and consumer financial problems.  Emily Harper played his nagging soon-to-be-divorced wife.  Glorisbel Roman played the anxious creditor, and also acted as narrator.

 

All of the students did outstanding jobs preparing for the presentation, conducting research, writing reports, and acting in the program.

 

 

The Theodore Roosevelt Inn of Court is a chapter of the American Inns of Court, which is dedicated to the enhancement of civility, ethics and legal excellence in the practice of law. I’ve been a member of this group since 1991.

To foster these concepts, the chapter emphasizes hands-on participation in the preparation and presentation of programs which address every-day experiences which lawyers face in their practices. Members include a number of federal and state judges, from seasoned trial lawyers to inexperienced litigators, attorneys from both public and private sectors, and law students from Touro, Hofstra and St. John’s Law Schools.

The Chapter holds monthly dinner programs which are usually held at the Nassau County Bar Association and follow an agenda that typically begins with a buffet dinner. At the dinner, not only do the members interact socially but the more experienced attorneys and judges mentor younger lawyers and law students. Dinner is followed by the monthly program and is often concluded by a lively discussion where members pose questions and discuss their diverse views and perspectives. The Theodore Roosevelt Inn of Court has received authorization to grant its members C.L.E. credit for attending the programs.