Fall 2012 Symposium

The American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, Center for Bankruptcy Studies and The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development are pleased to present their Fall 2012 symposium:

Bankruptcy and Race: Is There a Relation?

In a recent study of personal bankruptcy cases and practitioners, Professors Jean Braucher, Dov Cohen and Robert Lawless made a troubling finding: the debtor's race appears to affect the advice that lawyers give about whether to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Is this finding correct? And if so, what are its implications for bankruptcy law and policy? This symposium will bring together leading bankruptcy, empirical, and race scholars to address these questions through commentary on the Braucher study and a reply from the primary study authors.

Date
Friday, October 19, 2012

Time
8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Location
St. John's School of Law
Belson Moot Court Room | Second Floor
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
Agenda

8:30-9 a.m.
Registration and Coffee

9 a.m.
Greetings

Michael A. Simons, Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law, St. John’s School of Law

Welcome
Leonard M. Baynes, Director, The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and
Economic Development, Professor of Law,  St. John’s School of Law

9:30-11:30 a.m.
Commentator Panel

Moderator
Keith Sharfman, Professor of Law, Associate Director of Bankruptcy Studies, St. John's School of Law

Panelists

  • A. Mechele Dickerson, Arthur L. Moller Chair in Bankruptcy Law and Practice, The University of Texas School of Law
  • Joseph Doherty, Director, Empirical Research Group, UCLA School of Law
  • Theodore Eisenberg, Henry Allen Mark Professor of Law, Cornell University Law School
  • Daniel Keating, Tyrell Williams Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law
  • Stephen Lubben, Harvey Washington Wiley Chair in Corporate Governance & Business Ethics, Seton Hall University School of Law

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Author Response

Moderator
G. Ray Warner, Associate Dean for Bankruptcy Studies, Professor of Law, St. John's School of Law

Panelists

  • Jean Braucher, Roger C. Henderson Professor of Law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
  • Dov Cohen, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Robert Lawless, Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law

1-2:30 p.m.
Lunch and Keynote Address

Introduction to Keynote Address
Janai S. Nelson, Associate Professor of Law, Associate Director, The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law

Keynote Speaker
Emma Coleman Jordan, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
The symposium qualifies for 3.5 non-transitional CLE credit hours. The CLE fee is $75. No partial credit will be awarded. Hardship tuition reduction is available. Please complete and return the CLE payment form by Thursday, October 18, 2012 to receive CLE credit for attending the symposium.

Registration
There is no fee to attend the symposium, but advance registration is required. To register, please complete and submit the online registration form by Monday, October 15, 2012.

More Information
Margaret St. Denis
Center for Bankruptcy Studies
stdenism@stjohns.edu
(718) 990-5343