Abigail Willie

Biography

Abigail Willie, J.D., has been an attorney for 25 years, with a career spanning private practice, government service and the academy.

Prior to entering academics, Willie practiced insolvency and reorganization law at the international law firm of Vinson & Elkins and served as a career law clerk to several federal judges. In 2018, she was selected to be a Fellow in the prestigious Supreme Court Fellows Program in Washington, D.C. Prior to coming to the St. Mary’s University School of Law, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University School of Law. She also taught as a lecturer in commercial law at Saint Louis University and as an adjunct in the LL.M. in U.S. Law for Foreign Lawyers program at Washington University School of Law.

Willie specializes in bankruptcy law, with a particular interest in the scope of bankruptcy court authority as a non-Article III forum, equitable and sanctioning powers of non-Article III judges, the intersection of professional ethics and bankruptcy law, and the issues related to the treatment of the poor and historically underrepresented within the bankruptcy system. She also has extensive experience teaching legal research and writing and frequently lectures at CLEs. She has served on a number of professional boards and committees, including with the American Bankruptcy Institute. Throughout her career, she has been devoted to pro bono service and has represented and advised financially needy clients in immigration, bankruptcy, and family law matters.

Willie is actively licensed to practice law in Texas and Missouri and is admitted to practice before numerous federal courts.

• Fellow, Supreme Court of the United States, 2018-2019
• Law Clerk to the Hon. Raymond W. Gruender, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2005-2006
• Law Clerk to the Hon. George P. Kazen, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 2000-2001
• Law Clerk to the Hon. Alan S. Trust, Chief Judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2020-2023
• Law Clerk to the Hon. Charles E. Rendlen, III, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, 2006-2018
• Recipient of the Michael R. Roser Excellence in Bankruptcy Award, awarded by the Missouri State Bar (2018)
• Member, State Bar of Texas Pro Bono College

Articles

• Do Bankruptcy Judges Belong in Chambers? Rethinking Inherent Contempt Power in Bankruptcy, 90 Brooklyn L. Rev. 737 (2025)
• The Fifth Circuit’s In re Galloway Decision and the Local Practice of Attorneys “Covering” at Section 341 Meetings. 18 ABI: Ethics and Prof. Comp. Newsl. 4 (Nov. 3, 2020)
• The Fifth Circuit’s Riley Opinion: Requesting Reimbursement of Advanced Fees under a No-Look Rule. 17 ABI: Ethics and Prof. Comp. Newsl. 2 (Aug. 15, 2019)(co-author Charles Riddle, Esq.)
• Janvey v. Romero: Fourth Circuit Joins the Majority of Circuits in Split Over Whether Bad Faith Can Be “Cause” for Dismissal under § 707(a). 16 ABI: Consumer Bankr. Comm. Newsl. 3 (Aug. 7, 2018) (coauthor, Emily Eggmann, Student, Loyola Univ. Chicago School of Law)
• Up-ending Upright: Upright Law and Ethical Considerations for Attorneys at Virtual Firms. 16 ABI: ABI: Ethics and Prof. Comp. Newsl. 2 (May 1, 2018)
• Confirmation in the New Millennium: Stern and Non-Consensual Third-Party Releases. 15 ABI: Secured Creditor Comm. Newsl. 2 (Apr. 24, 2018)
• The Cerebral Hercules and the Bankruptcy Hydra: How Judge Schermer Slayed a Multi-Headed Monster While Deep in the Heart of Texas (and What Any of This Lone Star State- Grecian Hero Analogy Has to Do with Just a Little Bit of Yiddish), 55 WASH. UNIV. J.L. & POL’Y 63 (2018) (coauthor, the Hon. Charles E. Rendlen, III)
• Evans v. Portfolio Recovery: A Reminder for the Need for Specificity in Evidence Offered to Support an Attorney’s Hourly Rate and Hours Worked. 16 ABI: ABI: Ethics and Prof. Compensation Comm. Newsl. 1 (Jan. 8, 2018)
• It Wasn’t Me! Dealing with Successor Liability, Alter Ego, Veil Piercing and Substantive Consolidation Issues. Pub. for Annual Midwest Bankr. Inst., Kansas City, MO (co-author, the Hon. Dennis R. Dow) (Oct. 27, 2017)
• “Secured Claims in Bankruptcy,” chapter, Missouri Bar Deskbook – Bankruptcy Practice (2008) and supplement (2012)
  

Academic Presentations

• Strategies for Legal Research, Bench Memo Writing, and Opinion Drafting. Speaker, Bankruptcy Education Series sponsored by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (webinar)(Jun. 13, 2024)
• Plans, They Are A-Changin’. Speaker, Missouri Bar Annual Bankr. Inst., Saint Louis, MO (Mar. 8, 2024)
• Legal Writing for Bankruptcy Externs and Law Clerks. Speaker, Bankruptcy Education Series sponsored by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (webinar)(Jun. 8, 2023)
• Research & Writing for Law Clerks. Speaker, Fall Extern and Law Clerk Education Programs, sponsored by the Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California (webinar)(Sept. 28, 2021)
• Legal Writing & Research for Bankruptcy Law Clerks and Externs: 11 Humble Suggestions and Tips. Co-speaker, The Clarkson Lecture Series, sponsored by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (webinar)(Jul. 12, 2021)
• Hot Topics in Bankruptcy Law: The Supreme Court’s Acevedo Decision and Implications on Nunc Pro Tunc Relief in Bankruptcy. Speaker, Bankruptcy Creditor-Debtor Rights Committee of the Missouri Bar, Fall Meeting and CLE Program (webinar) (Nov. 20, 2020)
• Fury and Fines: Stay and Discharge Injunction Concerns Post-Taggert. Speaker, Missouri Bar 2020 Ann. Bankr. Symposium, Saint Louis, MO (Mar. 13, 2020)
• Discussion on the Role of the Federal Judiciary. Panelist, Saint Louis University School of Law, Saint Louis, MO (Sept. 9, 2019)
• A Physician’s Guide to the High Nine: The Prescription for Surviving a Cocktail Party Conversation About the Supreme Court. Lecturer, Grand Rounds, Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Neurological Surgery, Saint Louis, MO (Aug. 21, 2019)
• Bad Faith in Chapter 7 and 13 Cases. Guest lecturer in graduate program, Webster University Legal Studies Program (Jul. 14, 2021)
• Changes to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 Effected by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. Speaker, Northern Division Bench & Bar Seminar, Hannibal, MO (Jun. 15, 2018)
• ASARCO Applied: Impact of Baker Botts v. ASARCO in Professional Fee Litigation. Panelist, CLE live webinar, sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute (April 3, 2018)
• The Federal Arbitration Act and the Bankruptcy Code: The Current State of the Law on the Enforcement of Domestic Arbitration Agreements in the Bankruptcy Context. Speaker-author, Missouri Bar Annual Bankr. Inst., Saint Louis, MO (Mar. 2, 2018)