2008-10-06 21:24:01 -
- For Tina's Wish Mike Kachel, 212-878-8050 mike.kachel@cliffordchance.com or Claire Papanastasiou, 617-951-8881 claire.p@bingham.com "Tina's Wish," a new charitable organization that honors the memory of Tina Brozman, former chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and co-leader of Bingham McCutchen LLP's financial restructuring group, will host two inaugural fundraising dinners
on both sides of the Atlantic this month. The events are expected to raise approximately $600,000 in the fight against ovarian cancer, which took Ms. Brozman's life in 2007.
The youngest bankruptcy judge appointed in the Second Circuit at the age of 32 in 1985, Ms. Brozman issued more than 150 decisions, many of which had a major impact on bankruptcies involving multinational corporations. She presided over the 1991 bankruptcy case of the British company Maxwell Communications Corp., the former parent of the New York Daily News. The work involved significant cooperation with Lord Leonard Hoffman, a law lord in England's House of Lords, and helped define the standard for multinational bankruptcies. The United Nations later adopted protocols first developed in the Maxwell case for its model law on cross-border insolvencies. That work ultimately resulted in the adoption of Chapter 15 to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in 2005, which was also based on Ms. Brozman's role in the Maxwell insolvency.
The official transatlantic launch will be marked by two significant fundraisers, a London event on Oct. 7 and another in New York on Oct. 21. The London dinner will feature Lord Hoffman, receiving an award given jointly by Tina's Wish and INSOL International. Lord Hoffman will be recognized for his and Ms. Brozman's contributions in the field of international bankruptcy. In New York, Tina's Wish will honor Gil Mor, M.D., Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine, for directing important research in the effort to detect ovarian cancer at its early and most survivable stage. Additionally, to recognize Ms. Brozman's devotion to mentoring young professionals, the first annual Tina Brozman Mentoring Award will be presented to Judge Burton R. Lifland, whom Ms. Brozman followed as the chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
"I am delighted these events will serve not only to honor the memory of my wife and generate much needed funding for ovarian cancer research but also will bring together our community of restructuring professionals to honor two individuals with whom she worked so closely: Judge Burton Lifland and Lord Hoffman," said Andrew Brozman, a partner in Clifford Chance's Finance & Restructuring practice in New York and a member of the board of Tina's Wish.
"Through the generosity of so many people who worked with, knew and loved Tina, we are able to set the stage for launching a robust fundraising effort," said Amy Kyle, who chairs the Tina's Wish board and worked closely with Ms. Brozman at Bingham. "Even in the face of this terrible disease, Tina wanted to create a legacy of hope and benefit for other women facing ovarian cancer."
The money raised by Tina's Wish will fund a research fellowship and an endowment at the Yale University Cancer Center, which has produced promising work on the elusive early detection test for ovarian cancer. Of all the gynecological diseases, ovarian cancer is the most deadly. Approximately 75 to 80 percent of women are diagnosed in later stages when the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries and the chance of survival is poor. For additional information on Tina's Wish, visit www.tinaswish.org.
"Tina's Wish" raising funds for ovarian cancer research; inaugural
fundraising dinners in London and New York set to raise more than
$500,000
