In this episode, Shazia Ahmad talks with Kathleen S. McLeroy about her successful legal career and the skills, strategies, and opportunities that allowed her to assume not only a leadership position at her firm but also holding leadership positions in her bar and community organizations.

Shazia Ahmad works on complex structured finance transactions involving a variety of asset classes at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.   She advises issuers, underwriters, borrowers, lenders,  and service providers in these transactions, including drafting and reviewing transaction-related documents, performing due diligence and facilitating closings.  Prior to joining Kramer Levin, Shazia gained finance and legal experience at Fortune 500 companies and global banking institutions. Shazia is the Chair of the Young Lawyer Committee and a member of the Marketing Board of the ABA Business Law Section.

Kathleen S. McLeroy, a shareholder with  CarltonFields in Tampa, and has extensive experience resolving disputes as a litigator, mediator, and arbitrator. As a trial lawyer, she has substantial experience representing creditors in disputes with debtors in all forums, including state court, federal court, bankruptcy court, and in arbitration proceedings. Kathy regularly arbitrates and mediates disputes arising from contract disputes between health care providers. She works with judgment holders to enforce and collect large commercial judgments, both domestic and international. She also represents commercial banks, mortgage holders, property owners, title insurers, and real estate developers in real property disputes and mortgage foreclosures. Clients seek her guidance on matters involving receivership law, and she serves as a real estate receiver and counsel for receivers.

In 2004, Kathy was certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a circuit civil and county court mediator. She is also certified to serve as a mediator in matters pending before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. She mediates a variety of commercial disputes including commercial foreclosures, contract disputes, title disputes, and bankruptcy disputes. She is also qualified by the Florida Supreme Court to serve as a court-appointed arbitrator.

Business Law Section Leadership: Episode 7: Blazing the Leadership Trail

In Episode 3, host Jordan L. Fischer, Esq. interviews Chris Hoofnagle, Professor of Law at University of California, Berkeley. Chris and Jordan explore the evolving impact of emerging technologies on the practice of law. Chris provides key insight into legal informatics, and his predictions regarding ChatGPT and its impact on the law. Diving into the pros and cons of new technologies for lawyers, Chris discusses the way that lawyers should think about technology, and how it can complement their practice. 

For more information on Prof. Hoofnagle, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hoofnagle/. To contact our host, Jordan L. Fischer, Esq., regarding this podcast or to inquire into becoming a guest, please contact Ms. Fischer at jordan@jordanfischer.me.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: S3E3: Exploring the Evolving Impact of Emerging Technologies

A serial chapter 13 filer routinely used his estranged son’s Social Security number, and multiple variations, to avoid detection for more than a decade.  That ended when the last filing was done to frustrate an eviction by a world famous rapper who would not let the fraud slip.  But no one could actually find the filer to enforce various orders and findings of civil contempt which stalled the case.  When the IRS filed a proof of claim, an address on the tax return led to a disgruntled relative who had all the necessary information.  The podcast explores how serial filers are handled and identified in chapter 13 proceedings, civil contempt remedies and due process requirements, and criminal remedies available in bankruptcy.

In this episode Host Judge Elizabeth Gunn speaks with Stephen Fender and Michael Bolling, Fender, Bolling, and Paiva P.A., to discuss bad debtor and Mr. Zamora’s “the magical social security scheme.”

Steven Fender focuses his practice on bankruptcy and commercial litigation. Steven has an active practice in federal and state court. Mr. Fender routinely handles chapter 7 trustee adversary proceedings and contested matters. Mr. Fender has more than 20 years of experience litigating and trying cases in all business disputes.

Michael Bolling focuses his practice on bankruptcy and commercial litigation. Prior to starting the firm, Mr. Bolling was the judicial law clerk to the Honorable John K. Olson, United Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Bolling has previously worked for the Florida Office of the Attorney General and the Miami Heat.

