I not only have the
privilege of having
Judge Blumenstiel
as a friend, but have great respect for her ambition as a person with one
of the most important goals of her life fulfilled. Judge Blumenstiel’s
spirit and dedication is best described in this quote from her, “I worked
hard, never gave up on my judicial aspirations and here I am – exactly
where I want to be.”
The Honorable
Hannah L. Blumenstiel is currently one of three judges presiding in the
San Francisco Division of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
Northern District of California. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
appointed Judge Blumenstiel to the bench on February 11, 2013.
A Long Way from Home
Judge Blumenstiel was born in Sebring, Ohio – a rural, rust belt town with
four traffic lights. As a child and teenager, she participated actively in
local 4-H clubs, showing one or more of her three horses nearly every
weekend between April and October. “My horses kept me fully occupied and
likely out of trouble, given that there wasn’t much to do where I grew up.
And traveling every weekend helped me realize that I wanted to expand my
world beyond Northeastern Ohio.”
After graduating from
high school, Judge Blumenstiel enrolled at the Ohio State University in
Columbus, Ohio. She did not immediately excel. “I did reasonably well in
high school but didn’t have to work very hard. Once I got to college and
didn’t have anyone insisting that I go to class and do the work, I quickly
became more interested in sowing my wild oats than in my courses. I also
realized that I was wasting time and money by staying and not doing well,
so I decided to leave college and travel.”
Judge Blumenstiel
moved to San Diego, California, where she took advantage of her equestrian
experience and worked as a horse and carriage driver. “It was a great job.
The horses were well cared for, I was well-paid, and no one who takes a
carriage ride is in a bad mood – they’re on vacation, getting engaged,
going to prom – always happy to be there.” Judge Blumenstiel soon
realized, however, that as much fun as it was, she couldn’t drive a horse
and carriage for the rest of her life. If she wanted true stability and
accomplishment, she would have to return to college and get an education.
After a year in sunny
San Diego, she returned to Ohio State and graduated a few years later. The
question then became, what next? “I majored in Sociology, a subject I
found interesting but which didn’t leave me all that employable as a
professional.” Continuing her habit of making her hobbies into jobs, she
became a bicycle messenger. “Some of my colleagues and friends were
competitive cyclists and soon I was racing road and mountain bikes all
over the country. I rode a lot, but didn’t know a thing about proper
training, so I was average, at best. But I had a really, really good
time.”
The messenger service
for which she worked maintained its offices at the Columbus Bar
Association, and Judge Blumenstiel came to know many CBA staff. This led
to her first “real” job as Director of “Lawyers for Justice,” the Columbus
Bar Association’s brand new pro bono initiative. LFJ’s mission was to
serve that segment of the population that other local pro bono service
providers turned away, either because the client’s income was slightly too
high or because their legal problem was a type not handled by other pro
bono agencies. “I designed the program from the ground up and it was a one
woman show. I interviewed every client, did factual research concerning
their cases, recruited the law firms, matched eligible clients with
volunteer attorneys and monitored the cases until their conclusion. One
year into the job, I knew I wanted to go to law school.”
Judge Blumenstiel
needed to work full time to support herself, so she applied to the only
law school in the area with an evening program – Capital University Law
School. “The moment I received my acceptance letter, I knew my life had
changed and I never again needed to worry about winding up back in
Sebring, Ohio.”
An Early Desire to Take the Bench
The first day of law school, one of Judge Blumenstiel’s professors polled
the class about what they hoped to achieve after graduation. Judge
Blumenstiel responded “perhaps naively,” that she had “judicial
aspirations.” In the meantime, however, there was work to be done. Judge
Blumenstiel struggled academically during her first year of law school. “I
didn’t know how to be a good student. Even after returning to college, I
never felt challenged and could do well with a modest effort. In law
school, especially the first year, everyone is motivated and the
competition is tough.”
The turning point
occurred in her second year, when she tried out for the moot court team at
the invitation of two professors who served as the faculty mentors/coaches
for Capital’s well-regarded national moot court team. I’d done extremely
well in the oral advocacy component of my first year legal research and
writing class, but my overall grades weren’t strong enough to permit me to
join the team.” The next year, as moot court tryouts were approaching, the
coaches insisted she throw her hat in the ring again. She’d improved her
grades substantially, and after turning in another strong performance
during her tryout, she made the team, which went on to great success.
“My experience as a
member of what became Capital’s most successful moot court team in years
was transformative. I made friendships that have stood the test of time
and I learned to think like a lawyer.” It also set the stage for the rest
of her career.
Introduction to Bankruptcy
One of the volunteer judges for the team’s practice rounds was Nora Jones,
who served as Director of Litigation in the bankruptcy section of the Ohio
Attorney General’s Office. Nora was impressed by Judge Blumenstiel’s
performance and hired her as an Intern. “Nora was a phenomenal mentor and
introduced me to the Bankruptcy Code and Rules. The bankruptcy process
made intuitive sense and I enjoyed learning why businesses fail. In
addition, I enjoyed that a bankruptcy practice exposes lawyers to other
areas of law, too, because once a debtor comes under the protection of the
bankruptcy court, all of its other problems –labor, environmental, tax,
etc. – must be addressed there, too, at least at first.”
