Consumer Focus: Rule 3015 Discovered

Wendell is the principal member of the firm. He practices primarily in consumer bankruptcy and debtor representation.

He graduated magna cum laude from Washington University in 1986 and from Washington University School of Law in 1989.

Prior to opening Sherk & Swope, LLC he managed the debt relief department of Eric Taylor & Associates, P.C. He was also previously employed by a leading Chapter 7 trustee in St. Louis.

He was awarded the Missouri Bar’s Michael Roser Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy in 2014 and was the co-recipient of the Bankruptcy Practice Memorial Fund’s first Judge Brauer Innovations in Bankruptcy Award in 2005. And was named one of Missouri’s best bankruptcy lawyers in a 2007 (completely unscientific) on-line poll by Missouri Lawyers Weekly, a trade publication. He is AV-rated (highest rated) by Martindale.com’s peer review program, and is listed in SuperLawyers.

He has served on various committees within the St. Louis bankruptcy court, the Missouri Bar and Bar Assoc. of Metro St. Louis. He was vice chairman of the Missouri Bar Commercial Law Commitee, which proposed the most recent improvements in exemptions law to help Missouri consumers. He is currently co-chairing a similar committee to propose further improvements to these laws.

He is also a regular author and speaker in national and local bankruptcy seminars. He also a contributor ot the Bankruptcy Law Network blog.

Wendell founded the Debtor Attorneys of Metropolitan St. Louis and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Missouri Bar.

David G. Peake is a chapter 13 trustee for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, appointed in June 1998. Previously, he had been in privater practice, representing individuals and small businesses.

Mr. Peake is licensed to practice law in Texas and is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, ABI, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees, for which he serves as its president-elect. He currently serves on the Chapter 13 Committee of ABI’s Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy Law.

Mr. Peake received his undergraduate degree from Macalester College and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.

Ms. Becket joined Becket & Lee in 1991. She is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest distinction available. In addition to being a Managing Partner at Becket & Lee, focusing on client and industry relations, she specializes in litigation strategy and has been lead counsel in some of the most successful and influential decisions on claim litigation in consumer cases over the last 15 years.

In 2009, Alane was elected to the Board of Directors of the ABI, where she served as Co-Chair of its Consumer Bankruptcy Committee from 2009 through 2011. In 2014, she was elected to serve on ABI's Executive Committee as Vice President of Publications. In April 2018, Alane was elected President-Elect of ABI, until she assumes the role of President in April 2019. In 2015, Alane was appointed to NCBA's Board of Directors. She was reelected to the NCBA Board in 2016, where she serves as Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy Section, and of the Professional Standards and Grievance Committee.

Alane has lectured extensively on consumer bankruptcy issues for a variety of professional organizations, including the ABI, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the Federal Judicial Conference the NACTT, the Commercial Law League of America, NCBA, and a host of local and regional creditor organizations. She has authored articles for many of the same organizations, as well as the Norton Institute on Bankruptcy Law. Alane co-authored the revised edition of the ABI treatise Consumer Bankruptcy: Fundamentals of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Third Edition) and served as Editor of the Fourth Edition published in 2017. Alane also served as Editor for 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of The Best of ABI – The Year in Consumer Bankruptcy. In 2016, Collection Advisor magazine named her as one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Collections” in its September/October cover story. In 2018, Collection Advisor once again recognized Alane among her peers, this time in its September/October cover story on the “20 Most Powerful Women in Collections”.