Circuit Splits and Other Hot Topics in the Consumer Arena

Since 2003, Chambers & Partners has named him one of the country’s leading lawyers in bankruptcy law. He is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. Mr. Peterson is a member of the firm’s Restructuring and Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Litigation Practices. He is also a member of the Real Estate and Construction Litigation and Corporate Finance Practices and the Real Estate Finance Litigation and Workout Task Force.

Mr. Peterson has been a member of the panel of Chapter 7 Trustees for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division since 1988. He has presided over numerous complex commercial cases, including Stotler & Co, the country’s 10th largest commodities house, and Lancelot Investment, a $1.7 billion Ponzi scheme. Mr. Peterson has also served as examiner in Robert Lund, a large real estate developer and the Chairman of the Creditors’ Committee in Thomas J. Petters, a $3.5 billion Ponzi Scheme. Mr. Peterson is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Commercial Law League of America and the Business Bankruptcy Committee of the Business Law Section and the Bankruptcy Litigation Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. He is a Director and past president of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees and is also a member of INSOL (International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals). Mr. Peterson served as the co-chairman of the avoidance power and in pari delicto committee of the ABI’s Chapter 11 Reform Commission and a Commissioner on the ABI’s consumer reform commission. Mr. Peterson is also a federal equity receiver and a member of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.

Mr. Peterson is a prolific lecturer and writer on bankruptcy and commercial law issues.

Sarah Edwards is an associate in the firm's Commercial Litigation and Consumer Financial Services Compliance sections and practices from the firm's New Orleans office. She assists with matters involving bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, commercial litigation, and compliance with state and federal law governing a variety of consumer financial products, including compliance with state licensing laws and federal and state debt collection laws.

Hailing from Lafayette, Louisiana, Sarah is a 2015 graduate of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she received her J.D. and held leadership roles in a number of organizations, including as Case Note and Comment Editor of the Loyola Law Review. She was also active in Loyola's Moot Court, Student Bar Association, Entrepreneurial Business Law Society, and Intellectual Property Society.

Henry E. Hildebrand, III has served as Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 matters in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1982 and as Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for that district since 1986. He also is of counsel to the Nashville law firm of Farmer Purcell White & Lassiter.

Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University. He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and serves on its Education Committee. He is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and now serves on its Faculty Committee. He is Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). In addition, he is on the Board of Directors for the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. and writes the Critical Case Comments column for its web site.

He is a regular contributor to the ABI Journal. He has served as an adjunct faculty member for the Nashville School of Law and St. John’s University School of Law.

Hon. David W. Houston, III is a retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi and practices with Mitchell, McNutt & Sams in Aberdeen, Miss., where his practice is focused on commercial transactions, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. As a judge, he also presided over cases in the Southern District of Mississippi, Middle District of Louisiana, and the Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas. Judge Houston conducted trials in numerous consumer and complex business cases and authored hundreds of published opinions.

Prior to assuming the bench, he was a partner for 11 years in the Aberdeen, Miss., law firm of Houston, Chamberlain and Houston. He also served as a special agent with the FBI in Washington, D.C., Tampa, Fla., and New York City. Due to his experience in the area of alternative dispute resolution, he is available to conduct mediation and arbitration proceedings.

Judge Houston received his B.B.A. in accountancy in 1966 and his J.D. in 1969 from the University of Mississippi.