Bad Boys of Bankruptcy: Episode 4: Fender Bolling

Host Gary J. Ross talks with Troy Zander, partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, who started out practicing in the Ch. 11 bankruptcy space 30 years ago and then moved to the venture debt space, where he has been ever since.  Troy represents lenders to tech and life science companies, sharing the distinctions between how venture debt deals are structured for each. Troy discusses the nuances of venture debt and its various forms, including dilutive vs. non-dilutive funding and asset-backed lending vs. cash flow lending. Silicon Valley Bank had been a major player in the venture debt space, so Troy and Gary finish the episode by briefly discussing the recent SVB collapse.

VC Law: Episode 15: A Discussion of Venture Debt with Troy Zander of Barnes & Thornburg

In this episode, Kaamil Ansar, partner and founder of The Ansar Law Firm, discusses the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for financing renewable energy projects. Kaamil is a specialist in energy and renewable energy, infrastructure and international project finance, cross-border mergers and acquisitions including private equity.

Financing Renewable Energy Projects: Episode 2: Financing Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil

Law firms have a duty to protect their clients’ best interests, but that duty does not give cover for defrauding clients’ creditors or running afoul of judicial rules governing how debtors are represented.

Bad Boys of Bankruptcy: Episode 5: Fast Lawyers and Slow Cars: The Saga of UpRight Law

In this episode, host Stephen Pike, Co-Leader of the ESG Advisory Services practice at Gowling WLG in Toronto, talks with Peter Tomczak, Chair of Baker McKenzie's North America Litigation and Government Enforcement Practice Group, about ESG Litigation and Risk Management - two critical issues that are challenging businesses and their boards of directors today.

ESG in the Boardroom: Episode 2: ESG Litigation and Risk Management

Today we speak with Dr Rohan Shad of Stanford University Medical Center, now an Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident at the University of Pennsylvania.  He has been exploring the application of AI techniques to help surgeons anticipate and reduce risks in certain heart surgeries.

Mind the Gap: Episode 10: Above All, Do No Harm!

Bankruptcy law requires that professionals seeking to be paid from the estate to publicly disclose their connections to the case.    In 1998, John Gellene, a former partner of the prestigious law firm now known as Milbank LLP, was found guilty for knowingly and fraudulently making false declarations under penalty of perjury.   In connection with seeking to be retained as debtor’s counsel in a bankruptcy case, Gellene failed to disclosure connections the firm had to creditors in the case.   His motivation for not disclosing these connections is that if he had his firm would likely have been disqualified from representing the debtor.    As a result of Gellene’s actions, Gellene served prison time and Milbank had to disgorge $1.8 million in fees.   In this episode, Judge Elizabeth Gunn and Judge Steven Rhodes will discuss the Gellene case, the bankruptcy laws requiring disclosures and more recent situations involving parties in bankruptcy cases failing to disclose connections.

Bad Boys of Bankruptcy: Episode 6: John Gellene: A Bankruptcy Lawyer Goes to Jail

Host Gary J. Ross talks with Jeremy Neilson, Founder/CEO of Assure, the Fintech platform pioneer that supported Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and PE/VC funds.  Jeremy discusses the basics of special purpose vehicles (SPVs), such as their structure and common use cases.  Jeremy & Gary also touch on the cost-saving benefits of forming master-series vehicles; fees and expenses involved in forming an SPV; the differences and similarities between SPVs and funds; and the pros & cons of SPVs. Gary concludes the podcast by asking Jeremy about the recent winding down of Assure and what Jeremy is thinking about doing next.

VC Law: Episode 16: Special Purpose Vehicles with Jeremy Neilson of Assure

Judge Katherine Forrest, a former federal court judge and our guest in this episode, observes that machine learning systems build models from historical behavior that can reflect structural bias or discrimination.  She notes that the inclusion of flawed data in AI models has serious implications for personal liberty, with particular consequences for Black defendants.

On this episode of our podcast series, we have the wonderful opportunity to discuss with Judge Forrest her observations on AI and what she thinks can be done to help ensure that these tools can lead to fair and just results.

Business Law Section Leadership: Episode 7: Blazing the Leadership Trail

ABA Business Law

Related tracks