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National Bankruptcy Conference records

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]3460 Chestnut Street, Biddle Law Library, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3406

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

The National Bankruptcy Conference is a voluntary, non-profit, self-supporting organization of lawyers, law teachers, and bankruptcy judges who have achieved scholarly distinction in the field of bankruptcy law. Its purpose is to study the operation of bankruptcy and related laws and proposals for their reform. The organization was formalized in the 1940s from a nucleus of leading bankruptcy scholars gathered informally in the 1930s to assist Congress in the drafting of the Chandler Act of 1938, the first comprehensive revision of the Bankruptcy Act of 1898. Thereafter, the Conference continued its interest in bankruptcy law, revitalized its membership from time to time with additional emerging experts, and monitored the operation of bankruptcy law in practice. It consulted Congress in every substantial amendment of the Bankruptcy Act up to the 1970s.

Work Cited: National Bankruptcy Conference mission statement.

The collection includes minutes summaries of proceedings of National Bankruptcy Conference meetings from 1948 to 1996 and reports submitted by the Committee on Coordination of Uniform Commercial Code and Bankruptcy Act.

    Arrangement
  1. Minutes
  2. Committee on Coordination of Uniform Commercial Code

Records received from Gerald K. Smith were maintained by Frank Kennedy, who served as Secretary of the National Bankruptcy Conference, 1981-1990.

Records received from Harvey I. Forman were maintained by Leon Forman until his death in 2006.

First shipment received from Gerald K. Smith in May 2001.

Proceedings from 1956, 1959-1961, 1964-1971, 1977, 1982, 1984-1987, 1989-1992, 1996 received from Harvey I. Forman on May 26, 2006.

Committee materials and 1996 Annual Meeting Program received from Harvey I. Forman on May 26, 2006.

First shipment processed by Melissa Backes, May 2001.

Second shipment processed by Jordon Steele, December 2006.

Encoded by Jordon Steele, July 2006.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library
Finding Aid Author
Jordon Steele
Finding Aid Date
2009
Access Restrictions

The archives reserves the right to restrict access to materials of sensitive nature. Please contact the department for further information.

Use Restrictions

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Collection Inventory

Minutes, 1948-1992, 1996. 54 items.
Box 2 Folder 1-12 Box 1 Folder 1-42
Scope and Contents

Chiefly minutes (called a "Summary of Proceedings" in most documents) that record the proceedings from the National Bankruptcy Conference Annual and Mid-Year Meetings. This series also includes transcripts from the 1962 and 1963 annual meetings. Some minutes include handwritten marginalia by Frank Kennedy, who served as Secretary of the National Bankruptcy Conference from 1981 to 1990. Also included with the October 1996 meeting minutes are handouts of reference material given out to attendees of that meeting. The series concludes with minutes from the meeting of the Executive Committee that took place on October 23, 1986.

Arrangement

Chronological by date of meeting.

Physical Description

54 items

Committee on Coordination of Uniform Commercial Code and Bankruptcy Act Reports, 1967 (?)-1968. 2 items.
Box 2 Folder 13-14
Arrangement

Chronological.

Scope and Contents

Reports detailing the activity of the Committee on Coordination of Uniform Commercial Code and Bankruptcy Act and disseminated to National Bankruptcy Conference members prior to the annual meeting.

Physical Description

2 items

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