Total Credits: 7.2 MCLE, 1.2 Ethics
9-10 a.m. | Case law update
Speakers: Hon. Brian Fenimore, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, Kansas City; Miranda Swift, Stinson LLP, Kansas City; James Crump, Callahan Law Firm, Kansas City
10-10:15 a.m. | Break
10:15-11:15 a.m. | Chapter 13 hot topics
Speakers: Sarah Tidrick, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee, Kansas City; Jordyn Hill, Licata Bankruptcy Firm PC, Springfield; Wendee Elliott-Clement, SouthLaw PC, Overland Park, KS
11:15-11:30 a.m. | Break
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Mortgage issues
Speaker: Michael McCormick, Michael John McCormick, Esquire, Morristown, TN
12:30-1:30 p.m. | Lunch (provided)
1:30-2:30 p.m. | BAPCPA at 20
Speakers: Hon. Cynthia A. Norton, United States Courthouse, Kansas City; John Reed, Reed Law PC, Jefferson City; Jerry Jensen, Assistant U.S. Trustee, Washington D.C.
2:30-2:45 p.m. | Break
2:45-3:45 p.m. | Deal-breaker documents/Gig economy
Speakers: Rachel Foley, Foley Law PC, Independence; Holly Malon-Zukaitis, Office of Chapter 13 Trustee, Kansas City; Joseph C. Jeppson, VI, Kansas City Bankruptcy Bar Association, Kansas City
3:45-4 p.m. | Break
4-5 p.m. | Estate and disaster planning/Transition to retirement (qualifies for 1.2 ethics hours)
Speakers: Chris Stiegemeyer, The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company, St. Louis; Betsy Lynch, Chinnery Evans & Nail PC, Lees Summit; Jonathan Bhend, Bhend Law Offices, Joplin
5 p.m. | Adjourn
Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.
Jonathan Bhend was born and raised in Joplin, Missouri. He received his JD from University of Missouri, Kansas City in 2002. He owns his own practice in Joplin Missouri. The main focus of his practice is in bankruptcy law, specifically chapters 13 and 7. In addition to his private practice, Jonathan is also the Public Defender at the municipal court for the city of Joplin.
Before becoming a bankruptcy judge on August 31, 2017, Brian T. Fenimore led the bankruptcy team at Lathrop Gage LLP for more than 20 years, representing debtors, creditors, and many other parties in interest. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1988 with a degree in Agricultural Economics, and the University of Michigan Law School in 1990. After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Arthur B. Federman.
Rachel Foley began her bankruptcy career with the United Auto Workers representing GM and Ford employees in Chapter 13 and 7’s. Rachel was the only bankruptcy attorney for the Missouri auto workers and it was not unusual for her to manage 3 – 4 times the regular attorney caseload at any given time. This provided a vast array of case scenarios, experience and knowledge that Rachel continues to pull from today. Where ever the client was located, the Union ensured the auto worker would have representation, including but not limited to being incarcerated in Leavenworth Federal Prison.
Rachel has been recognized for her constant commitment to the representation of debtors. Rachel is the inaugural winner of the K. Colleen Nunnelly Award by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and recognized by her peers as being the Best of the Kansas City Bar in the area of bankruptcy. These recognitions are in addition to being named to the Pro Bono Wall of Fame by the Missouri Bar Association.
Jerry L. Jensen was appointed as the Acting United States Trustee for Region 13 (Arkansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) on August 1, 2023. He has been with the U.S. Trustee Program since 1989. He was appointed as Assistant U.S. Trustee in the Omaha, Nebraska office in 2017 and was a Trial Attorney in the Omaha office prior to that. Before joining the U.S. Trustee Program, he was a Law Clerk to the Honorable William Edmonds, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Northern District of Iowa. Mr. Jensen received his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1987 and received his LL.M in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1988.
Betsy Lynch, is a proactive problem solver for small businesses. She represents small businesses in contract and vendor disputes, loan negotiations, bankruptcy, and also helps protect assets using estate & succession planning tools. She received her Bachelors degree in Business and Finance from Westminster College in 2002 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2005. While clerking for the Honorable Robert L. Trout, an Associate Circuit Judge in Jackson County, she gained experience with landlord-tenant matters, collection suits, small claims matters, county ordinance violations, and civil trials. She left the clerkship in 2007 to practice bankruptcy law at a small law firm in Kansas City. In 2011, she, like many of her clients, opened her own business where she practiced in the areas of business law, bankruptcy, and estate planning, representing small business owners in all areas of asset protection for over twelve years. She joined Chinnery Evans & Nail, PC in 2023 in an effort to provide more comprehensive services to her small business clients.
Holly Malone-Zukaitis is a Staff Attorney for Richard V. Fink, the standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Missouri. She has been with the trustee’s office since March 2008. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Hon. Cynthia A. Norton received her law degree in 1984. She was appointed to the bench on February 1, 2013. She is the recipient of the Michael R. Roser Excellence in Bankruptcy Award, and the Robert L. Gernon Award for Outstanding Contribution to CLE.
Christian A. Stiegemeyer is the Director of Risk Management for The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company where he helps lawyers arrive at practical solutions to a wide variety of ethical and legal malpractice issues. He received his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law.
Sarah M. Tidrick is a Staff Attorney for Richard V. Fink, the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the WDMO. She has been with the trustee’s office since March 2013. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
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