RESUME Hon. Sarah Sharer Curley

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1 RESUME Hon. Sarah Sharer Curley The Hon. Sarah Sharer Curley currently serves as a United States Bankruptcy Court Judge for the District of Arizona, having been appointed to a second, fourteen-year term, and having previously served as the Bankruptcy Court s Chief Judge from She was a member of the Ninth Circuit s Bankruptcy Education Committee ( , chair, ). She is active in the American Bar Association s Judicial Division, currently serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Federal Trial Judges ( ), and as a member of the Bench/Bar Bankruptcy Council, having served as the first Co-Chair of the Council ( ) and as the Vice Chair ( ). She recently served ( ) as the Judicial Division s Liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, assisting the subcommittee which assesses, on a yearly basis, the ABA s ongoing efforts to involve women in leadership positions in the ABA. In 2007, she was selected to be a Fellow in the American Bar Foundation. She has been active in the National Association of Women Judges ( NAWJ ), having previously served as an officer, director, or on the board of the organization. In October 2007, she received the Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award from NAWJ for her innovative ideas in the program and finance area. She also received the Lexis/Nexis Scholarship Award (best new project proposal) at the NAWJ 25 th Anniversary Convention in October At the local level, she has worked with a steering group of lawyers and judges to form the Arizona Bankruptcy Inn of Court. She has been selected as its first President, and the Inn will present its first program in October She was previously a member of the Lorna Lockwood Inn of Court, located in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1995 to In January 2011, she was selected for membership in Arizona s Finest Lawyers, which includes judges, lawyers, and professors who have demonstrated high achievement, excellent legal skills, and a well-earned reputation for integrity. Since 2009, she has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Sandra Day O Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, teaching a topical course on bankruptcy issues, such as chapter 15, cross-border insolvencies, and chapter 9, municipal bankruptcy. She was President of Soroptimist International of Phoenix, Inc. for the club year, which is a non-profit chapter of an international organization that has received Non-Governmental Organizational status at the United Nations and which on the empowerment of women on a global scale. In November 2005, she received the Arizona Women Lawyers Association, Maricopa County Chapter s Award for her professional achievements, her contribution to the legal profession, and her advancement of women in the profession. Before being appointed a bankruptcy judge, she was a senior-level counsel for First Wisconsin Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ( ), and an associate attorney with Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen in New York City ( ), and a small, boutique law firm, concentrating on bankruptcy practice and complex litigation. Judge Curley graduated from Mount Holyoke College (B. A. Degree), South Hadley, Massachusetts, and received her J. D., cum laude, from New York Law School (member, Law Review). From a scholarship standpoint, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges published Judge Curley s article Where to Hide? How Valuation of Derivatives Haunts the Courts Even After BAPCPA, 83 American Bankr. L.J (Issue ), and the National Association of Women Judges published her book, The Bankruptcy Card and How to Play It ( 2003, as 1

2 updated), which focuses on practical solutions to bankruptcy issues frequently confronted by federal and state non-bankruptcy judges and has been distributed to judges and lawyers in conjunction with various programs sponsored by the American Bar Association, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and/or the National Association of Women Judges. She has lectured extensively in the bankruptcy area, including seminars for the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges, the State Bar of Arizona, and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Education: Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts B.A. Degree (1971); Major in American History New York Law School New York, New York J. D. Degree cum laude (1977) Member, Law Review MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ON EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE Professional Experience: Fall Semester 2009 to present, Adjunct Professor, Sandra Day O Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, seminar class on topics in bankruptcy law, such as chapter 15 cross-border insolvencies and chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy to present, Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. June 27, 2001 to June 27, 2005, Chief Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. Recently appointed to a second, fourteen-year term as a Bankruptcy Judge. As Chief Bankruptcy Judge, she has overseen the move to commercial space or the renovation projects in Prescott Valley, Phoenix, and Tucson, Arizona. She is one of the few bankruptcy judges in the country that has the authority to oversee space planning projects for the bankruptcy court. She also instituted the strategic planning process at the Court, including the transfer of the Court to an electronic or paperless system, and focusing on the implementation of a self-help center at the Court for those individuals that wish to proceed pro se. Judge Curley has also handled a number of "megacases" (cases with assets of one billion dollars) or some of the largest cases filed in Arizona during her career, such as American Continental, Residential Resources, Harbor Financial, and Oklahoma P.A.C. She has also presided over Nationsway Transport Service, Inc., and its related entities, which were electronically filed cases with over 12,000 creditors across the country. Her published decisions, such as In re Legend Homes, In re Hallock, Residential Resources, Shepherd Oil (various issues in case), and 2

