Please join the Bankruptcy Section for the West Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association for an automotive insolvency webinar on June 18, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. The panel includes the Honorable Phillip J. Shefferly, the Honorable John T. Gregg, Daniel F. Gosch, Stephen M. Gross, Richard E. Kruger, and Alicia B. Masse. The webinar is co-sponsored with the ABI and the Bankruptcy Section for the Eastern District of Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
The event is free but registration is required:
https://www.abi.org/events/automotive-insolvency-issues-in-the-covid-age
Members,
I hope you are staying safe and healthy during this time. The Steering Committee for the Bankruptcy Section of the Western Michigan Chapter of the Federal Bar Association has determined that in light of the COVID-19 crisis, the summer seminar, originally scheduled for Boyne Mountain from July 30-August 1 has been cancelled. While we are disappointed that we are unable to hold our signature event, we believe this is the right decision based on all available information. We look forward to holding the 2021 summer seminar at Boyne Mountain.
We are excited, however, to announce that we will be holding a seminar on September 14, 2020 at the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We envision a program on September 14 that will closely match the educational offerings we had planned for the summer seminar. Instead of spreading the educational sessions over two mornings, we will spread them over a morning and an afternoon. We will replace our traditional “Breakfast with the Judges” with a “Lunch with the Judges” program. And, we will finish the day with a cocktail party. More information will follow, but you can expect great educational content, as well as an opportunity to network with your bankruptcy colleagues and friends.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me or to any other member of the steering committee.
Thank you,
Liz Von Eitzen
The court has published the Revised Model Chapter 13 Plan which is for use in cases filed under, or converted to, Chapter 13 on or after January 1, 2020.
See information on the court website about filing documents for cases with the Marquette, Michigan venue. There, you will also see a link to the Administrative Order which states that the clerk’s office in Marquette is no longer staffed, required a change in the way documents are filed for those cases. Click here to view the PDF.
See information on the court website about the retirement of Judge Marci B. McIvor, Eastern District of Michigan Bankruptcy Court, to be held on January 15, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan.
The United States Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee, seeks resumes from persons wishing to be considered for inclusion in a pool of trustees who may be appointed on a case-by-case basis to administer cases filed under the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (Subchapter V), which amended chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code).
View Notice at uscourts.gov or download the PDF.
This was held on Friday, October 4, 2019, in the International Ballroom of the JW Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Judge Dales and Court Clerk Wilson made remarks about the present state of our bankruptcy practice. We presented the Judge James D. Gregg Education Award to Chapter 13 Trustee Barbara Foley in recognition for her many efforts in this area, including that she ran the Summer Seminar for a number of years, she organizes and contributed to educational activities every year and she provides her own Debtor Education program for filed debtors. We enjoyed an interview by Andrew Gerdes of our guest speaker, Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, who is a native of West Michigan. Thanks for all those who contributed to this event.
After many years of excellent work running our court, Dan LaVille retired as Clerk the United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Michigan. We honored him with a party at the University Club in Grand Rapids on July 24, 2019. Thank you, Dan for your excellent work. Then, we welcomed Michele Wilson as our new Clerk on August 1. She was installed formally on August 9, 2019. Michelle has a long resume and is familiar to us through her excellent work as a trial attorney for our local United States Trustee office. She has also been tireless in her work for continuing education for our bar with the Summer Seminar, Boot Camp and many other activities over the years. See the announcement of her appointment at https://www.miwb.uscourts.gov/sites/miwb/files/NewClerkPressRelease.pdf.
We held our annual Summer Seminar from July 26 – 28, 2019 at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Michigan. As always, the educational offerings were excellent. For the second year in a row, we held the Trial Advocacy Skills Workshop, led by 5 judges and new Clerk of the court, Michelle Wilson. We also honored Kelly Hagan, Chapter 7 trustee from Traverse City, Michigan, with the Nims/Howard Civility Award. Thanks to all those who sponsored, presented and attended the event. See you next year in Boyne Mountain!
Due to increased interest in the substantive articles published in the Bankruptcy Section’s newsletter, as well as the frequency of the events pertaining to the Bankruptcy Section and the Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Michigan, the Bankruptcy Section has decided to restructure the formatting of its newsletter into two components. The first will consist of a monthly email containing news and information regarding upcoming events in the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. The second component will consist of a quarterly electronic publication, entitled the “Michigan Bankruptcy Journal”, which will consist of substantive legal articles, comments, and briefs. The Bankruptcy Section believes this new format will balance the need for more frequent notifications regarding upcoming events with the desire to maintain a quarterly publication that provides an avenue for Michigan bankruptcy practitioners and related professionals to publish written works and newer members of the bar to remain apprised of legal developments.
