The Bankruptcy American Inn of Court of New Jersey will be
celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2018. The Inn received
its charter from the American Inns of Court on June 11, 1993, and
has remained in continuous operation since that time.
The Bankruptcy Inn of Court was established in memory of United
States Bankruptcy Judges Vincent J. Commisa, D. Joseph DeVito, and
Daniel J. Moore. Each Judge was well respected and a leading
Bankruptcy Jurist in the District of New Jersey since the current
Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1978. Each Judge left his unique
imprint on the Bankruptcy Courts of New Jersey, and, unfortunately,
each passed away before the Bankruptcy Inn was established.
The Bankruptcy Inn of Court was organized by the Honorable William
H. Gindin, U.S.B.J., Hugh Leonard, Esq. (Cole, Shotz, Bernstein,
Meisel & Forman), Karen Gilman, Esq. (Wolff & Samson), and
Richard D. Trenk, Esq. (Booker, Rabinowitz, Trenk), in order to
promote the overall goals of the American Inns of Court Foundation,
including legal excellence, civility, professionalism, ethics, and
specifically the application of these ideals to the Bankruptcy Bar
the District of New Jersey.
The Bankruptcy American Inn of Court of New Jersey was one of the
first specialty Inns across the United States, and remains at the
forefront and furtherance of its original goals and purposes by
continuing as the longest operating bankruptcy specialty Inn of
Court in the United States.
Throughout its history, the Bankruptcy American Inn of Court has
enjoyed the unqualified support of the judiciary. The Chief Judge
has served as the Inn's president beginning with the Honorable
William H. Gindin, and followed by the Honorable Rosemary
Gambardella, the Honorable Judith H. Wizmur, the Honorable Gloria
M. Burns, and continuing the tradition. Chief Judge Kathryn C.
Ferguson currently serves as the President of the Inn.
In addition to the Chief Judge, the Inn benefits from the
participation of the other members of the Bankruptcy Bench in the
District of New Jersey, including membership and regular attendance
of the Judges at the meetings and special judicial roundtables. The
Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court has also regularly participated in
our programs. In addition to the support of the Bench,
the Inn benefits from the strong participation of the Bankruptcy
Bar throughout the District of New Jersey. Membership of the Inn
includes leading members of the Bankruptcy Bar who enjoy local and
national reputations with offices in New Jersey. Masters of the
Bench, Barristers, Associats and Associates are drawn from
throughout the District of New Jersey and include participants from
the largest firms to small firms and solo practitioners,
as well as government and public interest attorneys.
Programming for the Inn concentrates on the various aspects of
bankruptcy law. Throughout its history, the Inn has followed
consumer and corporate bankruptcy matters from beginning to end,
including fact patterns which span several Inn sessions, to a
program which follows discreet bankruptcy topics at each
meeting.
As part of our tenth year anniversary, an expansion of the Inn
was undertaken to offer a second monthly location. The additional
meeting site at the offices of Flaster Greenberg in Cherry Hill,
NJ, allows greater participation of members of the Bankruptcy Bench
and Bar located in the central and southern portions of New Jersey
in the Trenton and Camden vicinages. The expansion has met with
great success and allowed the Inn to continue its mission of legal
excellence, civility, professionalism, and ethics throughout the
District of New Jersey.
The Inn has also provided a forum for the interaction between
judges of the Superior Court and bankruptcy judges to discuss the
interplay between state law and federal bankruptcy law.
The Bankruptcy Inn of Court is authorized to provide continuing
legal education credits for New Jersey, New York and
Pennsylvania.