Alexandria, Va. — Texas A&M School of Law won the 33rd Annual Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, held March 1-3 in New York City. The competition is co-sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and St. John’s University School of Law. Fordham University School of Law took second place in the competition, and teams from UC Law San Francisco and the University of Kansas School of Law shared third-place honors. Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law won for Best Brief, and Marissa Wakhu of Texas Southern University-Thurgood Marshall School of Law won the Best Advocate award.

The competition consisted of eight rounds of oral arguments and final rounds. ABI practitioners and academics coached many of the teams, and nearly 200 lawyers and federal judges donated their time and expertise to help judge the event. The fact pattern for the competition focused on two key developments in bankruptcy law: (1) whether 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2) precludes a chapter 13 debtor from modifying the rights of the holder of a secured claim that is secured only by a security interest in real property consisting of both the debtor’s principal residence and income-generating rental property; and (2) whether 11 U.S.C. § 1325(b)(1) allows a chapter 13 debtor to exclude from the calculation of disposable income voluntary, post-petition contributions to his/her 401(k) retirement plan.

Final-round judges for the 2025 competition were Judge Joseph Bianco of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. District Judges Pamela K. Chen and Hector Gonzalez (E.D.N.Y.), and Chief Bankruptcy Judge Alan S. Trust (E.D.N.Y.). Bankruptcy Judges John T. Gregg (W.D. Mich.; Grand Rapids) and Paul R. Hage (E.D. Mich.; Detroit) drafted this year’s fact pattern.

The Duberstein Competition, named for the late Judge Conrad B. Duberstein, a St. John’s alumnus and former ABI director, has grown into the largest appellate moot court competition in the nation. ABI’s Endowment Fund awarded $13,000 in cash prizes for the winners during a gala reception held at the New York Marriott Downtown on March 3.

For more information on the Conrad B. Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, please go to https://www.stjohns.edu/law/academics/centers-institutes/center-bankruptcy-studies/32nd-annual-duberstein-bankruptcy-moot-court-competition.

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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.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.