About Me
“ Craig D. Robins, Esq., has been a practicing Long Island bankruptcy attorney for over twenty-four years ”
Bankruptcy Trustee Profiles
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 Trustee Robert L. Pryor enjoys a great deal of respect from the bankruptcy bar who recognize him as a bankruptcy attorney who is not only savvy with issues in large-scale corporate restructuring Chapter 11 cases, but also familiar with the finer legal issues surrounding consumer cases. Bob has been involved in several high-profile cases in the past.
Bob has been a panel trustee in the Eastern District of New York since 1984, where he is assigned cases filed in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court.
Bob is the managing partner and co-founder of the Westbury bankruptcy law firm, Pryor & Mandelup LLP,. He and partner, Scott Mandelup, began that firm in 1987. Prior to that time, Bob had his own firm in Hempstead.
Bob obtained his bachelor of arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1974, and his law degree from Hofstra University Law School in 1981. He was admitted to practice law in New York in 1982.
He is very active in the bankruptcy bar and frequently lectures on a variety of issues. I have often quoted and written about the commentary Bob has provided at continuing legal education programs. Bob has been a featured speaker at county and state bar association seminars, as well as tax symposiums.
In February of this year, Bob and I were on a panel of speakers, together with Judge Eisenberg and Trustee Andrew Thaler, in which we gave a bankruptcy presentation to attorneys and judges in a program of the Theodore Roosevelt American Inns of Court .
Bob has a reputation of being a highly knowledgeable Chapter 7 trustee who tends to be fair and realistic, and who is usually guided by sound business judgment.
He is one of only two trustees in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court who requires debtors appearing before him to provide a laundry list of documents before the meeting of creditors. This is a relatively new requirement that he implemented this year.
Bob lives on the North Shore of Long Island. Outside of practicing law, one of his passions is tennis.
Although it looks like he is testifying at some Congressional committee, I took the photo of Bob at a recent bankruptcy seminar in which he was a panelist.
Here’s Bob’s contact info:
Robert L. Pryor, Esq.
Pryor & Mandelup LLP
675 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
Phone: (516) 997-0999
Pryor & Mandelup LLP
675 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
Phone: (516) 997-0999
Written and photographed by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee R. Kenneth Barnard, Esq. has been on the Chapter 7 trustee panel for the Eastern District of New York since about 1990, where he is assigned cases filed in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court.
His office is located in Babylon, New York and he is also a sole practitioner handling bankruptcy, litigation and real estate matters.
Ken was admitted to practice in 1985. He graduated from New York University, and he received his law degree from Hofstra Law School in 1984.
One of Ken’s passions is race horses. In addition to owning several of them, he has trained several racing horses, including The Dwight Stuff, which raced in the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing Program, and Leave it to Betsy, which raced at Aqueduct.
Unlike many of the other Chapter 7 trustees, Ken does not actively participate as a panelist in bankruptcy seminars. He also tends to use other lawfirms to handle all of his trustee litigation matters.
Ken is known for meticulously reviewing the petitions of each and every debtor who appears before him.
I took the photo of Ken at a recent Bar Association bankruptcy seminar.
Here’s Ken’s contact info:
R. Kenneth Barnard, Esq.
384 W. Main Street
Babylon, NY 11702
Phone: (631) 661-0906
384 W. Main Street
Babylon, NY 11702
Phone: (631) 661-0906
Allan B. Mendelsohn (right) talking with fellow Chapter 7 trustee Andy Thaler (left) at a recent Bankruptcy Seminar
Written and photographed by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee Allan B. Mendelsohn got his start in bankruptcy by representing creditors and mortgage companies.
In the late 1980s, when I was representing consumer debtors, Allan was quite busy in a high-volume mortgage foreclosure practice, bringing motions to lift the stay in my Chapter 13 cases.
Allan eventually moved on, and in 1990, became a founding member of his firm, now known as Zavatsky Mendelsohn & Levy, LLP, located in Syosset, New York. A large part of the firm’s practice consists of representing mortgagees in foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings.
