The M&A Advisor announced that Samuel J. Gerdano is the recipient of the 2018 M&A Advisor Lifetime Achievement Award. Gerdano is to be honored, for his significant contribution to the bankruptcy and restructuring industry, at the 12th Annual Turnaround Awards Gala on Wednesday March 21, 2018 at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, FL.

Gerdano was 36 when he joined the American Bankruptcy Institute in May 1991 as its executive director. In more than a quarter century of his leadership, ABI membership grew from less than 3,000 to more than 13,000, while the professional association became the most respected voice in the insolvency space. The largest provider of continuing legal education in the field, ABI annually offers more than 30 live and online programs.

ABI's thought leadership grew during his tenure in areas of empirical and scholarly research, such as the landmark 2014 ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11, cited last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the area of publishing, he serves as editor-in-chief of the monthly ABI Journal and semi-annual Law Review, both frequently cited by courts and scholars. He is regularly called on by the local and national media as an expert on bankruptcy-related matters and cited as an authority on commercial and consumer insolvency. He has authored numerous articles on bankruptcy and appears regularly as a presenter or panelist at programs in the U.S. and internationally.

From 1985 to 1991, Gerdano was the chief legal counsel to Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and staff director for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Administrative Practice (now known as the Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Courts). This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Mr. Gerdano has played an integral role in every major bankruptcy policy change since 1985, including as the principal architect of Chapter 12 of the Code, first enacted in 1986. He became Chief Counsel and Staff Director at the age of 33; during his tenure, he also served key roles on six high-profile Supreme Court confirmations. Other legislative achievements include several Public Laws in the area of administrative law and passage of the first application of civil rights and non-discrimination laws to members of Congress.

Immediately prior to his service in the Senate, Gerdano was Assistant Chief Counsel for Advocacy for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, D.C., where he drafted the Federal Equal Access to Justice Act amendments. He is admitted to practice in the Federal and local courts of the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was named a Fellow in the selective American College of Bankruptcy in 2001. He is active in the Association of Continuing Legal Education Administrators, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy and as a Director and Executive Committee member of the Alexandria (Va) Chamber of Commerce. Last week Sam was also named a Board Member of the Year by the Alexandria (VA) Chamber of Commerce.

“We are honored to present Samuel Gerdano with the 2018 M&A Advisor Lifetime Achievement Award,” stated David Fergusson, President and Co-CEO of The M&A Advisor. “In addition to the experience and vision that Mr. Gerdano brought to the American Bankruptcy Institute, Sam has tirelessly championed, for over 25 years, the advancement of our industry through his dedication to ongoing research and study, engagement with all industry stakeholders, and the representation of the Institute’s work to the courts and our governments.”

A native of central New York, Mr. Gerdano is a 1983 honors graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law and received a B.A. in journalism, magna cum laude, also from Syracuse, in 1977.

With the presentation of The 2018 M&A Advisor Lifetime Achievement Award, Mr. Gerdano joins a notable and exclusive community of industry leaders who have preceded him as lifetime and leadership award winners, including Wilbur L. Ross, Jack Butler, Robert “Steve” Miller, Harvey R. Miller, J. Scott Victor, Timothy Coleman, William Repko, Corinne Ball, Barry Ridings, Tom Lauria, Van Conway and Sheila Smith.