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Hey all,

I am in the process of applying for bankruptcy clerkships. For a number of reasons I am focusing mainly on the more competitive clerkships in SDNY and D. Del.--in other words the heavy chapter 11 districts. The SDNY bankruptcy court has locations in Manhattan, Poughkeepsie, and White Plains. I read somewhere on these boards that only some of the SDNY bankruptcy judges have heavy chapter 11 caseloads--is this true? If so, is it only the judges located at the courthouse in Manhattan? Any insights would be welcome.

Thanks!

That's certainly not true. Judge Morris in Poughkeepsie also works from NYC as she's the chief judge, and she had big Chapter 11s even before she made the move. She has clerks in both Poughkeepsie and NYC - they don't seem to travel between the cities, although I could be wrong. Judge Drain in White Plains likewise has big cases. Judge Lane in NYC has the Chapter 13 calendar, but he also has some very active and large Chapter 11 cases.

The cases are assigned to the judges randomly, so you won't know going in exactly what cases you're going to work on, although you'll know what cases are currently pending. In any event, you should apply to all of the judges because it's very competitive.