In 1990, the same year he co-founded his firm, Allan also became a member of the panel of Chapter 7 trustees for cases in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court, which is in the Eastern District of New York.
Allan has developed a good reputation for being a no-nonsense litigator with an expertise in bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosure real estate issues. He has also been frequently called upon by the Office of the U.S. Trustee to act as an appointed Chapter 7 trustee to administer large Chapter 11 cases that have been converted to Chapter 7, such as video-game developer Acclaim Entertainment.
Allan graduated from Long Island University C. W. Post College in 1979. He attended Hofstra University School of Law, graduating in 1982. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1982.
He often speaks at symposiums and bar association seminars about his area of expertise – the effect of bankruptcy on foreclosure.
Allan’s firm represents several large mortgagees, including North Fork Bank, Bank of America, GreenPoint Mortgage Corp., Ponce de Leon Federal Bank, M&T Mortgage Corp., Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and Champion Mortgage.
If the bankruptcy court assigns Allan a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case of a debtor who has a mortgage with one of these companies, Allan is required to recuse himself from acting as the trustee on that case, because of the rules regarding conflicts of interest.
Allan lives on the North Shore of Long Island.
Here’s Allan’s contact info:
Allan B. Mendelsohn, Esq.
Zavatsky Mendelshon & Levy, LLP
P.O. Box 510
33 Queens Street
Syosset, NY 11791
Phone: (516) 921-1670
P.O. Box 510
33 Queens Street
Syosset, NY 11791
Phone: (516) 921-1670
Written and photographed by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Neil H. Ackerman has been a Chapter 7 trustee on cases in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court, which is in the Eastern District of New York, since 1992.
He got his start in bankruptcy law by clerking for former Long Island Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia H. Goetz immediately after he finished law school in 1981.
Neil has a reputation for being a sharp, knowledgeable and aggressive litigator who is not adverse to taking chances. Sometimes he prevails and sometimes he does not. He is very well versed in all types of commercial litigation, real estate law, federal and state court litigation, business litigation, appellate work, and malpractice actions.
In addition to his Chapter 7 trustee matters, Neil heads the Bankruptcy and Debtors’ and Creditors’ Law Department at the Mineola law firm, Meltzer Lippe, where he has been since 2003. Prior to that, Neil headed the Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights practice at Rivkin, Radler & Kremer between October 1992 and February 1995, and for the year prior thereto at Finkelstein, Bruckman, Wohl, Most & Rothman.
Unlike some Chapter 7 trustees who use other law firms to handle their litigation, Neil always uses his own firm, Meltzer Lippe.
If you see him, chances are greater than 50-50 that he’ll be wearing suspenders.
He likes to write and has written a number of scholarly articles on bankruptcy law and related issues. Some of his articles have appeared in the RICO Law Reporter, the New York Law Journal, and Long Island Business News. He is the former editor of the column, “Bankruptcy for Bankers” which appeared in the Banking Law Journal.
Neil attended law school at American University, graduating in 1981 cum laude, and was a member of the Law Review there. He attended college at the State University of New York at Binghamton, majoring in Philosophy and Political Science. He grew up on Long Island in Bellmore, attending John F. Kennedy High School.
Neil lives on the South Shore of Long Island.
I got to know Neil well because for several years Neil and I both had offices in the same building in Westbury, when the Bankruptcy Court was located just one block away from our office.
I took the photo of Neil at a bankruptcy bar association function.
Here’s Neil’s contact info:
Neil H. Ackerman, Esq.
Meltzer Lippe LLP
190 Willis Avenue
Mineola, NY 11501
Phone: (516) 747-0300
Written and photographed by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee Richard L. Stern, Esq. has been on the Chapter 7 trustee panel for the Eastern District of New York since 1992, where he is assigned cases filed in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court.
I have personally known “Rick” since 1985 when he was an associate at Holland & Zinker, one of Long Island’s earliest bankruptcy boutique law firms, where he eventually became a partner. Incidentally, Marvin Holland, name partner in that firm, left to serve as a bankruptcy judge in the Brooklyn Bankruptcy Court. He has since retired.
