Business & Corporate

Creditor Rights

Bankruptcy Law

Financial Restructuring

Preference Litigation

Fraudulent Conveyance Litigation

Training and Development Committee, Member

• Kentucky, 1990

• United States District Court - W.D. KY, 1990
• Sixth Circuit, 1990

• University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, J.D., 1990, magna cum laude
• • Valedictorian
• University of Louisville, B.A., 1986, summa cum laude

Law Practice

Sara joined the Firm in 2000, concentrating her practice in bankruptcy law and financial restructuring, with special emphasis in creditor rights, preferential transfer and fraudulent conveyance law, reclamation rights and deepening insolvency; commercial transactions; utility law; and banking law and electronic stored-value card law. She has represented secured and unsecured creditors in large and complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, and has developed a national bankruptcy practice.  She has also handled large preference and fraudulent conveyance actions in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States, defending creditors in many of today's largest Chapter 11 cases; including, the Chrysler, Enron, Tower Automotive, Federal Mogul, Collins and Aikman, Delphi, Dana, Calpine, Computrex, SemCrude, Smurfit Stone, Lyondell Chemical Company, Circuit City, Flying J, and Nortel bankruptcy cases.  Sara has also served as a mediator in preference claim actions.

Sara has represented utility companies, logistics and transportation companies, chemical companies, healthcare clients, manufacturers, suppliers, banks, and electronic gift card issuers.

Prior Experience and Background

Sara graduated from the Brandeis School of Law in 1990, where she was valedictorian of her class. In law school, she was the recipient of numerous academic awards, including the Samuel L. Greenebaum Writing Award, and was elected to the Brandeis Society. Prior to joining the Firm, she served for seven years as the staff attorney to the Honorable Judge J. Wendell Roberts, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Kentucky.

Professional Activities

Sara serves on Frost Brown Todd's Training and Development Committee.  She is the co-chair of the sub-committee on mentoring.  Sara is a two-time recipient of the Frost Brown Todd Mentor of the Year Award (2004 and 2008).  She is also a past member of the Firm's Diversity Committee and the past editor-in-chief of the Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter.

Societies and Organizations

Sara is a member of the American Bar Association ("ABA"), the ABA Advisory Panel, the ABA Women and Minority Speakers Bureau, the ABA Business Law Section, the ABA Bankruptcy Section, the ABA Business Law Section, and the American Bankruptcy Institute.  She is also a member of the Kentucky Bar Association, the Louisville Bar Association and the Louisville Bar Association's Bankruptcy Section. Sara is also a past member of the University of Louisville's Leaders in Political Science and a past member of the University of Louisville's Pre-law Mentorship Program. 

Non-Profit Corporate Board and Community Participation

Sara serves on the CenterStage Theatre Board, and is a member of the Play Selection Sub-Committee of that board.  She is a past co-chair of the LightUp CenterStage Annual Gala.  She is additionally a member of the Producer's Club, the fundraising organization that supports the DuPont Manual Youth Performing Arts School.  Sara is also a past participant in the Jefferson County Public Schools' Make the Middle School Connection, and presently serves on the St. Francis School Diversity Task Force.

• Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell®
• Frost Brown Todd Mentor of the Year Award, 2004 and 2008

• American Bar Association
• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisville Bar Association, 1990
• Brandeis Society, Member
• Leaders in Political Science, Member
• Pre-Law Mentorship Program, Member

Speaker:  Avoidance Actions Update  
U.S. Law Firm Group, Bankruptcy Section, October 2008.

Speaker: Diversity Task Force Lecture at St. Francis School
Goshen, Kentucky, August 2008.

Speaker: The Theory of Deepening Insolvency
ABA Business Litigation Section Annual Conference, Amelia Island, Florida, February 2007.

Co-presenter: The Theory of Deepening Insolvency
John S. Egan, Edward M. King and Sara L. Abner, presented by William Brandt, Jr. and Sara L. Abner, ABA Annual Meeting: Section of Business Litigation, Amelia Island, February 2007.

An Addendum to “The Theory of Deepening Insolvency,” presented by Charles R. Keeton at the ABA Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, August 2007.

Co-presenter: Preferences in Bankruptcy
Charles R. Keeton and Sara L. Abner, seminar outline and client advisory.

Author: Ask The Lawyer
Business First, Volume 24, No. 7, September 21, 2007.

Co-Presenter:  Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code – An Analysis of Parts I, II and III
Charles R. Keeton and Sara L. Abner, University of Kentucky, 2001.

Author: Can A Debtor Hide Wrongfully Obtained Funds By Squirreling Them Away in Statutorily Exempt Safe Havens?
Frost Brown Todd Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, April 2003.

Co-Author: What to Do When A Business Customer Files for Bankruptcy: Part I
John S. Egan, Sara L. Abner and Miles S. Apple, Frost Brown Todd Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, July 2002.

Co-Author: What To Do When a Business Customer files for Bankruptcy: Part II 
John S. Egan, Sara L. Abner and Miles S. Apple, Frost Brown Todd Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, October 2002.

Co-Author: Publicly Traded Companies File A Record Number of Bankruptcies
Sara L. Abner and Miles S. Apple, Frost Brown Todd Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, April 2002.

Author: Should You Continue To Do Business with a Debtor in Bankruptcy: Administrative Claims 
Sara L. Abner, Frost Brown Todd Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, January 2002.

Co-presenter: What To Do When A Business Customer Files For Bankruptcy
John S. Egan, Sara L. Abner and Miles S. Apple, Lorman Institute’s Bankruptcy in Kentucky Seminar, April 2002.

Editor-in-Chief:  Financial Restructuring Group Newsletter, October 2001-present.

Author:  Safe Harbor or Pirate Haven? A New Twist on CERCLA Secured Creditors Exception
American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, November 1994.