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New Addition to the National Bankruptcy Archives: An Early History of the United States Trustee Program: Three Pioneers Reflect, an oral history

January 09, 2013

Written by Leslie O’Neill, Archivist

On May 29, 2012, the National Bankruptcy Archives filmed an oral history panel entitled, “An Early History of the United States Trustee Program: Three Pioneers Reflect.” Developed and funded by the American College of Bankruptcy, for donation to the National Bankruptcy Archives at the University of Pennsylvania’s Biddle Law Library, the panel discussed the challenges that faced the program during its inception, the mixed reception by the bench and the bar, and the ways in which the program dealt with its challenges.
 
Established by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, the U.S. Trustee Program is a component of the Department of Justice that resolves to protect the integrity of the Federal bankruptcy system. The Program seeks to be the “watchdog over the bankruptcy process.” Today, the U.S. Trustee Program is run by Director Clifford J. White, III, and consists of 21 regional offices nationwide.
 
The program was moderated by Honorable Jean K. FitzSimon.  Panelists were:  Richard L. Levine, the first director and counsel of the Executive Office for United States Trustees; Irving H. Picard, the first U.S. Trustee appointed for the Southern District of New York (1979-1982); and Francis P. Dicello, the first U.S. Trustee for the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia (1979-1982). 
 
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Watch An Early History of the United States Trustee Program: Three Pioneers Reflect here
 
For more information on the U.S. Trustee Program, visit http://www.justice.gov/ust/  
 
For more on the National Bankruptcy Archives at Biddle Law Library, visit their website here