Kathy Bazoian Phelps was admitted to the California Bar in 1991.  Her educational background is as follows:  Pomona College (B.A. 1988); University of California at Los Angeles (J.D. 1991).

She has been a partner at Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP since 1999 and a member of the firm since 1991.  Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP is a 21-person law firm, which specializes in debtors' and creditors' rights, receiverships, and bankruptcy and reorganization.

She is a member of the following bar associations:  Century City, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, American and Armenian Bar Associations, and the State Bar of California.  She was a member of the Insolvency Law Committee of the California State Bar from 1998-2001.  

She is a member of the Board of Directors of the California Receivers’ Forum; the Board of Directors of the Century City Chamber of Commerce; Financial Lawyers Conference; American Bankruptcy Institute; Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; Association of Insolvency and Accounting Restructuring Advisors; and International Association for Asset Recovery. 

Ms. Phelps is a member of the international network of law firms known as the Global Alliance, formed for the purpose of exchanging views and coordinating future legal positions for those defrauded in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme case.

Ms. Phelps has specialized in representation of trustees and receivers, debtors and creditors in reorganization, and in liquidation of estates.  She frequently represents operating and liquidating trustees and receivers in the United States District Court, the United States Bankruptcy Court and the Superior Court of the State of California.  She is recognized by peers for her ability to trace and recover funds in large-scale complex cases and for her familiarity with fraudulent transfer issues and issues arising in Ponzi cases.

Ms. Phelps has lectured widely and written on bankruptcy and receivership matters, most recently as follows:

Opportunities for Trustees in Ponzi Scheme Cases written for NABTalk, Journal of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, Summer 2010;

Fraudulent Transfer Claims and Defenses in Ponzi Schemes for National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees September 2010 Conference;

The Liability of Investors, Sales People, Professionals and Others in Ponzi Schemes for the Association of Insolvency and Accounting Restructuring Advisors in June 2010;  

The Intersection of Bankruptcy and Receiverships for the Association of Insolvency and Accounting Restructuring Advisors in June 2010;

Bankruptcy Issues Arising in Ponzi Schemes for the Century City Bar Association in April 2010;

Fraudulent Transfer Claims and Defenses in Ponzi Cases for the American Bankruptcy Institute Southwest Conference in September 2009; and

Bankruptcy Issues Arising in Ponzi Schemes for the Beverly Hills Bar Association in March 2010. 

In Federal and State Court receiverships and bankruptcy cases, Ms. Phelps has represented receivers and trustees in operating and liquidating businesses for the last 19 years.  The following list is illustrative of some of her recent experience:

• Counsel for federal equity receiver in SEC action of Diversified Lending Group, Inc. and Applied Equities, Inc.  Ms. Phelps is serving as lead counsel in this large Ponzi scheme, supervising the winding down of the business, the reconstruction of missing and incomplete records, the analysis and tracing of investor funds, the liquidation and recovery on various investments made by the debtor, and the prosecution of litigation to recovery funds for the benefit of the investors and creditors.

• Counsel for state court appointed receiver of Unicorp Beef, Inc.  Ms. Phelps is serving as lead counsel for the receiver in this litigation matter, reconstructing missing records and tracing over $9 million of funds removed by the defendant prior to the receiver’s appointment.

• Counsel for Chapter 11 trustee, and thereafter successor chapter 7 trustee, in bankruptcy case of Persistence Capital, LLC.  Ms. Phelps is serving as lead counsel in this Ponzi scheme case where the debtor sold a fictitious investment product related to pools of life insurance policies.  She has assisted the trustee in sorting out the documentation, tracing the funds and pursuing litigation to recover funds in the case.  The principals of this debtor, Curtis Somoza and Robert Coberly, Jr. were both indicted, and Mr. Somoza was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison while Mr. Coberly still awaits sentencing.

• Counsel for Chapter 11 trustee and thereafter the successor chapter 7 trustee, in the bankruptcy case of Eonxchange, LLC.  Ms. Phelps was lead counsel in this case and assisted the trustee in investigating the fraudulent Ponzi-like activity of the debtor related to an emission credit trading program through the SCAQMD.  Substantial funds were recovered for the benefit of the creditors and the principal of the debtor, Anne Sholtz, was ultimately convicted.

• Counsel for chapter 11 and chapter 7 trustees in a multitude of bankruptcy cases, handling both the operation and winding down of various businesses, the tracing of funds, selling of real estate, and prosecution of fraudulent conveyance and preference litigation, among countless administrative issues arising in those cases.

• Counsel for post-confirmation liquidation trustees, most recently in Cello Studios, Inc., where she supervised post-confirmation litigation and settlement after confirmation of plan of reorganization.

Ms. Phelps personal interests and accomplishments include extensive travel and the study of the Chinese language.