Welcome to the February edition of Focus on Fellows. We invite all Fellows to submit information about awards, news, job changes, and/or recent publications. Member highlights will be published on a bi-monthly basis to all Fellows through email and social media. Please email focus@amercol.org and include a brief description of the items you would like considered for inclusion in our announcements. Thank you.
The  Honorable Roberta A. Colton was sworn in as the newest bankruptcy judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, on December 15, 2017. Judge Colton will be replacing the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable K. Rodney May.
Samuel J. Gerdano is the recipient of the 2018 M&A Advisor Lifetime Achievement Award. Gerdano is to be honored for his significant contribution to the bankruptcy and restructuring industry at the 12th Annual Turnaround Awards Gala on Wednesday March 21, 2018 at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, FL.
Karen A. Giannelli, Chair of the Financial Restructuring & Creditors' Rights Department of Gibbons P.C., was honored with the 2017 Woman of the Year Award by the New Jersey Network of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC-NJ). The award was presented at the organization's Annual Holiday Party on December 14, 2017 at Mompou in Newark.
M. Colette Gibbons has joined the Cleveland office of McDonald Hopkins LLC, a business advisory and advocacy law firm, as Of Counsel in the Business Restructuring Services Department. She comes to McDonald Hopkins from Ice Miller, and its predecessor Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn, where she served as the managing partner for over 15 years of the Cleveland offices of those firms. 
The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee's largest nonprofit law firm, has added Robert C. Goodrich Jr. to the firm's Nashville office as a staff attorney. Goodrich will represent low-income taxpayers and assist clients in insolvency and bankruptcy matters.
Alan R. Lepene, Partner and Practice Group Leader of the Business Restructuring, Creditor's Rights and Bankruptcy practice group at Thompson Hine, was recognized as Turnaround Management Association's Ohio Chapter 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. 
William Lobel has left Lobel Weiland Golden Friedman LLP to open Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones' Orange County office. Lobel was named the 2018 Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency "Lawyer of the Year" in Orange County by "Best Lawyers," and was the first recipient of the Peter M. Elliott award for "Outstanding Scholarship, Ethics and Service to Orange County Bankruptcy Community."
Richard L. Wasserman has joined the Baltimore office of Offit Kurman.  Wasserman focuses his practice in matters involving bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related litigation, creditors' rights, secured transactions, workouts, reorganizations and restructurings.
On November 15, 2017, the Federal Judicial Center posted Navigating Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code on its website. The manual pools the knowledge of those with chapter 9 experience to provide a clearer path for judges, clerks of court, and practitioners in handling both large and small chapter 9 cases. The manual is available online and in hard copy, and is accompanied by an online repository of reference materials, including a video comparing chapters 9 and 11. Seventeen Fellows participated in the creation of the publication, led by Beth Wiggins and Denise Neary of the FJC. The principal author was Judge (then Professor) Michelle Harner.  Other Fellows who contributed include Judge Thomas Bennett (Ret.), Robert Fishman, Judge Arthur Gonzalez (Ret.), Prof. Melissa Jacoby, Richardo Kilpatrick, Judge Christopher Klein, Martha Kopacz, Sharon Levine, Marc Levinson, Judge Cynthia Norton, Judge Neil Olack, Kevyn Orr, Judge Elizabeth Perris (Ret.) and Judge Steven Rhodes (Ret.).
Senior Moments - Recent Items of Interest

Members of the Senior Fellows Committee have provided several articles of interest to those Fellows who are retired or considering retirement and a fruitful transition from a current career. Please click the links to view recent items of interest or for further information visit the ACB Senior Moments web page.

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