Media Contact: Allison Miller, allison@blnkpg.com or 317.966.1339
HIAWATHA, Iowa (July 22, 2024) — Just 16 bankruptcy attorneys from across the nation will participate in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ (NCBJ) Appellate Advocacy Skills Workshop this fall. Among them is Austin Peiffer, Associate Attorney with Ag & Business Legal Strategies (ABLS).
The NCBJ’s Annual Meeting September 18-20, which includes this Workshop, provides a variety of high-quality educational programs for attorneys and other legal professionals, featuring judges, academics and other experts addressing compelling bankruptcy issues. It will take place in Seattle, Wash.
The Appellate Skills Workshop will focus on a hypothetical appeals case, requiring the eight 2-person attorney teams to present oral and written arguments before judges. This will be followed by meetings with one or more of the judges for detailed discussion and feedback. Paired with the networking and knowledge the 16 attorneys are sharing with one another, this is an exclusive opportunity to strengthen and inform their ongoing practice in bankruptcy law.
Peiffer, who joined ABLS in 2020 and is licensed to practice in both Iowa and Missouri, previously clerked for the Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Chicago. Prior to that, he earned his Juris Doctor from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, with a certificate in Business and Corporate Law. While in law school, he worked with its Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic and served as a judicial extern with the Honorable Charles E. Rendlen III of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He is the American College of Bankruptcy’s 2018 Distinguished Bankruptcy Law Student for the 8th Circuit.
“The young attorneys taking part in this Appellate Skills Workshop are among the brightest in the country,” said Joe Peiffer, ABLS lead attorney and founder. “In the past four years, Austin has developed an excellent reputation for hard work and attention to detail. We at ABLS are extremely proud of his selection for this honor, and also of the work he does to help farmers and small business owners with their debt and bankruptcy problems every day.”
“I’m honored and grateful to the NCBJ for providing me excellent learning and networking opportunities,” said Austin Peiffer. “I’m excited to visit Seattle, improve my written and oral appellate advocacy skills, learn at the excellent continuing legal education presentations, and connect with judges and my colleagues from across the country. I’m especially excited that one of the issues in the workshop is whether long-term lease obligations count toward bankruptcy eligibility debt limits, which is an issue that is directly relevant both for family farmers considering Chapter 12 bankruptcies and small businesses contemplating Chapter 11 Subchapter V bankruptcies.
“I plan to bring these skills and lessons back to Iowa to continue helping ABLS’s clients deal with their bankruptcy and debt restructuring issues,” Peiffer added.
The NCBJ’s mission is to promote the interests of U.S. bankruptcy judges to use their expertise on issues of bankruptcy law and procedure to improve administration of the bankruptcy system and to foster scholarship, collegiality and diversity among members of the bankruptcy bench and bar, and to provide opportunities for education and networking in the bankruptcy law community.
About Ag & Business Legal Strategies
Ag & Business Legal Strategies is an uncommon law firm focused on the intersection of law, agriculture, business and debt restructuring. Founding Attorney Joe Peiffer, who grew up on a hog and dairy farm, started ABLS in 2016 as a champion for family farms and small businesses, providing compassionate counsel on debt restructuring and bankruptcy. ABLS serves clients in Iowa and Illinois. To learn more, visit ablsonline.com or call 844.363.1641.
