Appendix A: Members of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy

• Jurisdiction: United States

Appendix A: Members of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy

Hon. William Houston Brown (Ret.) (Co-Chair)

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Retired

Western District of Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Hon. William Houston Brown retired in 2006 as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, and he had been designated to sit also in the Middle District of Tennessee, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Kentucky. He also served a four-year term on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Sixth Circuit from 1999 through 2002.

Judge Brown is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, having served on its Board and Executive Committee, and he is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. He is the author or co-author of several texts, including Bankruptcy Exemption Manual, 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Legislation with Analysis 1st and 2d editions, Bankruptcy and Domestic Relations Manual and The Law of Debtors and Creditors, as well as bankruptcy form books, all published by Thomson Reuters. He is also a principal contributing editor for Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice 3rd, published by Thomson Reuters. Judge Brown prepares a quarterly update of consumer cases for the Federal Judicial Center, which distributes those materials to all bankruptcy judges, and he is a speaker at the Federal Judicial Center’s annual seminars for bankruptcy judges. He also speaks regularly at seminars throughout the U.S. on consumer bankruptcy topics. Judge Brown also acts as a mediator in bankruptcy-related disputes, has conducted mock trials, and has testified as an expert witness in bankruptcy court proceedings.

Judge Brown is currently the editor and adviser to the Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, the education arm of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees. In 2011, Judge Brown received the Excellence in Education award from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and in 2012, he received the Judicial Excellence Award from the American Bankruptcy Institute and Thomson Reuters Publishing Company. He received his law degree from University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was Order of the Coif.

Hon. Elizabeth L. Perris (Co-Chair)

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Retired

District of Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Hon. Elizabeth L. Perris is a retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Oregon who served for more than 30 years, from April 1984 through January 2015, and was a member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit from 1988-93 and 1998-2005. She also was an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark College of Law from 2005-06 and 2008-09, and at Willamette University School of Law in 1998.

From 1976-84, Judge Perris worked in Oregon as a bankruptcy court law clerk, served as a bankruptcy trustee and was an attorney in private practice specializing in bankruptcy. She was a member of the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules from 2007-14. She also chaired the Bankruptcy Judges’ Education Committee and was a board member of the Federal Judicial Center, in the process helping educate new bankruptcy judges from throughout the country. Judge Perris is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. She received her A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972 and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis in 1975.

Michael T. Bates

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Dallas, Texas

Michael T. Bates is a vice president and assistant general counsel at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he provides legal advice to Chase’s mortgage banking bankruptcy group. Prior to joining Chase, he was a partner in the law firm of Fox Rothschild, LLP, where he provided legal advice to the consumer financial services industry on regulatory and legal compliance issues related to bankruptcy, consumer collections and other default-related servicing issues. He also served for over 21 years as a senior vice president and senior company counsel for Wells Fargo & Co., where he provided legal advice to all of Wells Fargo’s consumer bankruptcy groups. Mr. Bates is admitted to practice in Minnesota and Iowa. He is an active member in NACTT, for which he currently co-chairs the NACTT Mortgage Committee. Mr. Bates received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and his J.S. with honors from Hamline University School of Law.

Alane A. Becket

Becket & Lee LLP

Malvern, Pennsylvania

Alane A. Becket is an AV-rated attorney and managing partner of Becket & Lee LLP, a Malvern, Pa., law firm that provides comprehensive nationwide representation of financial institutions in bankruptcy matters, with a focus on consumer lenders and debt-purchasers. In addition to client and industry relations, she focuses on litigation strategy, and Becket & Lee has been lead or co-counsel in some of the most influential decisions in consumer bankruptcy over the last 20 years.

In addition to her duties at Becket & Lee, Ms. Becket is President-Elect of the American Bankruptcy Institute. She formerly chaired the ABI’s Consumer Committee and has served on its Board since 2009, most recently as Vice President-Publications. Ms. Becket is currently co-chair of the Bankruptcy Section and of the Professional Standards and Grievance Committees of the National Creditors Bar Association (NCBA), as well as a member of the National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees (NACTT). She has written and lectured extensively on consumer bankruptcy issues for a variety of professional organizations, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Federal Judicial Conference, NACTT, NABT, Norton Bankruptcy Law Advisor, NCBA, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the Commercial Law League of America and a host of local and regional organizations. Ms. Becket graduated from Pennsylvania State University and received her J.D. from Widener University School of Law.

Edward C. Boltz

Law Offices of John T. Orcutt

Durham, North Carolina

Edward C. Boltz is a partner at the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, P.C., where he has represented clients in not only chapters 7 and 13, but also in related consumer-rights litigation, including fighting abusive mortgage practices and developing solutions for student loans. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, where he has been certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law. Mr. Boltz is admitted to practice before the U.S. Districts Courts in both the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina. He served as president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) from 2013-16 and remains on its board of directors, and he co-chairs its Legislative Committee. He also serves on the Bankruptcy Council for the North Carolina Bar Association.

Mr. Boltz is a frequent speaker on bankruptcy issues at both national and local seminars, including at NACBA conventions...