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BRUCE W. AKERLY is a partner at Cantey & Hanger LLP, where his practice areas include agricultural law, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, commercial litigation, and creditors rights. He is a frequent writer and lecturer in the areas of commercial litigation and procedure, creditor rights, collection of debts and judgments, and insolvency proceedings. Mr. Akerly was a law clerk to the Hon. Mary Lou Robinson, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas from 1982-1984. He has represented business and individual clients in negotiations, settlements, mediations, trial and appeal of various forms of commercial, bankruptcy and business entity disputes, commercial litigation, and other contested matters before administrative, state and federal courts. Mr. Akerly has over 25 years of experience representing growers, wholesalers and retailers of fresh fruits and vegetables in actions under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association's Bankruptcy and Litigation sections, Commercial Law League, and American Bankruptcy Institute. Mr. Akerly is admitted to practice before all U.S. District courts in the states of Texas and Wisconsin, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He earned his B.A. degree from Southwest Texas State University and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law. MARK A. CASTILLO is an attorney with Curtis | Castillo PC. He has developed a diverse practice with significant experience in all areas of bankruptcy law and litigation. Through representation of numerous Chapter 11 debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, official committees, and Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees, Mr. Castillo has developed a broad knowledge of the law and the bankruptcy code, including pre-bankruptcy planning and prepackaged acquisitions; pre-negotiated reorganizations; bankruptcy liquidation and non-bankruptcy dissolution; assumption, assignment, and rejection of leases and contracts; utility and reclamation issues; claims objections; avoidance and recovery actions; disclosure-statement and plan drafting and negotiation; and various confirmation and post-confirmation issues. He has tried suits involving millions of dollars in bankruptcy-related claims, including turnover, conversion and contract claims, and has litigated or settled millions more in preference and fraudulent-transfer claims for both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Castillo earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Dallas and his J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School. JEFFREY R. ERLER is a partner with Bell Nunnally & Martin, LLP, where he practices in the areas of insolvency and creditor's rights, including bankruptcy-related litigation. Mr. Erler regularly represents clients in bankruptcy cases throughout the country, having appeared in bankruptcy cases pending in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. He also is experienced in all phases of litigation, having represented clients in the state courts of Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas; the U.S. District courts in Colorado and Texas; and in arbitration proceedings before the American Arbitration Association and National Association of Securities Dealers. Mr. Erler is a frequent speaker for National Business Institute on topics relating to creditor representation, including collection efforts, litigation and bankruptcy. His legal work also has been recognized by his peers, having been named a Rising Star by Texas Monthly magazine in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009. Mr. Erler earned his B.B.A. degree from Texas A&M University and his J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
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