St. John’s devotion to producing lawyers with the skills
required for leadership and service to society in the field of
bankruptcy is illustrated not only by the creation and success of
the LL.M. in Bankruptcy program. This devotion is further
buttressed with other major bankruptcy initiatives such as the
American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, the Chief Judge Conrad B.
Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, and the
Bankruptcy Law Society.
American Bankruptcy Institute Law
Review
St. John’s is honored to have been chosen by the American Bankruptcy Institute
eleven years ago to publish its scholarly journal.
Now widely regarded as the nation’s premier scholarly bankruptcy
journal, with a circulation of 10,000, the American Bankruptcy
Institute Law Review, edited by St. John’s students, publishes
articles, often in a theme format, by academics, judges and
practitioners, student notes, and LL.M. theses on topical,
important and timely issues of bankruptcy law and practice. At the
request of the American Bar Association, the Review published an
expanded version of its first issue as a highly successful
hardcover book. A second hardcover book on fraud and ethics is in
progress.
Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein
Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition
Named in honor of Chief Judge Conrad B. Duberstein (Bankr.
E.D.N.Y.) a St. John’s alumnus and a former director of the
American Bankruptcy Institute, and jointly sponsored by St. John’s
and the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Chief Judge
Conrad B. Duberstein Moot Court Competition is the only
national competition devoted to bankruptcy law.
It brings to New York teams from law schools throughout the
nation to argue major bankruptcy issues before a "Supreme Court"
composed of leading members of the federal judiciary. The
Competition is designed to promote and recognize the finest oral
and written advocacy and enable students throughout the country to
participate in the development of bankruptcy law.
The Awards Banquet, following the Final Round in the Second
Circuit courtroom in Foley Square, has become a "bankruptcy event"
and is attended by over 600 leading practitioners, academics,
prominent members of the Federal judiciary and students.
While as host of the Duberstein Competition St. John’s students
are not permitted to compete, St. John’s J.D. and LL.M. students
thoroughly participate in the Competition as a joint effort. The
fact pattern and decision below are conceived and prepared by the
LL.M. in Bankruptcy students, who are encouraged to serve as judges
in the preliminary rounds side-by-side with prominent
practitioners. The members of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law
Review prepare the Bench Memo, and the St. John’s Moot Court Honor
Society drafts the Competition Rules and supervises the logistics.
Prof. Robert M. Zinman, the current Director of the LL.M. in
Bankruptcy program, and his successor, Professor G. Ray Warner,
pledge to continue to develop new and important initiatives in the
field of bankruptcy education.
The Bankruptcy Law Society was formed by
a group of students in the fall of 1990. Since then, membership has
grown as well as the society’s presence throughout the school. The
objective of the Bankruptcy Law Society is to provide students with
practical knowledge of bankruptcy law. The Annual Judge Conrad B.
Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition is
co-sponsored by the BLS, the ABI Law Review, and the Moot Court.
Schools from around the country participate in this prestigious
competition. BLS provides student membership in the American
Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). BLS also holds meetings and provides
special events that feature distinguished judges and practicing
attorneys speaking on current issues in the field of
bankruptcy.