Rick eventually moved on became a partner with Chapter 13 trustee Michael J. Macco many years ago, and they’ve been partners ever since in the firm, Macco & Stern, LLP located in Melville.
As a trustee I find Rick to be fair, reasonable, respectful and even-tempered.
Rick enjoys an exceptionally good reputation in the legal community and the bankruptcy bar. He very frequently speaks at and moderates bankruptcy seminars for the Suffolk County Bar Association.
Few attorneys volunteer more time towards the legal profession than Rick. As for Suffolk County bankruptcy attorneys, he’s probably at the top of the list in this regard. Rick is currently the Dean of the Suffolk Academy of Law and he also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Suffolk County Bar Association.
In addition, he’s received numerous awards including the New York State Bar Association Pro Bono Service Awards for 1992 and 1996. The Suffolk County Bar Association recognized him in 1991 and 2002 with a Special Recognition Award from the Pro Bono Foundation for his work in the Pro Bono Project Bankruptcy Clinic and a Director’s Award in 2005.
I attended a dinner in 2003 at which time Rick received a Partners in Justice Award from Nassau/Suffolk Law Services for his pro bono work.
Rick was admitted to practice in 1978. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1974, and he received his law degree from Hofstra Law School in 1977.
Rick and his wife, who live in Nassau County, enjoy the theater. We have seen each other at Broadway Shows. One of his children actually starred in a Broadway musical several years ago – The Will Rogers Follies. I remember Rick sometimes rushing out of Court to take his daughter to appear in the show in the early 1990s.
I took the photo of Rick when he was moderating the Bankruptcy Law Update seminar at the Suffolk County Bar Association in December.
Here’s Rick’s contact info:
Richard L. Stern, Esq.
Macco & Stern, LLP
135 Pinelawn Road, Suite 120 South
Melville, NY 11747
Phone: (631) 549-7900
Macco & Stern, LLP
135 Pinelawn Road, Suite 120 South
Melville, NY 11747
Phone: (631) 549-7900
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 Trustee Kenneth P. Silverman enjoys a great deal of respect from the bankruptcy bar who recognize him as a bankruptcy attorney who is not only savvy with large-scale corporate restructuring and Chapter 11 cases, but one who is also familiar with the finer legal issues surrounding consumer cases.
Ken has been a panel trustee in the Eastern District of New York since 1989, where he is assigned cases filed in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court. He is also a Chapter 7 trustee in the Southern District of New York, where he is assigned cases filed in the New York City Bankruptcy Court in Bowling Green.
Ken is the founding partner of the bankruptcy and commercial litigation firm, Silverman Perlstein & Acampora, in Jericho, New York. He began that firm in 1999 when he broke away from the Garden City firm of Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman. The firm is currently known as SilvermanAcampora LLP.
Ken obtained his bachelors degree from Syracuse University in 1974, and his law degree from New York Law School in 1980.
He is very active in the bankruptcy bar and frequently lectures on a variety of issues. He previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the St. John’s University School of Law in its Bankruptcy LL.M. Program.
Ken has been appointed to liquidate a number of prominent Chapter 11 cases after they were converted to cases under Chapter 11. He has also been a mediator on the Register of Mediators for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Ken is currently administering the high profile case of Agape World involving disgraced financier and alleged ponzi schemer Nicholas Cosmo. See my earlier post about that case: Ken Silverman Appointed Chapter 7 Trustee in Agape World Case .
Ken has a reputation of being a highly knowledgeable Chapter 7 trustee who tends to be fair and realistic, and who is usually guided by sound business judgment.
I took the photo of Ken at a recent Bar Association event.
Here’s Ken’s contact info:
Kenneth P. Silverman, Esq.
SilvermanAcampora LLP
100 Jericho Quadrangle
Jericho, NY 11753-3302
Phone: (516) 479-6300
SilvermanAcampora LLP
100 Jericho Quadrangle
Jericho, NY 11753-3302
Phone: (516) 479-6300
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 Trustee Marc A. Pergament has been a panel trustee in the Eastern District of New York since 1990, where he is assigned cases filed in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court.Marc graduated from Brooklyn College in 1977 with a B.A. cum laude. He attended Rutgers University Law school, graduating in 1980.
