All Things (Chapter) 13

Richardo I. Kilpatrick has concentrated his practice in the area of bankruptcy for over 30 years, first as a member of Shermeta, Chimko & Kilpatrick, P.C., and since 2000, as the founding member and President of Kilpatrick & Associates, P.C. Since founding his Firm, Mr. Kilpatrick has had innumerable opportunities to contribute to the bankruptcy community. These opportunities include participating extensively in the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), including being its President from April 2001 to April 2002; being inducted as a fellow into the American College of Bankruptcy (ACB); and being invited to join the National Bankruptcy Conference (NBC), where he advises members of Congress on important and key bankruptcy legislative points.

Mr. Kilpatrick is also a member of the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, where he works to directly craft, tweak, update, and change bankruptcy rules in an ongoing effort to improve the practice of bankruptcy for all involved. Mr. Kilpatrick’s extensive involvement with the bankruptcy community has enabled him to provide expert guidance to numerous clients in all areas and types of insolvency matters and creditors’ rights including Corporate, Consumer and Commercial Litigation, Real Property Remedies for Creditors, Real Property Transactions, and General Corporate Counseling.

Mr. Kilpatrick also works as a consultant to numerous companies assuring that they are compliant in their bankruptcy practices by offering his insight and expertise on how they may structure and strengthen their bankruptcy practices in a sound, ethical, and legal way.

Michael B. Kaplan is a bankruptcy judge for the United States bankruptcy court, District of New Jersey. He was appointed as a bankruptcy judge on October 2, 2006, and his term will expire on October 1, 2020.

Judge Kaplan received his Bachelors degree from Georgetown University (1984) and his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law (1987).

Kaplan served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee, as well as a member of the Chapter 7 panel of bankruptcy trustees, where he received case appointments as both a Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 trustee.

Since 1993, Jim has been providing consumers with unparalleled legal services. In 2017 Jim served as President of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the largest bar association for consumer bankruptcy attorneys in the United States.

Jim serves as a committee member on the Commission which will be suggesting changes to the Bankruptcy Law to Congress and the Judiciary.

Jim has successfully represented clients from state court to the United States Supreme Court. He is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the 7th and 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the states of Illinois and Missouri.

Hon. Michael A. Fagone is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Maine in Bangor, appointed in April 2015. He is also a member of the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit, appointed in April 2016.

Judge Fagone previously clerked for Associate Justices Leigh I. Saufley and Robert W. Clifford of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Following his clerkship, he joined Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson in Portland, Maine, and was a member of its Business Restructuring and Insolvency Practice Group from 1998-2000, and from 2001-15, where he represented clients in bankruptcy cases and in out-of-court restructurings. While practicing law, Judge Fagone was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA as one of the top bankruptcy lawyers in Maine. He is Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and served on the board of directors of the Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library, and on the board of directors of the Dyer/Library and Saco Museum.

Judge Fagone currently serves on ABI’s Board of Directors and volunteers with Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE), teaching students about the responsible use of credit and the dangers of credit abuse. He also has volunteered as a coach and an evaluator for Maine Law’s teams in the Conrad B. Duberstein Moot Court Competition.

Judge Fagone received his B.A. from Amherst College in 1993 and his J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law in 1997.