After graduation and
after she passed the Ohio bar exam, Judge Blumenstiel became an Assistant
Attorney General, representing the State of Ohio’s interests in bankruptcy
cases around the state. She believes she was the first in her class to
have an appellate argument, two weeks after she was sworn in as a member
of the Ohio bar. “The case was a total stinker. That’s why they let me
argue it.”
About six months
later, Judge Blumenstiel learned that one of the local bankruptcy judges,
Charles Caldwell, was looking for a new law clerk. She applied immediately
and got the job. “I loved working for Judge Caldwell. He set an excellent
example of judicial temperament and class, and taught me lessons I’ll
never forget.” She stayed for three years and during that time,
established appointment to the bankruptcy bench as her ultimate goal. “I
didn’t know if I’d get there, but knew I had to try and that meant private
practice.”
She wound up back in
California, this time in San Francisco, having landed a job at Murphy
Sheneman Julian & Rogers, a premier bankruptcy boutique. “It was such a
terrific firm. Wonderful people, brilliant lawyers, and great friends. I
am so proud to have worked there.” Two years later, however, the Murphy
firm was acquired by Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP. “I never saw
myself as a big firm lawyer, but Winston extended offers to all of the
Murphy Associates, and all of us accepted.”
Over the next five
years, Judge Blumenstiel focused her practice on creditor-side litigation,
in and out of bankruptcy court. Judge Blumenstiel also represented
receivers. She made partner in 2008, shortly after she and senior partner
Kip Maly made new law in the Ninth Circuit in In re Future Media,
Inc. “We succeeded in convincing the Ninth Circuit that an oversecured
creditor is entitled to default rate interest where its collateral is sold
pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, rather than through a sale
conducted pursuant to a plan. The concept of cure isn’t mentioned in the
context of a 363 sale, so we argued – and the Ninth Circuit agreed – that
caselaw such as Entz-White did not apply. Rather, parties can
enforce their rights under their otherwise valid contracts, including
their right to default rate interest.”
In 2009, her most
significant client, GE Capital, invited her to Connecticut as a secondee
to its Restructuring and Bankruptcy Center of Excellence. “The Bankruptcy
COE is involved in all of GE’s most important bankruptcy and restructuring
matters. It was a terrific opportunity and a great experience.”
Appointment to the Bench
After her second appointment ended, Judge Blumenstiel returned to her
practice in Winston’s San Francisco office. Shortly thereafter, she began
applying for bankruptcy judgeships. On October 31, 2012, she learned that
the Ninth Circuit had selected her for appointment to the bankruptcy bench
in San Francisco. “To say that I was thrilled is the understatement of the
century. Appointment to this bench is all I have ever wanted as a lawyer.
I couldn’t be more humbled and grateful.” Now, approximately five months
after her appointment, Judge Blumenstiel is settling in well. “I have two
fantastic law clerks – Brent Meyer and John Cannizzaro – both of whom were
well-regarded consumer bankruptcy practitioners before joining chambers.
Their experience on the consumer side makes my learning curve a little
less steep.” In fact, the enjoyment Judge Blumenstiel gains from her
consumer caseload is one of her most pleasant surprises so far. “Because I
spent my career in private practice representing large financial
institutions, I worried that I’d really struggle with the consumer cases.
But the quality of the consumer bar and the amount of patience they’ve
shown me has been a very happy surprise. Those lawyers are some of the
most diligent, well-prepared, professional and tenacious advocates I’ve
ever seen. It’s a pleasure and an honor to work with them.”
Life Lessons
Judge Blumenstiel also enjoys the degree of control she can now assert
over her personal schedule – a striking difference between her new
position and private practice. This has enabled her to continue her
extra-judicial interests, which include running, a sport she took up when
law school cut into her cycling time. “Soon after I started law school, it
became clear that I didn’t have time to ride my bike 2-5 hours a day,
which is what it takes to be a competitive cyclist. It takes about half
that time to be a fit, competitive runner. So I switched sports, although
I still ride my mountain or road bike on occasion.”
Judge Blumenstiel
considers her qualification for the Boston Marathon her finest athletic
accomplishment, although she now competes for personal satisfaction alone.
“I’m in my 40’s, so my PR’s (personal records) are behind me, but I enjoy
the workouts and the discipline. Running has taught me a great deal about
patience, paying attention to the details and never, ever giving up. Those
lessons translate well to the rest of my life. I worked hard, never gave
up on my judicial aspirations and here I am – exactly where I want to be.”
*Beverly N. McFarland
is a an RN Associate Publisher, a chapter 11 trustee and receiver and CEO
of The Beverly Group, Inc., an asset management company that has
successfully resolved in excess of $8 billion dollars of estimated assets
since 1983. Ms. McFarland is a former chair and current member of the
California Receivers Forum BOD, the Turnaround Managers Association BOD
and has enjoyed presenting at the Loyola Law School seminars through the
years as well as many other associations on receiverships and chapter 11
bankruptcy matters. |