The new era of bankruptcy practice is upon us. To you who have taken up the challenge of practicing bankruptcy law under BACPA during the past year, I offer a strong salute and hardy congratulations. This last year has been a tough transition year for all, consumer bankruptcy attorneys, bankruptcy judges, and trustees, as they have met the challenges of implementing BACPA.

One of the great bright spots of this last year is that the bankruptcy community at large here in Los Angeles has noticeably come together and begun an open dialogue on implementing the new Code. In the process, consumer bankruptcy attorneys, judges, and trustees alike are becoming more sensitive to the challenges that each other is facing, and actively reaching out for input and fresh ideas.

The CDCBAA is seeking to meet these challenges head on in 2007. A tremendous amount of time and effort has been devoted to reorganizing the CDCBAA to participate in this open dialogue on your behalf. New this year, is this newsletter which will be distributed quarterly under the guiding hand of Editor M. Jonathan Hayes. Also, new this year, is CDCBAA very own website, which can be found at www.bklawyers.org. Hale Antico has done a tremendous job in building a website we can all be proud of. Not satisfied to rest on his laurels, Hale is already busy planning the next phase of build-out and expansion of the website. You will be hearing much more about this in the future.

Our very own David Tilem has single-handedly taken on the challenge of organizing the CDCBAA‘s first annual convention which will take place in July of this year in Las Vegas, July 27-29, 2007. This year, we are planning our first convention as a social event. David has booked the hotel and we are looking to a couple of great days of fun and entertainment. From the level of interest we are getting, I think we are going to need more buses.

Hank Toles, James King, and Lou Esbin have taken on the CBCDAAs effort to help Judge Maureen Tighe organize a self-help clinic in the Valley Division here in the Central District of California. The self-help clinic project has received a commitment for funding of $25,000.00 seed money from the Attorney Admissions Fund of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and will begin in September. Way to go Judge Tighe, Hank, Jim, and Lou. The CDCBAA is also sponsoring the first ever Inn of Court for the Bankruptcy Courts here in the Central District of California. The application is being prepared for filing with the American Inns of Court, and Judges Tighe, and Robert Kwan have agreed to serve on the Founders committee. The Inn will start in the fall and meet monthly. This will offer an informal setting for judges, experienced bankruptcy attorneys, young lawyers, and students to sit together over dinner and to discuss the issues of the day and the opportunity to mentor and practice the professionalism, collegiality, and civility for which are bankruptcy court and bar are so famous. We hope to see you all there.

Pat Green and his committee have done a wonderful job of setting up the monthly general meeting and MCLE courses that many of you have attended this last year. This year started off with a bang. On March 23, 2007, Judge Victoria Kaufman and M. Jonathan Hayes, with valuable input from Judge Kathleen Thompson, put on the first annual 9th Circuit Bankruptcy Case Review. Thank you, Judges Kaufman and Thompson and Jon Hayes for your hard work. We look forward to your presentation next year!

On May 12, 2007, Pat‘s program was a first ever program featuring a panel of chapter 7 and 13 Trustees to answer your questions. Many members and five trustees attended. WELCOME TRUSTEES. Our programs feature a collegial atmosphere where our members and guests can exchange ideas in a relaxed setting while gaining truly useful insights on the practice of consumer debtor work in the Central District of California. We hope to see you all there.

As an aside, many of you know that Jim King and his dinner committee are already hard at work setting up the awards annual dinner in November. This year, the CDCBAA will be presenting the Calvin K. Ashland Award for the Trustee of the year. This is only the second time since the CDCBAA was formed three years ago that this award has been presented to a trustee. Our very first Calvin K. Ashland award recipient was none other than chapter 13 trustee, Nancy Curry. We have gotten to know Ms. Curry over the last 3 years, and we are all proud that Nancy was not only our very first Trustee of the year, but the very first recipient ever of the Calvin K. Ashland Award. Nancy, thank you for your support and most importantly your hard work, dedication, and years of service to the bankruptcy community and as a panel trustee.

Lastly, I cannot say enough about how proud I am of our members for the support they have shown during the last four years in helping to establish the CDCBAA as what it has now become—the second largest association of consumer bankruptcy attorneys in the United States. This could not have been accomplished without your support! There is a true esprit décor growing among the consumer bankruptcy attorneys that we are all proud to be a part of, and we hope all of you will participate as we kick off the CDCBAA‘s fourth year.