By Michael B. Joseph, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Delaware
It is with great pleasure to announce that Chapter 13 Trustee Beverly M. Burden has been elected as a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. She will be formally inducted in Class 28 at ceremonies to be held on March 10, 2017 at the Smithsonian Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture in Washington, D.C. Beverly is one of 30 new Fellows being recognized for their professional excellence and exceptional contributions to bankruptcy practice. The new Class of Fellows reside in 19 states and the District of Columbia and three foreign countries. The prestigious College induction ceremony is a black tie event and in the past has been attended by Supreme Court Justices, Appellate Judges, and members of Congress, White House staff members, Department of Justice officials, academicians, and many esteemed members of the bankruptcy law community. Beverly has been the Chapter 13 Trustee in Lexington, KY since 1999 and an active member of the NACTT as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education.
The American College of Bankruptcy has a highly selective process for nomination of fellows. Each year, recommendations are received from each federal judicial district and submitted to the College Board of Regents. The Regents select those who meet the following standards: (i) the highest professional qualifications and ethical standards; (ii) the highest level of character, integrity, professional expertise and leadership which demonstrates the likelihood that they will continue to contribute to the enhancement of bankruptcy and insolvency scholarship, continuing education, and contributions to the improvement of the bankruptcy and insolvency processes; (iii) a commitment to fostering and furthering the objectives of the College; (iv) sustained evidence of scholarship, teaching, lecturing and distinguished published writings on bankruptcy practice or insolvency practice, procedure, philosophy, improvements and reforms which demonstrates a consistent contribution to the enhancement of bankruptcy and insolvency literature, education, practice and the overall improvement of the process.
College Fellows include consumer and commercial bankruptcy attorneys, judges, insolvency accountants, turnaround and workout specialists, law professors, government officials and others in the bankruptcy community. The College also includes International Fellows.
In addition to recognizing and honoring bankruptcy professionals, the College also works to fund and assist pro bono bankruptcy programs and education throughout the United States. For example, this year approximately $400,000 has been designated for distribution to over 50 non-profit legal services programs providing diverse bankruptcy legal services to individuals in need. Each year a program may submit a grant application that is thoroughly reviewed and discussed by members of the College Pro Bono Committee. This Committee includes members representing each Federal District. The College funding source is completely based on voluntary contributions and is believed to be the single largest private financial supporter of pro bono bankruptcy services in the United States.
The NACTT participates as a Liaison with the College and together seek to improve and enhance bankruptcy law and practice especially in the consumer bankruptcy area. The NACTT is proud of Beverly Burden and its 101 other Chapter 13 Trustee members who have been recognized as Fellows by the American College of Bankruptcy (it would be a total of 12 trustees however after his election as a fellow Hon. Kevin Anderson was elevated to the bench).
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[1] Isabel Balboa
Peter Fessenden
Jan Hamilton
Henry Hildebrand
Camille Hope
Michael Joseph
Deborah Langehennig
Nancy Whaley
Robin Weiner
Rick Yarnall
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Michael B. Joseph is the Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Delaware (appointed in 1987) and has served as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee (appointed in 1981) and a Chapter 12 Case Trustee. He also is a partner in the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Ferry, Joseph & Pearce, P.A. Mr. Joseph received his B.A. from Rutgers University (1972) and his J.D. from Widener University (1975). He is admitted to practice in Delaware (1976), New Jersey (1977), United States District Court for the District of Delaware (1977) and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (1990). Mr. Joseph is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Mr. Joseph is a Past President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (2010-2011) He is also has served as a member of the Liaison Committee to the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Trustees in Washington, D.C. (2006-2011). He is a member of the Delaware Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, the Bankruptcy Section of the Delaware State Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, and the Local Rules Committee of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
