An Invitation from the NCBJ President

Please join us for the 2022 National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges meeting at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Florida. We are looking forward to the largest gathering of the insolvency community for networking, education and fun! The Marriott World Center is a short distance from numerous theme parks, including Walt Disney World (Magic Kingdom and Epcot), Universal (Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal Studios) and Sea World. Come early, stay late, and bring your children and grandchildren for an unforgettable vacation. My grandchildren are already enthusiastic about meeting Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, not to mention my interest in wandering through Diagon Alley with Harry Potter and boarding the Millennium Falcon! If you are looking for time in between educational programs and visiting Hogwarts, you will undoubtedly find it in the brand-new pool or the lazy river at our host resort, the Marriott World Center!

This year’s Conference is designed to provide a variety of high-quality educational programs for experienced and less experienced professionals alike. Judges will enjoy the chance to socialize with each other and members of the bar in informal discussions and plenary sessions. The Education Committee, chaired by Judge John Gregg (WD Mich), has planned engaging, insightful, and cutting-edge programs, including a fireside chat with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Eric Eyre, the author of Death at Mud Lick, which intensely and alarmingly examines the origins and horrors of the opioid crisis in Appalachia and beyond. Other educational programs sessions will focus on recent disruption to previously well-established bankruptcy doctrines and strategies for bankruptcy appeals at the highest levels. Younger lawyers will find programs specifically for them such as litigation skills, pathways to becoming a bankruptcy judge and networking. As usual, the Conference will provide opportunities to hear judges, academics and professionals address compelling issues that we are all likely to encounter in the future. Something of interest and importance awaits everyone.

Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in first class programs sponsored by our affiliate friends, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the American Bar Association (ABA, the Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) plus the pre-conference International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) sessions. This is truly the preeminent conference to renew acquaintances, establish new relationships and further your insolvency acumen.

I look forward to seeing you in Orlando, exploring Walt Disney World with my grandchildren and embracing this wonderful opportunity to be together with the insolvency community.

Hon. Deborah Thorne
Northern District of Illinois
and NCBJ 2021- 2022 President

“IMAGINE ORLANDO”