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Start Over Record Source University of Pennsylvania Creator National Bankruptcy Archives Year 1983

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Murray Drabkin papers, 1957-1999 (inclusive)

Extent:
10 linear feet
Abstract:
Murray Drabkin (1928-) was a commercial bankruptcy lawyer at Hopkins and Sutter in Washington, D.C. until 2001. He was a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference and co-authored the "Judges' bill," which, together with the "Commission bill," drafted by a federal commission to study bankruptcy laws, was the basis for the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. The collection, 1932-1999, includes materials relating to bankruptcy reform and the jurisdiction of bankruptcy judges in the 1970s and 1980s; records and papers of the National Bankruptcy Conference, where Drabkin was an active member; material relating to two important legislative projects formed by the National Bankruptcy Conference, the Code Review Project and the Insurance Insolvency Project; correspondence related to the activities of bankruptcy committees in New York and Washington, D.C.; and published manuals, reports, and reference books.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Robert B. Morton papers, 1973-1994 (inclusive)

Extent:
3 linear feet (about 3,000 items.)
Abstract:
Robert B. Morton (1912-2005) earned his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1935. In 1962, Morton became a judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court, a position he held until 1986. Upon his retirement from the court, Morton worked for Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy, a law firm located in Wichita, Kan. Morton was an active member in a number of bankruptcy and legal organizations, most notably the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, where he served as President from 1975 to 1976 and as Treasurer from 1980 to 1982. The collection, 1973-1994, includes correspondence, memoranda, handwritten notes, and related material regarding Morton's activities as a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges; as counsel to the bankruptcy department of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy; and as an advocate for improved benefits for bankruptcy judges.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Leon S. Forman papers, 1978-2002 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.5 linear feet (about 200 items.)
Abstract:
Leon S. Forman (1915-2006) graduated from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1939. Forman joined the law firm of Blank, Rome, Comisky and McCauley in 1984, where served the remainder of his career. He was a member of numerous legal and bankruptcy organizations, including the American College of Bankruptcy and the National Bankruptcy Conference. The collection, 1978-2002, chiefly includes correspondence, reports, and related material regarding Forman's activity as a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Johns-Manville Reorganization Case Court records, 1982-1990 (inclusive)

Extent:
50 cubic feet (275 volumes)
Abstract:
Johns-Manville was an American corporation that made insulation and roofing materials. In the 1980s, the company faced a number of class-action lawsuits based on asbestos-related injuries from its asbestos insulation. As a result, in 1982 Johns-Manville file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time, the company was the largest to ever file for Chapter 11, also known as corporate known as corporate reorganization. The bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York heard the case, rendering its decision in 1990. The collection, 1982-1990, includes pleadings and other records filed over the course of the case.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Henry J. Sommer papers, 1966-2014 (inclusive)

Extent:
66.50 linear feet (90 boxes)
Abstract:
Henry J. Sommer is one of the leading figures in bankruptcy and consumer law. Born in 1949 in Rochester, New York, Sommer received his JD cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1974. After graduating from Harvard, he worked for Community Legal Services in Philadelphia as Project Head of its Consumer Law Project until 1996. In addition to his role with Community Legal Services, Sommer has served on bankruptcy rules committees and worked as editor-in-chief of Collier on Bankruptcy. The Henry J. Sommer Papers, 1966-2014, include National Bankruptcy Conference papers, materials from Continuing Legal Education seminars and other meetings at which Sommer lectured, copies of published manuscripts written by Sommer, and other material related to Sommer's work with consumer law and legal reform.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Judge Thomas Moore papers, 1979-1990 (inclusive)

Extent:
3 linear feet
Abstract:
The Moore Papers document Judge Thomas Moore's process co-writing Chapter 12 of Title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. This collection contains research on family farm bankruptcies, historical material, competing legislation, legal analyses, speeches and testimonies. The papers are collected from 1979 to 1990 and contain many drafts of the Chapter 12 family farmer legislation adopted by Congress in 1987. Researchers should not that these papers are copies and the originals are located at East Carolina University's Special Collections Department.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Bankruptcy Institute records, 1982-2013 (inclusive) 1985-1996 (bulk)

Extent:
21 linear feet (50 boxes and one photo album box)
Abstract:
Harry Dixon Jr. (1944-2006), a lawyer from Nebraska, wanted to form an organization with the dual purpose of providing Congress with unbiased views on legislation and creating an institution that could keep the bankruptcy community aware of legislative activities affecting them. In February 1982, Dixon incorporated under Nebraska law this new organization which was to be called the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). The records of the American Bankruptcy Institute document two main areas of the organization: the history and operating activities of the American Bankruptcy Institute and the organization's professional activities, publications, and research on bankruptcy related issues. The materials date from 1982-2013, with the bulk from 1985-1996. Materials are largely in paper format, comprising correspondence, memos, facsimiles, resumes/c.v., financial records, by-laws, articles of incorporation, certificates, lease agreement, newsletters, marketing materials, clippings,...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Judge Judith Fitzgerald Collection of National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges records, 1972-2011 (inclusive) 2001-2003 (bulk)

Extent:
6 linear feet
Abstract:
Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald has more than 25 years of experience as a Bankruptcy Judge, having presided over matters in the Western District of Pennsylvania (where she was chief judge for five years) as well as in the District of Delaware, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This collection is comprised of records relating to the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. The materials date from 1972 to 2011, and are divided into four series: Administration; Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance; Mediation; Meetings.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Judge Mark B. McFeeley papers, 1982-1999 (inclusive) 1982-1987 (bulk)

Extent:
1 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Mark B. McFeeley has well over thirty-five years of experience practicing law in America, of which twenty-eight years (1981-2009) was dedicated to serving as a bankruptcy judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico. Judge McFeeley was instrumental in forming the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Tenth Circuit. As a bankruptcy judge, McFeeley was intimately involved with the Bankruptcy Crisis of the 1980s that called into question the constitutionality of the bankruptcy system and the appointment of bankruptcy judges after the Marathon Pipeline decision in June of 1982. In 1984, Judge McFeeley was one of four bankruptcy judges who filed suit against the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. William Foley, the Administrative Office's director, had refused to pay bankruptcy judges, arguing that parts of the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judge Act of 1984 were unconstitutional. The case was later rendered moot when Foley rescinded his order...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Ralph H. Kelley papers, 1967-2004 (inclusive)

Extent:
24 linear feet
Abstract:
Ralph H. Kelley (1928-2004) was appointed United States Bankruptcy Judge in the Sixth Federal Judicial Circuit in 1969. In 1993 he retired as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee but remained the court's senior judge. He was a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, where he served as President from 1985 to 1986. In 1980, Ralph Kelley was appointed to the Committee on the Budget of the Judicial Conference of the United States, where he served until 1990. The collection (1967-2004) includes letters and memoranda with the Administrative Office of the United States, congressional leaders, and bankruptcy judges; programs, promotional material, and other material relating to seminars, workshops, conferences, and other meetings in which Kelley was invited to participate; congressional testimony by Kelley before various congressional committees; essays and other writings generated by...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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