Marc tends to be quite busy with both cases that he administers as trustee, and bankruptcy and commercial litigation cases in private practice. He is a founding partner of the Garden City law firm, Weinberg, Gross & Pergament LLP which was created in 1987.
Prior to that, Marc was a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice, in their Antitrust Division, from 1980 to 1983.
He was previously involved as a coordinator and treasurer for 13 years with the Notre Dame Catholic Youth Organization in Nassau County.
Marc speaks frequently at various bankruptcy seminars and bar association events and is well-regarded for his expertise with bankruptcy law and procedure, especially matters pertaining to litigation.
As a trustee, he has a reputation of being an aggressive and demanding litigator who is not afraid of taking chances.
Here’s Marc’s contact info:
Marc A. Pergament, Esq.
Weinberg, Gross & Pergament LLP
400 Garden City Plaza, Suite 403
Garden City, NY 11530
Phone: (516) 877-2424
Weinberg, Gross & Pergament LLP
400 Garden City Plaza, Suite 403
Garden City, NY 11530
Phone: (516) 877-2424
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Few trustees are as involved with Bar Association activities, pro bono work, and giving back to the legal profession as Andy, who has been a Chapter 7 trustee since 1990 on cases in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court, which is in the Eastern District of New York.
As a trustee, Andy is widely respected by the bench and bar for his knowledge and easy-going, yet authoritative demeanor.
For ten years, Andy’s office was directly one floor above mine when we both had offices in the same building in Westbury, during a time when the Bankruptcy Court was located half a block away from us.
He has been very involved in the Nassau County Bar Association and he served as Dean of the Nassau Academy of Law in 2001 to 2002, and also served on the Bar Association’s Board of Directors from 2002 to 2005. He is a former chairman of the Nassau County Bar Association Bankruptcy Law Committee.
In addition, Andy and I co-founded the Nassau County Pro Bono legal services project for bankruptcy in 1991. That year, the Bar Association honored him as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Later, in 2003, he was co-recipient of the Partners in Justice Award from Nassau/Suffolk Law Services for his pro bono work, along with Chapter 7 trustee Richard L. Stern. He was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Month by the Nassau County Bar Association in September 2007.
Andy and I both serve on the Board of Directors for the Theodore Roosevelt American Inn of Court. Since 2002 he has been the Inn’s Continuing Legal Education Program Coordinator. Andy and I have also served together as panelists for several bankruptcy seminars over the years. We gave a presentation at the Bar Association in October, and we are also giving another presentation scheduled for February.
In addition to bankruptcy matters, Andy also represents clients with commercial litigation. He is a founding partner of the East Meadow law firm, Thaler & Gertler, LLP, and currently serves as its managing partner.
Andy is also a mediator and serves on the Mediation Panel for the Bankruptcy Court (Eastern District of New York).
Andy graduated Magna Cum Laude from State University of New York at Albany in 1979 where he majored in sociology. He attended SUNY Buffalo Law School, graduating in 1983. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1984.
Despite a very busy schedule, Andy finds time for tennis, gardening, the beach, and his family. He has two children in college and recently took up the guitar so that he could play with his son.
If you have a case with Andy, you can be assured of being treated fairly and with respect.
Here’s Andy’s contact info:
Andrew M. Thaler, Esq.
Thaler & Gertler, LLP
90 Merrick Avenue, Suite 400
East Meadow, NY 11554
Phone: (516) 228-3553
Thaler & Gertler, LLP
90 Merrick Avenue, Suite 400
East Meadow, NY 11554
Phone: (516) 228-3553
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.This post is part of a series of biographies and profiles of Long Island bankruptcy trustees and judges.
Long Island Chapter 7 bankruptcy Trustee Kenneth Kirschenbaum has the distinction of being the senior-most member of the panel of Chapter 7 trustees for the Eastern District of New York for cases assigned to the Long Island Bankruptcy Court in Central Islip. He has been on the panel since 1978.
For a few years in the early 1980s, Ken also served as a Chapter13 trustee in the Brooklyn Bankruptcy Court.
