Frank W. Koger Bankruptcy Symposium

The Frank W. Koger Bankruptcy Symposium began in May 2008 as a memoriam to the late Honorable Frank W. Koger. The Symposium is held annually each spring at the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri.

Invitations are sent to the active members of the WDMO bar approximately four weeks prior to the annual event. Reservations are required. In the past, three (3) hours of CLE have been approved by the Missouri Bar and the Kansas Bar and there has been no fee to attend.

In addition to an annual presentation by the United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Missouri, Bankruptcy Judges, the following individuals have presented at the Bankruptcy Symposium.

Year	Presentation	Presentation
2012	This is Not My Beautiful House! Evidence Issues Related to Challenges to Standing The Honorable Pamela Pepper Chief Judge United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Wisconsin View Part 1 \| View Part 2	Consumer Bankruptcy Practice after Lanning, Ransom, and Schwab Professor Charles J. Tabb University of Illinois School of Law View Part 1, View Part 2
2012	A Conversation with the Experts WDMO Bankruptcy Judges Trial Attorney, U.S. Trustee’s Office Chapter 13 Trustee View Part 1 \| View Part 2
2011	The Ten Trickiest Ethical Issues of Our Time Professor Laurie L. Levenson Loyola Law School View Part 1 \| View Part 2	Means Testing after Lanning and Ransom & Other Fun for Consumer Practitioners The Honorable Eugene R. Wedoff U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois View Part 1, View Part 2
2011	View Panel Discussion Question & Answer Dialogue
2010	Multi-media Bankruptcy Ethics Presentation Nancy B. Rapoport University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Bankruptcy and The Supreme Court Kenneth N. Klee, Esq. Professor at the UCLA School of Law Los Angeles, CA
2009	Saving Homes in Bankruptcy Katherine M. Porter University of Iowa College of Law	Piercing the Veil of Securitization: Assignee Liability Professor Steve Nickles Wake Forest University School of Law
2008	Bankruptcy Law that is More than Bankruptcy Law Roles of Equity and State Law David Epstein Counsel, Haynes and Boone Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University	Gaming the Means Test Professor Margaret Howard Washington and Lee University School of Law

Biography

Frank W. Koger was appointed as a United States Bankruptcy Judge in 1986. In 1996 he was appointed to the newly formed Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Eighth Circuit, and served as its first Chief Judge until his death.

While serving as a Bankruptcy Judge he was elected President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in 1996, and served six years on the Bankruptcy Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. As a Bankruptcy Judge, he published 321 opinions, and wrote or participated in another 31 as a Bankruptcy Appellate Judge. His opinions are scholarly, and sometimes humorous, but always reflective of the practical approach he brought to each and every matter that came before him.

His accomplishments as a bankruptcy judge were not surprising to those who had watched his career. He had been first in his class,
and an editor of the Law Review, at the Kansas City University School of Law, graduating in 1953. After three years in the Air Force as a Staff Judge Advocate, he returned to Kansas City in 1956, where he practiced law for the next thirty years in the firm eventually known as Shockley, Reid & Koger. During that time, he was elected President of the Commercial Law League of America, taught at several law schools and for the American Institute of Banking, and served as a long-term member of the Board of Directors of St. Luke’s Hospital, among many other civic commitments.

Frank Koger’s life cannot and should not be remembered only for his contributions and service to the law. Just as remarkable was his
strong commitment to his wife, Jeanine, to their daughters, Missy and Courtney, and to their granddaughter, Tory.