Becker to receive Michael R. Roser Excellence in Bankruptcy Award

Michael A. Becker has been chosen to receive the 2023 Michael R. Roser Excellence in Bankruptcy Award.

The award recognizes an attorney who manifests the highest standard of excellence in bankruptcy practice, contributes distinctively to the development and appreciation of bankruptcy law and has made an outstanding contribution to the field. It is named in honor of the late Michael R. Roser, a prominent Kansas City bankruptcy lawyer.

Becker, a 1987 graduate of St. Louis University School of Law, had his first foray into bankruptcy law on Christmas Eve 1987 when he was commissioned to deliver 52 boxes containing the Apex Oil bankruptcy filing to the Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Since then, he has represented various individuals and entities, including bankruptcy trustees, in every aspect of chapters 7, 11 and 13 and served as receiver in numerous state court proceedings.

He was a member of a committee that created a pilot program for pro bono bankruptcy services in the Eastern District of Missouri, and he has represented numerous individuals pro bono before the bankruptcy court. He has also devoted substantial time preparing the coming generation of bankruptcy attorneys by spearheading a bankruptcy law clinic at Saint Louis University, overseeing 2Ls and 3Ls as student attorneys representing indigent clients before the bankruptcy court. As one nominating paper said, “this initiative not only provided much-needed legal representation to those who could not afford it, but also provided these law students with invaluable practical experience.”

The award will be presented at the Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute in Kansas City on Oct. 20, 2023.

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