Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Heinekens Receives Prestigious Judge William L. Norton, Jr. Judicial Excellence Award

Alexandria, Va. - The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) presented Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens (E.D. Ky.; Lexington) with the Judge William L. Norton, Jr. Judicial Excellence Award during an ABI presentation at the 98th National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges annual meeting in Seattle Wash, on Sept. 19. The Norton Award honors a retired or current bankruptcy judge who has been an outstanding educator, writer and scholar. The award is presented by ABI and Thomson Reuters in memory of the late William L. Norton, Jr. Past award-winners include Tracey N. Wise,Michael G. Williamson, Randolph J. Haines,Mary F. Walrath, Eugene R. Wedoff (a past ABI President), A. Jay Cristol, Barbara J. Houser (a past ABI President), Barry Russell, William H. Brown, Robert D. Martin and Harlin D. Hale.

An ABI member since 1988, Judge Huennekens was appointed as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia on September 11, 2006. He received his J.D. in 1978 from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and its law review, and his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 1975. Prior to his appointment, Judge Huennekens was a partner with the law firm of Kutak Rock LLP. Judge Huennekens served as a panel trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1988-2006. He also was an adjunct professor of law at the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law from 1993-96), and he successfully argued the case of Patterson v. Shumate, 504 U.S. 753, 92 S. Ct. 885 (1992) before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Huennekens is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the American Bankruptcy Institute, was recognized in Who's Who Legal USA: Insolvency & Restructuring and The International Who's Who of Insolvency and Restructuring in 2006, and was listed in The Best Lawyers in America from 1995-2006. He is a planning committee member of the Annual Mid-Atlantic Institute on Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice, and he is a co-editor of the Virginia CLE Publication Bankruptcy Practice in Virginia (2017). In addition, Judge Huennekens chaired the Advisory Committee on Executory Contracts and Leases for ABI's Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 (commission.abi.org); the commission's work was instrumental in helping to enact legislation that created a new section of the Bankruptcy Code (subchapter V) to more directly assist financially struggling small businesses.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 10,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit www.abi.org/events.