The Judge's Role in Insolvency Proceedings: The View from the Bench; the View from the Bar Panel Discussion 10 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 2002

10 Am. Bankr. Inst. L. Rev. 511 (2002)
The Judge's Role in Insolvency Proceedings: The View from the Bench; the View from the Bar

handle is hein.journals/abilr10 and id is 525 raw text is: THE JUDGE'S ROLE IN INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS: THE VIEW
FROM THE BENCH; THE VIEW FROM THE BAR*
The following panel discussion took place in May, 2002, at a conference
sponsored by the Insolvency and Creditors' Rights Committee (Committee J) of the
International Bar Association (IBA). The conference, entitled Insolvency Y2K2:
Boom or Bust?, was held in Dublin, Ireland. The following discussion was
described in the conference's brochure in part as follows: Take five developed
insolvency systems -France, Germany, Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. - and, from
each, select one judge and one attorney with extensive experience making their
insolvency systems work. Ask the judges what they think their role is in insolvency
proceedings, and ask the attorneys whether, in reality, judges in general stick to
that role .... Judges and lawyers do not always agree as to how the insolvency system
should work, and both groups certainly will have strongly-held opinions as to how
their systems might be improved
Broude: The idea for this panel derived from a number of events over the past
couple of years. First and foremost was a series of articles in United States legal
journals commenting upon the number of corporations that, once having emerged
from chapter 11, file again,' thereby fulfilling the greatest wishes of everybody
*Richard F. Broude practices law in New York City, specializing in business restructurings and workouts,
both in- and out-of-court, with a special emphasis upon mass tort cases and cross-border and international
insolvency. Mr. Broude is a past Co-Chair of the Creditors' Rights and Insolvency Committee (Committee J)
of the International Bar Association. A cum laude graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a
member of its Law Review, Mr. Broude lectures and writes frequently on workouts, insolvency and
reorganizations. The Honorable Judith K. Fitzgerald is the Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the
Western District of Pennsylvania. Judge Fitzgerald has just completed her terms as President of the National
Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and is currently a board member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. A
graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and its School of Law, Judge Fitzgerald is a frequent lecturer on
bankruptcy, evidence and litigation topics. The Honorable Mr. Justice Peter Kelly currently sits on the High
Court in Dublin, Ireland. The Honorable Bernard PiNot currently sits as a member of the French Conseil de
la Concurrence, the main antitrust regulatory agency in France. A graduate of the University of Paris Law
School, Judge Piot has also served as a judge in the Paris Commercial Court and later as Vice President of
the Court. Justice Dr. Heinz Vallender is the Head of the Cologne Bankruptcy Court in Germany.
Additionally, Justice Vallender teaches classes on insolvency at the University of Cologne. Louis B.
Buchman is the managing partner of the Paris Law Firm of Caubet Chouchana Meyer. Mr. Buchman is a
graduate of the University of Paris and is admitted to both the Paris and New York Bars. In addition to
lecturing on contract, insolvency and dispute resolution issues, he is the author of several publications. Hans-
Gerd H. Jauch practices law in Cologne, Germany in the areas of insolvency law, extrajudicial liquidation &
reorganization and real estate law. Educated at the Universities of Cologne and Bonn, Mr. Jauch is a
certified specialist in insolvency law. Francis Sowman graduated from Trinity College Dublin and qualified
as a solicitor in 1970. He joined the firm of William Fry in Dublin and was appointed partner in 1972.
Throughout his career, he has specialized in insolvency law and related areas and has advised on many of the
major insolvencies in Ireland. John White is the head of the Banking and International Finance Group of
CMS Cameron McKenna and Chairman of the Banking and Finance Practice Group. Mr. White has been
with the firm for over 40 years during which period he was involved in a number of very important cases
including acting on behalf of the U.K. Government in the Railtrack case.
1 See Edward I. Altman, Evaluating The Chapter 11 Bankruptcy- Reorganization Process, 1993 COLUM.
BUS. L. REv. 1, 6 (1993) (noting non-trivial number of emerged chapter Il 's file for bankruptcy again);

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