Mackenzie Hughes Attorney Neil J. Smith Elected President of Central New York Bankruptcy Bar Association

Neil J. Smith has been elected president of the Central New York Bankruptcy Bar Association.

Since joining Mackenzie Hughes in 2005, Smith has been a member of the business department focusing in bankruptcy law. His practice includes the representation of businesses in bankruptcy proceedings, debt reorganizations and workouts. He also represents defendants in preferential transfer litigation and provides support to the other associates and partners on the regulatory, lending, operational, and governance issues of banks and credit unions.

After graduating summa cum laude in 2002 from Syracuse University with a degree in public communications, Smith attended St. John’s University School of Law, where he graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 2005. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 2006.

Prior to joining Mackenzie Hughes, he was a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review. While there he wrote an article entitled “F.C.C. v. Nextwave: Plain Meaning or Just Plain Wrong?” which described conflicts between FCC regulations and bankruptcy law.

Smith is a member of the Onondaga, New York State, and American Bar Associations. He has served as President of the Central New York Bankruptcy Bar Association and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He also volunteers with the Onondaga County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers’ Project. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the banjo, and is the Vice President of the Central New York Bluegrass Association.

The Central New York Bankruptcy Bar Association (“CNYBBA”) was formed in 1991 by local bankruptcy attorneys who had identified the need for bankruptcy education programs and a forum for the exchange of ideas and the discussion of problems related to the practice of bankruptcy law. The CNYBBA sponsors an annual bankruptcy scholarship competition at Syracuse University College of Law, and sends volunteers into area high schools as part of the C.A.R.E. (Credit Abuse Resistance Education) Program, educating young people on the responsible use of credit