3 In re Dyer, have been cited favorably or relied upon by courts or commentators. For instance, the decision of In re Legend Homes was cited in O'Malley Lumber Co. v. Lockard (In re Lockard), 884 F.2d 1171 (9th Cir. 1989) and relied upon in Canzone v. Hammon (In re Hammon), 180 B.R. 220 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 1995). The Ninth Circuit also favorably cited In re Crimson Investments in Neben & Starrett, Inc. v. Chartwell Fin. Corp. (In re Park-Helena Corp.), 63 F.3d 877 (9th Cir. 1995). As a judge pro tempore of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, she was the lead judge in Kashani v. Fulton (In re Kashani), 190 B.R. 875 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 1995).) The Kashani case has been cited in a number of decisions, including In re Castillo, 248 B.R. 153 (B.A.P. 9 th Cir. 2000). First Wisconsin Corporation Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 1982 to January 1986 Promoted to senior-level position providing bankruptcy expertise to the then large regional player, the First Wisconsin System, including representation of First Wisconsin (as agent for a number of banks or in its individual capacity) in complex bankruptcy proceedings or multi-state litigation related to bankruptcy; and providing legal advice to the commercial lending and workout groups of the principal bank in the First Wisconsin system. Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C. New York, New York law firm February 1979 to April 1982 Associate attorney in the Bankruptcy Department, representing debtors, creditors' committees, secured creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy, including arguing motions and handling evidentiary hearings before the Bankruptcy Court, handling motion practice and arguments on appeal before the Federal District Court, arguing on appeal before the Second United States Circuit Court of Appeals, and researching and drafting the memoranda of law and appellate briefs relative to the above; representing debtors and individual creditors in out-of-court workouts; representing the debtor in the Matter of Schatz Federal Bearings Co., Inc., 5 B.R. 549 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1980) (published decision on the ability of union employees to receive pre-petition wages if the union contract is assumed and later terminated post-petition). Fogelson, Fogelson & Collins New York, New York law firm (Partnership has since dissolved) January 1978 to February 1979 Associate attorney assigned to bankruptcy matters. Professional Associations (Law Related): American Bar Association, Judicial Division, Executive Committee, National Conference of Federal Trial Judges ( ); Liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in 3

4 the Profession ( ); Co-Chair of the Bench-Bar Bankruptcy Council ( ); Vice Chair ( ); member of the Council: present American Bar Foundation (selected to be a Fellow in May 2007) Lorna E. Lockwood Inn of Court, Phoenix, Arizona, 1995 to 2001 Arizona Federal District Court Equality Committee (Co-Chair ) National Association of Women Judges (Vice President for Districts, ; Finance Committee Chair, ; District 12 Director, ; Treasurer ; Member, Finance Committee to 2007, Vice-Chair of Finance Committee from Nov to Oct. 2000; the Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award recipient ; winner of the Lexis/Nexis Best New Project Award, October 2003) Arizona s Finest Lawyers - selected January 2011 Arizona Women Lawyers Association; Maricopa County Chapter Award for professional achievements; contribution to the legal profession, and the advancement of women in the profession (November 2005) National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (member, Finance Committee ( ); member ABA Liaison Committee (2008 to present); Liaison to NAWJ ) Wisconsin Bar Association (Nonresident Lawyers Division) Publications/Scholarship: The Bankruptcy Card and How To Play It, published by the National Association of Women Judges (copyright 2003, updated 2005 and 2007); Where to Hide? How Valuation of Derivatives Haunts the Courts Even After BAPCPA, 83 American Bankr. L.J (Issue ). Court Admissions: Supreme Court of Arizona Federal District Court, Arizona Supreme Court of Wisconsin United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Federal District Court, Eastern District of New York Federal District Court, Southern District of New York Appellate Division of the State of New York (Admission to all courts in the State of New York) Professional Associations (Social): Mount Holyoke Club of Central and Northern Arizona Soroptimist International of Phoenix, Inc. (President, ; President-Elect, ; Director, ; Chair, Community Service Committee, ; Chair of numerous other committees over the years) Elected Public Office: Elected in early 1985 to the unpaid, part-time position of Trustee of the Village of Fox Point, Wisconsin. Served on the Board of Trustees, which had the power to enact ordinances and otherwise govern the business, management and operation of the Village, until my resignation in 4

5 late 1985 as a result of my move to Arizona. 5