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.