Brooklyn Bar Association hosting multiple Bankruptcy events this week

March 21, 2022 Robert Abruzzese, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Attorneys David Doyaga (left) and Gregory Messer. Eagle file photos by Rob Abruzzese

Share this:

Bankruptcy attorneys have the opportunity for plenty of extracurriculars this week because the Brooklyn Bar Association is hosting a bankruptcy CLE on Tuesday and a virtual sit down with Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Stong on Wednesday.

Both events will be held virtually on Zoom. Tuesday’s continuing legal education seminar titled, “Death & Inheritances in Bankruptcy Cases,” will start at 6 p.m. and Wednesday’s Virtual Sitdown with Hon. Elizabeth Stong starts at 1 p.m.

Death & Inheritances in Bankruptcy Cases is a one-and-a-half-hour-long event organized by President-Elect Richard Klass, Rachel Blumenfeld, and the Bankruptcy Committee. It will feature speakers Hon. Elizabeth Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the E.D.N.Y.; Rachel S. Blumenfeld, Esq.; and Gregory M. Messer, Esq. Attendees will get one professional practice CLE credit and half an ethics credit.

The theme of the CLE is how to plan for the unplanned — what happens when a debtor dies before a bankruptcy filing? During the discussion, the speakers will examine how death impacts Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and Chapter 11 filings; death and the debtor’s rights for exemptions, and how to protect a client’s inheritance and property prior to the filing of bankruptcy.

Hon. Elizabeth Stong, U.S. bankruptcy judge.

Judge Stong and Messer are regular speakers at the Brooklyn Bar Association. In fact, Judge Stong will be back the following day for a Virtual Sitdown with another familiar face — David Doyaga, co-chair of the Bankruptcy Committee.

Doyaga will serve as moderator for Wednesday’s virtual sitdown. During that event, Judge Stong will have an opportunity to address the bar and raise any concerns or discuss issues that she is seeing in the court. BBA members will also be able to ask the judge questions concerning the court. Please email questions to [email protected].

The Virtual Sitdowns have become a regular event that started during the pandemic. With so much confusion going on with shutdowns and changes, including adapting to a more virtual world, the goal was to get judges and attorneys in the room together so everyone could understand what is going on.

The events are members-only and are free. So far, they have been a consistent success. People come to the events with questions and come away with a better understanding of what is going on in each court. Two more Virtual Sitdowns have already been planned and a third is nearly ready to be announced as well.

Kings County Surrogate Judge Rosemarie Montalbano.

After the sitdown with Judge Stong on March 23, the BBA will host Hon. Rosemarie Montalbano, from the Kings County Surrogate’s Court, on Monday, April 11 at 1 p.m.. Then on Tuesday, May 3 at 1 p.m., Hon. Deborah Kaplan, deputy chief administrative judge for the New York City Courts, will speak.

Trusts & Estates/Surrogate’s Court Committee meeting Tuesday

The Brooklyn Bar Association’s Trusts & Estates Section and Surrogate’s Court Committee are hosting a meeting at 1:00 PM on Tuesday that will be sponsored by Ronit Abraham from Compass Realty.

Attorneys do not have to be members of these committees to attend this free meeting. Anyone interested in hearing the latest going on in the court should attend. The meeting is for members only. Please consider joining the BBA if you are not a member.

This meeting is run by co-chairs Daniel Antonelli, James Cahill, Antar Jones and Kerry Archer. The chairs will discuss the latest going on in the Surrogate’s Court as well as any updates to the law that might affect practitioners. The Surrogate’s Court judges usually attend and are available for questions, but when they are not able to make it, they always send a staff member.

Follow us on social media and attend our LinkedIn event

After a period of dormancy, the BBA has revived its social media accounts. You can now follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Speaking of LinkedIn, the BBA is hosting a free, members-only event on Thursday, MarcPMh 31 at 1 p.m. titled, “Tips and Tricks for Using LinkedIn to Promote Your Business,” with speaker Amin Gates. Gates will discuss how attorneys can make themselves and their firms standout on LinkedIn.

This event is part of the BBA’s professional management series that is designed to increase attorney’s skills outside of the courtroom. They’re all free and we’ve been trying to schedule one per month with vendors that the local legal community is already familiar with.

Women’s History Month event with the Women’s Bar Association

The National Association of Women Judge’s New York Chapter is co-sponsoring a Women’s History Month event with the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, the Bronx Women’s Bar Association, and the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission called, “The Power of Women’s Voices,” on Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m.

Moderated by Hon. Joanne Quinones and Hon. Llinet Rosado, the speakers will include Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix, the NYC Corporation Counsel, Hon. Deborah Kaplan, Veronica Guerrero, Gehad Abdelrehim, and Sharmin Yousuf. Anyone interested in attending this virtual event should go to www.BrooklynWomensBar.org to register.

Dues notices going out

The Brooklyn Bar Association is sending out membership renewals this week for our 2022/2023 fiscal year. Please consider renewing your dues if at all possible. Our membership numbers are lower these days than they have been in years and we could use the support of the legal community.

If you would like to remain an active member, but are struggling financially due to the pandemic, please reach out to me by email and we can either work out a reduced fee, or potentially waive the fee depending on your situation. We certainly understand that this is a tough time for some as the legal community has still not returned to its pre-pandemic normal.

Robert Abruzzese is the former Legal Editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the current Director of Member Services at the Brooklyn Bar Association. Now as a legal columnist for the Eagle, Abruzzese writes about the BBA and the local legal community. For information about joining the Brooklyn Bar Association, you can reach him via email at [email protected].