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APPENDIX B-2

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES FOR SENIOR ADVISERS AND LEGAL STAFF

 

SENIOR ADVISERS

Professor Elizabeth Warren
Commission Reporter

Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, served as the Commission's Reporter and Senior Adviser. She was the William Schnader Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and has also taught at the University of Texas School of Law, the University of Michigan and the University of Houston Law Schools. Appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Professor Warren serves as a member of the Federal Judicial Center's Committee on Bankruptcy Education. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of the American Law Institute as well as a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference. Professor Warren has co-authored several books on bankruptcy and written numerous articles on bankruptcy and commercial law. In addition, she has conducted various empirical studies focusing on the economic as well as sociological aspects of bankruptcy and its causes.

Professor Lawrence P. King
Senior Adviser

Lawrence P. King, Charles Seligson Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, served as Senior Adviser for the Commission. Professor King is the Editor-in-Chief of one of the leading treatises on bankruptcy law, Collier on Bankruptcy, and has co-authored numerous books and articles on bankruptcy and commercial law. Of counsel to the New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Professor King is a former member of and reporter to the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He is also Vice Chair of the National Bankruptcy Conference.

Stephen H. Case
Senior Adviser

Stephen H. Case served as Senior Adviser to the Commission. He is a partner in the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell in Washington, D.C., where his practice has focused on complex Chapter 11 cases and financial distress workouts. Previously, he worked on SEC registered public offerings, bank loans and mergers. An adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, he has also taught advanced Chapter 11 continuing legal education courses. He has authored numerous articles on securities, commercial and bankruptcy law. Mr. Case is a member of the American Law Institute and the National Bankruptcy Conference for which he served as Vice-chair of the Committee on Legislation from 1992 to 1996.

 

COMMISSION LEGAL STAFF

Susan Jensen-Conklin
General Counsel

Susan Jensen-Conklin, before joining the Commission, Ms. Jensen-Conklin was the Senior Attorney-Advisor at the Newark, New Jersey Office of the United States Trustee. Prior to that assignment, she was a law clerk for the Honorable Jeremiah E. Berk, United States Bankruptcy Judge - S.D.N.Y., and Manuel E. Price, United States Bankruptcy Judge - E.D.N.Y., over an eight-year period. In addition to co-authoring a book on consumer bankruptcy, Ms. Jensen-Conklin has written articles and chapters in various treatises on the intersection of bankruptcy with other substantive areas of law. She holds J.D. and LL.M. (Corporate Law) degrees from New York University School of Law.

Jarilyn Dupont
Former Executive Director\General Counsel

The Commission was originally staffed by Jarilyn Dupont who served as Executive Director and General Counsel. Ms. Dupont was a former legislative assistant to Mike Synar, the Commission's first Chairman. She also was the former legislative counsel to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration of the House Judiciary Committee. She actively participated in the Commission's formative period and initial operations. These activities included overseeing the transfer of the initially appropriated funds, securing office space and facilities, hiring staff and reviewing all legal requirements of the Commission.

Elizabeth I. Holland
Senior Staff Attorney

Elizabeth I. Holland, a Senior Staff Attorney, was primarily responsible for proposals on jurisdiction and procedure, ethics and service to the estate, partnerships, Chapter 12, Chapter 9, government and transnational issues. Before joining the Commission, Ms. Holland was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom where she represented debtor and creditor interests in large Chapter 11 cases in addition to an active securities practice. Ms. Holland is a cum laude graduate of Brooklyn Law School where she was managing editor of the Law Review.

Melissa B. Jacoby
Senior Staff Attorney

Melissa Jacoby, a Senior Staff Attorney, received both her B.A. in History and her J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Commission staff, Ms. Jacoby was a law clerk for the Honorable Robert E. Ginsberg, Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois and Vice-Chair of the Commission. Her primary areas of concentration on behalf of the Commission were consumer bankruptcy, Chapter 11, contracts and leases, and mass future claims.

Jennifer C. Frasier
Volunteer Staff Attorney and Former Staff Attorney

Jennifer Frasier initially joined the Commission as a Staff Attorney and, upon returning to her firm, thereafter became a Volunteer Staff Attorney. Ms. Frasier received her J.D. and LL.M. from the University of Texas. While associated with the Commission, Ms. Frasier's areas of concentration included small business and single asset real estate cases, partnerships, tax and data issues. She is an associate attorney at the Houston law firm of Sheinfeld, Maley & Kay and recently published an article on bankruptcy statistics.

George H. Singer
Volunteer Staff Attorney and Former Staff Attorney

George Singer joined the Commission as a Staff Attorney. He subsequently served as a Volunteer Staff Attorney upon associating with the Minneapolis law firm of Lindquist & Vennum. During his tenure with the Commission, Mr. Singer focused on Chapter 12 and small business cases, including partnerships and single asset real estate, government and tax issues. A former Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Nancy C. Dreher, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Minnesota, and the Honorable William A. Hill, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of North Dakota, Mr. Singer has authored numerous articles on bankruptcy and commercial law and serves on the editorial boards of several bankruptcy law journals.

Judith Benderson
Legislative Counsel

Judith Benderson, on detail from the United States Department of Justice, served as legislative counsel as well as coordinated media relations for the Commission. At the Department of Justice, Ms. Benderson is the Assistant Director handling bankruptcy matters in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, coordinating bankruptcy fraud legislation and training for U.S Attorney's offices and is Editor-in-Chief of In Bankruptcy, a newsletter for bankruptcy practitioners in the government. Before joining the Commission, she was a 1995-96 American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow working as the Judiciary Legislative Assistant for U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson during his final term in Congress. Prior to that, she was a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia from 1994 to 1995. Ms. Benderson received her J.D. from American University.

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