Commercial Law League of America Announces 2025 Lawrence P. King Award Recipient

Rolling Meadows, IL, March 25, 2025 – The Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) and its Bankruptcy Section are pleased to announce that they will present the Lawrence P. King Award to Richardo I. Kilpatrick at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) in Chicago, IL on September 18, 2025.

The King Award: Each year, the Executive Council of the Commercial Law League’s Bankruptcy Section presents the Lawrence P. King Award to recognize a lawyer, judge, teacher, or legislator who exemplifies the best in scholarship, advocacy, judicial administration, or legislative activities in the field of bankruptcy. The award is designed to recognize the lifetime achievements of Professor King, which include contributing to the practice of bankruptcy law through teaching, by working to elevate the profession and through bankruptcy-related legislative activities.

This year’s recipient — Richardo I. Kilpatrick — is a distinguished attorney at Shermeta, Kilpatrick & Associates, PLLC, located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The firm specializes in creditors’ rights and insolvency law, with a strong focus on corporate, consumer, and commercial litigation, as well as bankruptcy, real property remedies for creditors, real property transactions, and general corporate counseling.

A former president of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), Mr. Kilpatrick has also served on the Board of Directors for the American College of Bankruptcy (ACB). He is a member of several legal bodies, including the State Bar of Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Kilpatrick was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Bankruptcy in March 1999 and was later appointed to its Board of Directors in July 2001. In October 2008, he was honored to participate as a conferee at the National Bankruptcy Conference (NBC). During his time with the NBC, he collaborated with Judge Thomas Small on the NBC’s Small Business Proposal, a portion of which was incorporated into the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019. Additionally, from August 2011 to 2017, Mr. Kilpatrick was a member of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, where he played a vital role in crafting, updating, and improving bankruptcy rules to improve the bankruptcy system.

Mr. Kilpatrick is Board Certified in Consumer Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification (ABC). He earned his B.A. in Economics from Harvard University in 1973 and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1982. Currently, he serves as a Chapter 11 and Subchapter V trustee, aiding businesses in their reorganization efforts.

A sought-after speaker, Mr. Kilpatrick has presented at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) and various seminars on bankruptcy and collections, organized by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Norton Litigation Institute, PESI, ABI, NACTT, and NABT. He also contributes as an editor for Norton’s Treatise on Bankruptcy and serves as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University Law School, where he teaches a course on small business bankruptcies within the LLM program.

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About the CLLA

Since 1895, the not-for-profit Commercial Law League of America has connected experienced attorneys with credit grantors, lending institutions and other commercial credit, bankruptcy and general finance industry members through networking, education, legislative advocacy and specialized legal services. The association’s members include attorneys, collection agencies, judges, accountants, trustees, turnaround managers and other credit and finance experts. The League provides networking opportunities and professional services to business and credit communities. For more information on the CLLA, please visit www.CLLA.org.

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