2012 Legendary Lawyer Award Honors Steven Ancel
 |
|
| |
|
INDIANAPOLIS – Retired attorney Steven Ancel was selected to receive the 2012 Legendary Lawyer Award by a panel of his peers. Ancel, who retired five years ago from Taft, Stettinius and Hollister, was an accomplished commercial lawyer who practiced business law in Indianapolis for half a century. He specialized in representing distressed businesses in bankruptcy reorganizations and other financial workouts as senior partner at Ancel, Freidlander, Miroff and Ancel, Ancel and Dunlap and, finally, as of counsel at Sommer and Barnard, now Taft, Stettinius and Hollister.
An event honoring Ancel will be held Friday, October 5, 2012, at 5 p.m. at Taft, Stettinius and Hollister, in downtown Indianapolis. For an invitation, contact the Indiana Bar Foundation. Anyone wishing to send memories or stories honoring Ancel may send them to the Foundation by September 27th.
The Legendary Lawyer Award recognizes an attorney whose contributions have demonstrated the highest standards of the legal profession. The honoree demonstrates adherence to the principles and traditions of the legal profession, compassion through community service and a legal career of 50 years or more.
"He always had time for lawyers, whether giving advice, listening to troubles or just dispensing a welcomed ‘attaboy,’” said Thomas Yoder, Barrett & McNagny, and a member of the committee that selected Ancel for this honor. “After 35 years of insolvency practice, I have very few heroes left in the profession - Steve has always been one."
In 1976, Ancel was invited to participate as a panelist on the first bankruptcy law seminar conducted by the newly created Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum. Two months later, Ancel was hired by a lawyer attending that seminar to represent the debtor in what turned out to be the largest reorganization in Indiana to that date.
Ancel became heavily involved in bar association issues concerning bankruptcy practitioners. He was the organizer of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Section of the Indianapolis Bar Association in 1984. He served as a director of the section (1984-1988) and as its chairman in 1985. He was the organizer of the Bankruptcy and Creditor Rights Section of the Indiana State Bar Association in 1985. Ancel was the Section’s second chairman in (1986) and served as a director for two years (1985-1986).
For his endeavors, Ancel has been previously recognized in a number of ways. He was elected a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy. He has been listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Best Lawyers in America (for 28 years since its inception), Indiana Super Lawyers each year since its inception, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Association and a Life Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation.
Mr. Ancel was graduated from Shortridge High School, Indiana University and Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He is married to Sorelle, a successful lawyer in her own right, and they have three married daughters and 10 grandchildren.
The committee that selected Mr. Ancel for this honor included: Joseph O’Connor, chair and Patron Fellow; Deborah Farmer Smith, Life Fellow; Gregory Sobkowski, Life Fellow; and Key Pechin, Fellow. Mr. Yoder is a Life Fellow.
To attend the Legendary Lawyer Celebration, email or call the Foundation at 317-269-7864
The Indiana Bar Foundation is a charitable foundation dedicated to strengthening access to justice and appreciation for the rule of law in Indiana by providing law-related educational opportunities for all ages, assisting people who have difficult accessing the justice system, and improving Indiana’s judicial system and the legal profession.