The Early Years
Ken grew up in Nassau County and attended Herricks High School. He then graduated from Adelphi University with a major in psychology in 1970. This led to jobs at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center and the Maimonides Institute in Far Rockaway where he taught emotionally disturbed students for a year as he attended a graduate program for a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology at St. Johns University.
After one year there he attended Brooklyn Law School – his father’s alma matter – and the law school where he much later sent his daughter, Jennifer, to get her law degree. He received his law degree in 1974.
In 1977 he formed a partnership with his father, who Ken says was a role model. Their firm, Kirschenbaum and Kirschenbaum P.C., is located in Garden City.
His law firm has developed a national reputation for representing companies in the burglar and fire alarm industry, and a significant portion of his practice is devoted to that.
Ken Kirchenbaum as a Bankruptcy Trustee
As a trustee, Ken has a reputation for actively and vigorously pursuing assets large and small, even those that may have a relatively low non-exempt value, especially cars. He is known to rely heavily on his associates.
He is also the only trustee on the panel of Chapter 7 trustees in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court who has a long laundry list of items that he requires debtors to produce before he will meet with them at the meeting of creditors. These include bank statements, credit card statements, certificates of title to cars, copies of deeds, and homeowners insurance policies.
Ken was involved in a rather interesting case that I posted about during the summer: Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee Kenneth Kirschenbaum and Nassau County District Attorney Fight Over Assets After Debtor Commits Suicide .
He was also the trustee in another interesting case that I wrote about for the Suffolk Lawyer: Dying Octogenarian’s Secret Drives Spouse Into Bankruptcy .
Mr. Kirschenbaum’s wife, Lois Kirschenbaum, is a well-known real estate broker. They have two grown children including Jennifer Kirschenbaum, who is an attorney in her father’s firm.
Ken is a former board member at his temple and director of the Old Westbury Horseman’s Foundation. Once an avid horseback rider, he now spends his recreational time pursuing golf.
Ken is the only person I know who drives a Rolls Royce. He lives in Nassau County.
Here’s Ken’s contact info:
Kenneth I. Kirschenbaum, Esq.
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
Phone: (516) 747-6700
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
Phone: (516) 747-6700
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.Everyone these days is Googling everyone else. Many of my Long Island bankruptcy clients have commented to me that they have searched the internet for information about their bankruptcy judge and trustee.
People want to know about the judges and trustees they have to appear before. Often a debtor wants to know more about their trustee after having interacted with him or her for the first time at the meeting of creditors. Sometimes colleagues who do not regularly practice in the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court contact me to inquire about what I know of a certain judge or trustee.
And even those who regularly practice in our court are curious about the backgrounds of those they regularly appear before. Some of my readers have suggested that I provide something along the line of biographies of those affiliated with the bankruptcy court.
I have therefore decided to post profiles of all of the key players in Central Islip Bankruptcy Matters — the trustees, the judges, and eventually, perhaps, some others.
The Central Islip Bankruptcy Court, which is one of the two bankruptcy courts in the Eastern District of New York, currently has a panel of nine chapter 7 trustees, two standing Chapter 13 trustees, and three bankruptcy judges.
I previously posted an article about Long Island Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees which contained a list of all of the Chapter 7 trustees that are currently on the Chapter 7 panel for the Eastern District of New York and assigned to the Central Islip Bankruptcy Court, as well as those who are no longer on the Chapter 7 panel.
Most of the information I’ll be providing is public information and readily accessible to anyone willing to spend the time to do so. Obviously I don’t want to provide any sensitive personal information. However, I will try to offer some of my own opinions about each trustee I profile.
In addition, with each trustee, I will also post contact info such as their office address and phone number.
The first post will be about our senior-most Chapter 7 trustee, Ken Kirschenbaum, who has a particularly colorful background. All trustee profiles will be accessable on the page, Long Island Bankruptcy Trustee Profiles , which you can get to by clicking the link.
One final thing: lots of people Google me, too. So here’s the link to my bio — information about Craig D. Robins, Esq., Long Island Bankruptcy Attorney.