Bankruptcy Certification Training Offered
Baltimore CBA Flyer Baltimore CLE FlyerIf you're not familiar with the ABJA, they are a national, nonprofit organization formed in 1989 to represent the interests of the judicial assistants and secretaries to United States Bankruptcy Judges.
One of the primary objectives of the ABJA has been the development of educational programs for members, bankruptcy court staff, and the bankruptcy legal community. Understanding that certification in a particular field can promote and maintain professional standards, their Continuing Legal Education Committee developed and modified, for non-lawyer persons, a "Bankruptcy Certification Program" ("CBA"). This certification program enables secretaries, assistants, paralegals, clerk's staff, and others in the bankruptcy legal profession to keep pace with new developments and is an effective quality improvement mechanism for employers.
As you know, there are various certification programs available in the legal community. The ABJA developed the CBA program because they feel it is important to maintain the necessary skills to competently perform as a bankruptcy assistant, whether to a judge, clerk, government agency, or in a law firm. This program is aimed specifically toward secretaries and other support personnel who work in or have day-to-day contact with the bankruptcy courts. This includes judge’s and clerk's staff as well as legal support staff in the community. Their goal is to eventually designate as many bankruptcy secretaries and bankruptcy support staff as possible as "Certified Bankruptcy Assistants." With this title comes the responsibility to maintain a high level of expertise in the bankruptcy field by obtaining a minimum of .6 Continuing Legal Education Units ("CLEs"), which is equivalent to 6 classroom hours, every two years to maintain certification. For more detailed information on the CBA program, please visit their website at www.abja.org.
The ABJA is excited to bring both of these programs to the Baltimore area and will be offering this two-day Bankruptcy Certification Program in Baltimore on October 20-21, 2009, just prior to the Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar.
The two-day certification program includes a one and one-half day preparatory training workshop with the exam being administered the afternoon of the second day. The exam has four sections, each consisting of 25 - 50 questions on grammar usage and writing, Bankruptcy Code and Rules, legal ethics, legal research and proper citation. The University of New Orleans, numerous professors, judges, and practitioners in the bankruptcy field, in cooperation with the ABJA, have developed a study guide which will be provided to interested participants in advance of the test date.
Presenters at the Baltimore CBA program will be The Honorable Robert A. Gordon, Bankruptcy Judge from Baltimore, MD; The Honorable Douglas D. Dodd, Bankruptcy Judge from Baton Rouge, LA; Tamara Blenkhorn, Esq. from Tallahassee, FL; and Claude Lightfoot, Jr., Esq. from New Orleans, LA; attorneys who specialize in the bankruptcy field.
You can see from the attached Advanced Bankruptcy Seminar program, a variety of bankruptcy judges, attorneys, and court personnel are scheduled to present various interesting topics.