Commercial Law League of America Announces Award Recipients

The Commercial Law League of America has named its annual honorees for its two most prestigious awards: the Lawrence P. King Award and Robert E. Caine Leadership Award.

Murray Lubitz, of the Murray Lubitz Law Firm, is the recipient of this year’s Caine award. The Hon. A. Jay Cristol, Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, is receiving the King Award.

Lubitz, from White Plains, N.Y., is a 37-year CLLA member and recently served as the CLLA Board of Governors’ treasurer in 2012-2013.

“The CLLA is thrilled to present longtime member Murray Lubitz with this year’s Caine award,” says CLLA Executive Vice President Tony Hilvers. “He truly exemplifies all the qualities that the Caine award was created to represent: Integrity, dedication and leadership.”

The Caine award is given to a CLLA member who demonstrates leadership; mentors and fosters goodwill among other industry professionals; and serves the community through personal efforts and/or charitable contributions. Lubitz will receive the award at CLLA’s upcoming November Eastern Region Conference in New York. The conference, which includes legal and business education programming, networking and other events, will be held at the New York Times Square Hotel (811 Seventh Ave.) from Nov. 7-9. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/14T15Nb.

“Murray has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in the CLLA,” says CLLA member Mark Sheriff, of the Columbus-based Isaac Wiles law firm, who nominated Lubitz for the award. “I don’t know of anyone who has done a better job of fostering good will, fraternity confidence within the CLLA from the present, going back to 1979.”

Lubitz has held a number of CLLA leadership positions over the years, including Board of Governors recording secretary, chair of the Arbitration & Grievance Committee, Finance Committee member and National Marketing Committee Member. Lubitz also served as a past chair of the CLLA Young Members’ Section.

Judge Cristol will receive the Lawrence P. King Award at the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges on Oct. 31.

“The CLLA is excited to be honoring Judge Cristol with this year’s Lawrence P. King Award,” says CLLA President Jeffrey Schatzman. “He truly exemplifies the qualities that the award was created to represent: scholarship, advocacy, involvement and excellence in the bankruptcy field.”

Each year, the Executive Council of the Commercial Law League’s Bankruptcy Section presents the Lawrence P. King Award to recognize a lawyer, judge, teacher or legislator who exemplifies the best in scholarship, advocacy, judicial administration or legislative activities in the field of bankruptcy. The award was designed to recognize the lifetime achievements of Professor King, which include contributing to the practice of bankruptcy law through teaching and working to elevate the profession through bankruptcy-related legislative activities.

Hon. A. Jay Cristol is Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida. Cristol served as a special assistant attorney general of Florida from 1959 to 1965 and as a trustee in bankruptcy from 1977 to 1985. He was appointed a United States bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Florida on April 17, 1985, and served as the district’s chief bankruptcy judge from 1993 until 1999. Cristol also served his country as a captain in the Naval Reserve, with 38 years of service in the diverse roles of both a carrier pilot, flying day and night from the aircraft carrier USS Princeton during the Korean conflict and flying volunteer airlifts to Vietnam in the 1960s, and as a Navy lawyer.

Cristol received his B.A. from the University of Miami and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, where he was research editor of the Law Review and recipient of other honors. He received his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Miami on May 9, l997 for his dissertation on the USS Liberty incident.

Since 1895, the CLLA has connected experienced attorneys with credit grantors, lending institutions and other commercial credit, bankruptcy and general finance industry members through networking, education, legislative advocacy and specialized legal services. For more information, visit www.CLLA.org.