HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hughes Watters Askanase L.L.P. (HWA) will be well represented with speakers and panelists at regional, national and international bankruptcy and consumer and commercial finance conferences this spring.
Wayne Kitchens, co-managing partner at HWA, will speak at the 37th Annual Texas Bankers’ Association Legal Conference, March 31-April 1 in Austin (http://www.texasbankers.com). Kitchens will lead a discussion about real estate workout best practices in a presentation entitled “Real Estate Workouts in a ‘No’ Environment: Just Pay Me and Let’s Get This Over With.”
HWA of counsel attorney Janet Northrup will participate in two bankruptcy conferences in March. She will be a panelist at a seminar co-sponsored by the Houston Bar Association and the Houston Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys entitled, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Client’s Homestead: The Intersection of Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosure Law, Eviction Law, Family Law and Mortgage Law,” March 3-4 in Houston (www.hba.org). She will co-present, “Considering Options of Bankruptcy,” during which she will discuss Chapter 13 bankruptcy options and strategies for homeowners in distress and will cover family law issues concerning homesteads.
Northrup will co-present a bankruptcy case law update at the State Bar of Texas Bankruptcy Law Section Eighth Annual International Bankruptcy Law Seminar, March 23-30 in Dublin, Ireland (www.texasbar.com). HWA associate attorneys Anabel Hernandez, Heather McIntyre and Brendetta Scott also contributed to the presentation.
Brendetta Scott is participating in two consumer bankruptcy conferences this spring. She will join Janet Northrup for the Houston Bar Association and Houston Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys’ March seminar, “A Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Client’s Homestead.” As co-chair and co-presiding officer of the seminar, Scott will lead a number of panels, including discussions of fraudulent scams involving home mortgages; eviction issues; issues regarding proofs of claim; homestead aspects of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy; bankruptcy local rules for mortgages; and the impact of the Bankruptcy Local Rules for the Southern District of Texas on various aspects of mortgages and foreclosures.
Scott will also participate in the National Business Institute’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy seminar, “Consumer Bankruptcy from Start to Finish,” April 25-26 in Houston (http://www.nbi-sems.com). Scott will present “Ethical Considerations in Bankruptcy,” an introduction to common and special ethical issues.
Turea Simpson, a senior paralegal with HWA, will present an Institute for Paralegal Education telewebinar entitled, “The Paralegal’s Guide to Understanding, and Effectively Handling, Chapter 7 Asset Cases” on May 12 at noon. Simpson will instruct participants on how to approach and manage Chapter 7 asset cases as paralegals (http://www.nbi-sems.com/instituteforparalegaleducation).
About the Speakers
Wayne Kitchens has been practicing law for more than 25 years. He specializes in business bankruptcy and business planning and strategy. He has extensive experience in buying and selling assets in and out of bankruptcy, as well as prosecuting and defending preference and fraudulent transfer matters. Kitchens’ specialties within bankruptcy law include business bankruptcy, creditor and debtor rights, closely held businesses, securities and corporate finance.
Janet Northrup has been practicing law for more than 27 years, and is recognized as one of the leading consumer bankruptcy experts in Texas. She specializes in consumer bankruptcy law and has an extensive list of high-level bankruptcy cases to her credit. Northrup served as a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee for the Western District of Texas from 1995 to 2005, and has served as a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee for the Southern District of Texas since 1986. Northrup also holds national and Texas bankruptcy law certifications, and continues to be a frequent speaker and analyst for the legal community and news media on consumer bankruptcy issues.
Brendetta Scott specializes in consumer financial services and default servicing. She represents a variety of mortgage companies and credit unions involved in complex contested hearings and transaction issues. Scott speaks frequently at both the local and national level on issues in bankruptcy law and proceedings.
Turea Simpson has been Janet Northrup’s bankruptcy paralegal for the past eight years, and has been in the bankruptcy field for more than 10 years. Simpson has been a certified bankruptcy assistant since 2007 and is an active member of the American Bankruptcy Judicial Assistants (ABJA). Simpson founded the Houston Association of Bankruptcy Paralegals (HABP) in 2009. The HABP is the first association of its kind in Texas and just the second of its kind in the nation. Simpson is a frequent speaker at local and national paralegal education seminars and events.
Full biographical profiles of Kitchens, Northrup and Scott are available at www.hwa.com. For more information on Senior Paralegal Turea Simpson’s credentials, please email her at tsimpson@hwa.com.