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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
2024 A Brief Look at the History of Voluntary Bankruptcy in America and the Origins of Chapter 13

The Honorable Rebecca Connelly
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Western District of Virginia
Harrisonburg, VA  

View PowerPoint | View History

Bankruptcy, Race & Chapter Choices

Professor Pamela Foohey
Cardozo School of Law
Yeshiva University
New York, NY  

View PowerPoint | View Debts Grip

Judge's Material:  View Marsh  |  Veiw Goetz v. Weber  |  View 522(f) Lien Avoidance--Formula

MO CLE - #742593 and KS CLE # 211817

3 hrs. CLE Approved
(MO ONLY - includes 1 hr. Ethics & Elimination of Bias)  

2023 Developments in Subchapter V Cases

Paul Bonapfel
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Northern District of Georgia

View top 15 document  | View comparison document
Judge Bonapfel's Guide to SBRA  | Subchapter V March 2023 Update

The Modern Family Debacle: Bankruptcy Judges Decide That Some of the Debtors’ Loved Ones Do Not Count as Household Members

Creola Johnson
Professor, Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University

View document  

3 Hours CLE (No Ethics)

MO CLE - #720331 and KS CLE #201272  

Chapter 11, Subchapter V Workshop

Paul Bonapfel, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Georgia
Rob Eggmann, Attorney, Carmondy MacDonald P.C., St. Louis
Tom Riske, Attorney, Carmondy MacDonald P.C., St. Louis
Mindy Smith, WDMO Bankruptcy Operations Manager
Sydney Donovan, WDMO Bankruptcy Operations Administrator
Dan Casamatta, U.S. Trustee
Sub V Trustees
U.S. Bankruptcy Judges, Western Missouri

3 Hours CLE (No Ethics)

MO CLE - #720332 and KS CLE #201273  

Additional Materials

Application to Employ
Cash Collateral Motion Exhibit A
Clerk's Presentation
Chapter 11 Plan
Declaration in Support of Debtor's Application
Emergency Cash Collateral Motion
Subchapter V March 2023 Update
Top 15 Sub V Features

2022 Can and should Bankruptcy Judges be "real" Judges?
Preliminary observations of a new judge and implications for bankruptcy practitioners
Craig T. Goldblatt
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
District of Delaware

MO CLE - #695861 and KS CLE #191496 - 3 hrs. CLE approved
(includes 1 hr. Ethics)

Fake and Real People in Bankruptcy
Melissa B. Jacoby
Professor, Graham Kenan Professor of Law
University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill

View document

2021 Recognizing and Addressing Implicit Bias 
in Bankruptcy Proceedings
Christopher M. Alston
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Western District of Washington

View document | View PowerPoint

Elephants and Mouseholes in the Code:
A Comment on Statutory Interpretation in Bankruptcy
Troy McKenzie
Professor, School of Law
New York University

View document

2019 Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy - Top 10 Suggestions
Elizabeth L. Perris
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge (Ret.)
District of Oregon

View document

The Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law - Lawyers Beware!
Erithe A. Smith
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Central District of California

View document

2018 The Challenge of Being a Successful Bankruptcy Lawyer, a Good Person and a Zealous Advocate
David Lander
Professor
Saint Louis University School of Law

View document

Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation: A Mock Trial
Daniel P. Collins
Chief, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
District of Arizona
 
2017 Issues in Individual Chapter 11 Cases
The Honorable John E. Hoffman, Jr.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge
Southern District of Ohio

 
View document

Recent Developments Regarding Fraud and Bad Faith in Bankruptcy Cases
Michelle Harner
Professor, University of Maryland, Carey School of Law
(newly selected Bankruptcy Judge - District of Maryland)

View document

2016 So You Think You Understand Rule 11
The Honorable Peter Bowie
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, former Chief
Southern District of California
San Diego, CA

View Synopsis | View Suggested Resource Materials

It's What You Didn't Say: Preclusion and Estoppel Doctrines In and Out of Bankruptcy
John Rao
National Consumer Law Center
Washington, DC

View document

2015

Lawyers, Judges & Social Media:  What to Know Before you Friend, Tweet, Blog, Endorse or Troll

Paula Frederick
General Counsel
State Bar of Georgia

View Document

Saints, Sinners, and Stories We Tell About Debt

Professor Robert M. Lawless
University of Illinois
School of Law

View Attitudes Toward Indebtedness document | View Race Disparity document

2014

Selected Confirmation Issues in Small Business and Individual Debtor Cases

The Honorable Barbara J. Houser
Chief Bankruptcy Judge
Northern District of Texas

View Document

21st Century Ethics for Bankruptcy Attorneys

Professor Lois R. Lupica
University of Maine
School of Law

View Document

2013 Mistake and Misbehavior In Undue Hardship Discharge Litigation
Professor Rafael Pardo
Robert T. Thompson, Professor of Law
Emory, Law
Atlanta, GA
Some Difficult Issues in Consumer Cases, Plus Some UCC
The Honorable William Houstion Brown
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, retired
Western District of Tennessee
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
Consumer Bankruptcy Practice after Lanning, Ransom, and Schwab
Professor Charles J. Tabb
University of Illinois School of Law
A Conversation with the Experts
WDMO Bankruptcy Judges
Trial Attorney, U.S. Trustee’s Office Chapter 13 Trustee
2011 The Ten Trickiest Ethical Issues of Our Time
Professor Laurie L. Levenson
Loyola Law School
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 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.