The International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), the premier international, networking and professional growth organization for women in the restructuring and insolvency industry, has named the Honorable Karen S. Jennemann as its 2020 Woman of the Year in Restructuring (WOYR) award winner. Judge Jennemann is a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando.

 

"Judge Jennemann is an icon to many as the first female Bankruptcy Judge and Chief Bankruptcy Judge in Florida. She is a mentor to her law clerks, but also helps and inspires many young lawyers throughout the country," states Judge Arthur Briskman.

 

Now in its 14th year, the WOYR award was conceived to honor women in the restructuring and insolvency industry who have shown exceptional leadership and have made extraordinary and lasting contributions to the insolvency and restructuring profession.

 

Judge Cynthia Jackson states, "Judge Jennemann has always been a staunch and caring supporter of women in our profession. She is the epitome of the kind of [female] professional IWIRC stands for."

 

Judge Jennemann wrote of her late father: "[H]e taught me how to start and finish a project, how to work with others, and how to ensure that I was proud of the quality of my work... The most important lesson he taught me was that the more complicated life gets, the more ordinary life matters. Regular life. Simple life. Work is very important, but people should always come first. What matters is a true connection to others. He always said, 'Never too busy to help others.'"

 

"Judge Jennemann's countless contributions to the restructuring industry, and to women in the industry in particular, demonstrate that she took her father's instruction to heart and has implemented this admirable philosophy throughout her personal and professional life. For these reasons, and more, Bankruptcy Judge Karen S. Jennemann is worthy to be named IWIRC's Woman of the Year in Restructuring," states Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen S. Specie.

 

The 2020 Woman of the Year in Restructuring award will be presented on April 23, 2020 during IWIRC's 17th Annual Spring Conference in Washington, DC. Please click here to register for the event or for more information.

 

For additional information contact:
Alexandra "CC" Schnapp, IWIRC Communications & News Co-Chair Atlanta, GA
Alexandra_Schnapp@ganb.uscourts.gov OR
Rosa J. Evergreen, IWIRC Communications & News Co-Chair
Arnold & Porter
Washington, DC
rosa.evergreen@arnoldporter.com