Bankruptcy Highlights

Verification by Debtors—New Local Form

The Western District of Missouri Bankruptcy Court has created a new local form (Verification by Debtors) to replace two existing forms (Verification of Schedules and Verification of Matrix). The new form uses a check-box approach and is designed to be used to meet the new signature requirements contained in the recent amendments to Local Rule 1009-1 adopted by the 2011 general order of the court, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

A link to the PDF version of the form is shown below. The second link takes you to the main bankruptcy forms page where Word and WordPerfect versions of the form are also available.

• http://www.mow.uscourts.gov/bankruptcy/forms/vef_by_debtors.pdf
• http://www.mow.uscourts.gov/forms.html#bankruptcy

If you have any questions, please contact Roberta Kostrow via email at roberta_kostrow@mow.uscourts.gov.

Brown Bag Luncheons Engage Practitioners

Two times a year, Bankruptcy Judge Dennis R. Dow hosts an open forum in Jefferson City to advise bankruptcy practitioners about new rules, procedures and developments of interest. The judge and his staff work collaboratively with the U.S. trustee, chapter 13 trustee and panel trustees to coordinate topics and issues of interest. The format provides for an open dialogue where topics range from formal presentations to general questions posed by attorneys to the judge. Each brown bag session generally opens up for questions or comments about practice and procedure following any planned agenda items. Judge Dow believes the format serves as a way to keeping people informed and gives them the opportunity to express concerns in an informal atmosphere. The forum may also be used as an opportunity to address concerns about things the judge would like to see change. Lunches are typically held in March and September at the Bond Court House in Jefferson City. Invitations are sent via email two weeks prior to the event.
	Judge Dow hosts a brown bag luncheon in Jefferson City on March 15, 2012.

Nominations Accepted for the Next Generation Program

A group of 40 up-and-coming bankruptcy attorneys will have the unique opportunity to participate in exciting and new features of the Next Generation program at the 2012 NCBJ (National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges) annual meeting in San Diego (Oct. 24-27, 2012). The program will offer three events solely for program participants, including a private gathering with bankruptcy judges, a guided tour of the historic courthouse and a networking reception of peers. Law firms, government agencies and bankruptcy judges are invited to nominate as program participants attorneys under their supervision who deserve special recognition for their professional accomplishments to date, and who show the potential to distinguish themselves in future years as highly respected members of the bankruptcy bar.

To be nominated, the prospective program participant must:

For more information about how to nominate a candidate and about the three special events for the Next Generation Program participants (judicial roundtable, guided tour of the historical courthouse and a networking reception), visit the NCBJ website at http://www.ncbj.org/documents/2012_NCBJ_Next_Generation_Program.pdf.

2011 WDMO Bankruptcy Statistics