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Rolling Meadows,
IL – March 25, 2021 –
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 the Honorable Laura Taylor Swain at the
National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) in Indianapolis, IN on
October 7, 2021.
For more information on CLLA's events
taking place during NCBJ, please visit the Events page on www.CLLA.org.
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 — Honorable Laura Taylor Swain — graduated from
Hunter College High School in New York City in 1975; and earned her B.A.
degree in government from Harvard-Radcliffe College in 1979; and her J.D.
degree from Harvard Law School in 1982.
Swain clerked for
Chief Judge Constance Baker Motley on the US District Court for the
Southern District of New York from 1982 to 1983. Swain then worked as an
associate, and then as counsel, with Debevoise
& Plimpton LLP, where she focused on ERISA, employee benefits,
fiduciary litigation, executive compensation and employment law. In 1996,
Swain was appointed as a judge to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern
District of New York. In 1998, she became a founding board member of the
Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education and, in 2000, was
appointed by President Clinton to the US District Court for the Southern
District of New York, where Swain has presided over numerous high-profile
matters. In 2017, Chief Justice Roberts appointed Swain to oversee the debt
restructuring cases in the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis. Swain will
become the Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District
of New York later this year.
Swain has received
numerous awards throughout her legal career, including the Trailblazer
Award, the Servant of Justice Award, and the Cecilia H. Goetz Award, and
the Edward Weinfeld Award for Distinguished
Contributions to the Administration of Justice. She also served as the
Donahue Lecturer of Suffolk University Law School in 2003. Swain served on
the New York State Board of Law Examiners from 1986 to 1996, making her the
first woman, and the first person of color, to serve in that capacity. She
chaired the Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United
States on the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure between 2007 and 2010.
She received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Suffolk University in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 2008.
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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. For more information on the CLLA, please visit https://www.clla.org.
For additional
information about this event or the Commercial Law League of America,
contact Dawn Federico at dawn.federico@clla.org or by calling 312-240-1400.
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