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Mr. Califano, a partner of Cooper, White & Cooper LLP, focuses his practice on bankruptcy and commercial litigation, and is the Chair of CWC's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice Group. His practice involves a broad range of activities on behalf of creditors, creditors' committees and debtors in bankruptcy and non bankruptcy matters. Mr. Califano has extensive experience in equipment leasing and receivership matters. He was the lead attorney on Siemens Credit Corporation v. Allan E. Newlands, 905 F.Supp. 757 (N.D. Cal. 1994), a significant case upholding the rights of equipment lessors under Article 2A of the Uniform Commercial Code. Mr. Califano was a co-author of recent amendments to Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code regarding fraudulent conveyance and chaired the Commercial Law League of America's efforts to develop and propose technical corrections to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. He also assisted with the CLLA's amicus curiae brief in Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Pamela Hood, U.S. Supreme Court, Case No. 02-1606 (2003), an important case involving the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction. Mr. Califano is the author of the following articles: "Bankruptcy: The Essentials" Commercial Loan Documentation Guide, Chapter 21 (Matthew Bender, 2007); "Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Issues," Commercial Finance Guide, Chapter 35 (Matthew Bender, 2005); Consensual Reorganization of Debtors," Commercial Finance Guide, Chapter 36 (Matthew Bender, 2004); "Lessors' Enforcement Rights Under Section 365(d)(10) of the Bankruptcy Code", Journal of Equipment Lease Financing, Spring 2002; "Creditor Told That It Doesn't Have A Leg to Stand On No Standing To Surcharge A Secured Creditor's Collateral", CLLA Bankruptcy Section Newsletter, July 2000; "Ninth Circuit Rules that State Courts May Not Construe the Applicability of the Automatic Stay", CLLA, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section Newsletter, July 1999; "Secured Creditors' Relief Attorneys' Fees Get Paid in Bankruptcy," CLLA, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section Newsletter, October 1998; "A Surprising Defendant in Bankruptcy Avoidance Litigation," CLLA Law Bulletin-Practice Aids , (March/April 1997); "Article 2A Protections Confirmed for Equipment Lessors," CLLA Law Bulletin-Practice Aids, (May/June 1996); "Why Aren't They Returning My Calls? Managing a Tenant's Bankruptcy;" BOMA Matters-San Francisco (March 1995); "How to Handle A Tenant's Bankruptcy," Shopping Centers Today (December 1993); and "A Bankruptcy Primer for Equipment Lessors," Western Association of Equipment Lessors-Newsline (August 1992). Mr. Califano was also a presenter at the following seminars: "Preferences � Guilty Until Proven Innocent" at a joint presentation to the National Association of Credit Management and CLLA at the CLLA's 2006 Eastern Annual Meeting; "Bankruptcy Potpourri: Preferences, Critical Vendors and Dismissals" for the NACM National Air Express & Cargo Industry Credit Group Meeting, Stateline, Nevada, June 2005; "Understanding the Radical Bankruptcy Code Changes: Business Bankruptcy Under the New Code" for the CLLA and its Bankruptcy Section and Fund for the Public Education, (May and June, 2005); "Catholic Diocese in Bankruptcy-Collision of Church and State?" for the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, (January, 2005); "Collection of Accounts Receivable in California," Lorman Education Services, Oakland, California, January 2003; "Planning For The Economic Downturn (If It Ever Happens) - Assignment For The Benefit of Creditors" for the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the BASF (March, 2000); "Hot and Emerging Topics in Chapter 7, 11 & 13" at the CLLA's 1999 Midwest Annual Meeting; "Fundamentals of Equipment Leasing" at the CLLA's 1998 Midwest Annual Meeting; "Gaming Debts-Dischargeability in Bankruptcy" at the CLLA's 1997 Western Annual Meeting; "Creditors' Strategies in the Shadow of Bankruptcy" at the CLLA's 1995 Midwest Annual Meeting; and "Bankruptcy Preferences" at the CLLA's 1994 Western Midwinter Meeting. Mr. Califano is a member of the CLLA, the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section of the BASF and INSOL International. He is currently the Chair-Elect for the Bankruptcy Section of the CLLA and is Chair of the CLLA's National Government Affairs Committee and the Bankruptcy Section Legislative Committee. He is also the President for the BABF and a member of the ELFA's Credit & Collections Section Planning Committee. Mr. Califano has been on the panel of mediators for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California's Dispute Resolution Program since 1997. Mr. Califano received his juris doctorate degree from Santa Clara University School of Law, with honors in 1987, and a B.A. magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has been rated "AV" by Martindale Hubbell. |
