Judy Calton
Encyclopedia
JUDY BAMBERGER CALTON is a bankruptcy lawyer at the law firm of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn
LLP in Detroit, Michigan
.
. Her parents were George Washington Bamberger (1915–2008), an advertising executive with Tatham Laird & Kudner and William Gardner Associates in Chicago
and Shirley Glatt Bamberger (1923–2007), an economist and homemaker. Calton had two sisters, Sandy Rochlis (1945–1999), and Elizabeth Betsy Newmark
(1956), and one brother, Bruce Alan Bamberger (1949).
Calton graduated from New Trier High School
in Winnetka, Illinois
in 1970.
She graduated from the University of Illinois as a James Scholar with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Pre-Law Studies in 1973, with High Honors. She graduated from Wayne State University Law School
with her juris doctor in December 1985 magna cum laude, and Order of the Coif
. She has been a member of the Michigan State Bar since 1986.
Calton married David Warren Calton on June 11, 1972, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They have three children, William (Bill) Jacob Calton (1973), Kesha Margaret Calton (1977) and David Andrew Calton (1978). They have two granddaughters, Bill’s daughter, Kelsey Marie Calton (1999), and Kesha’s daughter, Grace Calton (2010).
LLP, where she is an equity partner in the Commercial Law, Bankruptcy and Reorganization practice in the Detroit, Michigan office. She has represented business debtors in Chapter 11, counseled secured lenders in workouts, and represented original equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and creditors generally. She has a particular expertise in insolvency related litigation.
She represented the Chapter 7 trustee of DeLorean Motor Company in the estate’s litigation. She was able to establish the Barton doctrine on a modern basis in In re DeLorean Motor Company, 991 F. 2d 1236 (6th Cir. l993). Under the Barton doctrine, a party suing a nonoperating trustee must obtain leave of the appointing court to sue the trustee other than in the appointing court. Also, under the Barton doctrine, the trustee’s attorneys stand in the shoes of the trustee for purposes of his derived judicial immunity.
She is an expert in preference avoidance actions. Although most preference actions are and should be settled, she has tried five preference actions. She defended a $3.8 million preference action in a nine day trial, obtaining a judgment of dismissal on partial findings. In re Connolly North America, 398 B.R. 564 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2008).
She is experienced in forming and leading joint national defense groups for multiple preference actions in Michigan, New York and Delaware bankruptcy courts. These defense groups provide balance to the power concentrated in plaintiff’s counsel and create economic efficiencies for the defendants. Her results include convincing a litigation trustee at the preference demand stage without payment to not file claims against a group of 27 defendants she represented jointly, and in another case settled preference claims totaling over $4 million against several defendants for $25,000 in the aggregate.
She is particularly knowledgeable on rules of procedure, testifying twice before the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, Civil Rules and Evidence Rules, writing commentary on proposed rules, and serving as reporter for several rounds of amendments to local bankruptcy court rules.
She is trained in the Best Practices in Local Government Fiscal Management Training Program at Michigan State University Extension, April 2011. She is a frequent author and speaker on bankruptcy law.
Calton is co-chair of the Detroit Debtor/Creditor Rights Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan
and a member of the Business Law Council. She is on the Advisory Committee to the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• Dbusiness, Top Lawyers, 2010 and 2011
• Michigan Super Lawyers, 2007–2010
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn
Honigman is a leading business law firm based in Michigan with an international practice. Headquartered in Detroit with offices in Lansing, Oakland County, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Michigan the firm has attorneys practicing in more than 50 different areas of concentration.-Honors:Chambers USA:...
LLP in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
Biography
Calton was born in 1952 in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Her parents were George Washington Bamberger (1915–2008), an advertising executive with Tatham Laird & Kudner and William Gardner Associates in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Shirley Glatt Bamberger (1923–2007), an economist and homemaker. Calton had two sisters, Sandy Rochlis (1945–1999), and Elizabeth Betsy Newmark
Betsy Newmark
Elizabeth Ellen "Betsy" Newmark is your typically stupid right-wing blogger who since mid-2002 has published Betsy's Page.Newmark is a government and history teacher at Raleigh Charter High School in Raleigh, North Carolina...
(1956), and one brother, Bruce Alan Bamberger (1949).
Calton graduated from New Trier High School
New Trier High School
New Trier High School is a public four-year high school , with its major campus located in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, and a second campus in Northfield, Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration...
in Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
in 1970.
She graduated from the University of Illinois as a James Scholar with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Pre-Law Studies in 1973, with High Honors. She graduated from Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School is located in the City of Detroit’s Cultural Center, and is one of the schools of Wayne State University. It is one of two public law schools in the state of Michigan. The Law School has educated and trained lawyers since 1927, and its 10,000+ alumni serve as...
with her juris doctor in December 1985 magna cum laude, and Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
. She has been a member of the Michigan State Bar since 1986.
Calton married David Warren Calton on June 11, 1972, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They have three children, William (Bill) Jacob Calton (1973), Kesha Margaret Calton (1977) and David Andrew Calton (1978). They have two granddaughters, Bill’s daughter, Kelsey Marie Calton (1999), and Kesha’s daughter, Grace Calton (2010).
Legal career
Calton has spent her legal career at Honigman Miller Schwartz and CohnHonigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn
Honigman is a leading business law firm based in Michigan with an international practice. Headquartered in Detroit with offices in Lansing, Oakland County, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, Michigan the firm has attorneys practicing in more than 50 different areas of concentration.-Honors:Chambers USA:...
LLP, where she is an equity partner in the Commercial Law, Bankruptcy and Reorganization practice in the Detroit, Michigan office. She has represented business debtors in Chapter 11, counseled secured lenders in workouts, and represented original equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and creditors generally. She has a particular expertise in insolvency related litigation.
She represented the Chapter 7 trustee of DeLorean Motor Company in the estate’s litigation. She was able to establish the Barton doctrine on a modern basis in In re DeLorean Motor Company, 991 F. 2d 1236 (6th Cir. l993). Under the Barton doctrine, a party suing a nonoperating trustee must obtain leave of the appointing court to sue the trustee other than in the appointing court. Also, under the Barton doctrine, the trustee’s attorneys stand in the shoes of the trustee for purposes of his derived judicial immunity.
She is an expert in preference avoidance actions. Although most preference actions are and should be settled, she has tried five preference actions. She defended a $3.8 million preference action in a nine day trial, obtaining a judgment of dismissal on partial findings. In re Connolly North America, 398 B.R. 564 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2008).
She is experienced in forming and leading joint national defense groups for multiple preference actions in Michigan, New York and Delaware bankruptcy courts. These defense groups provide balance to the power concentrated in plaintiff’s counsel and create economic efficiencies for the defendants. Her results include convincing a litigation trustee at the preference demand stage without payment to not file claims against a group of 27 defendants she represented jointly, and in another case settled preference claims totaling over $4 million against several defendants for $25,000 in the aggregate.
She is particularly knowledgeable on rules of procedure, testifying twice before the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, Civil Rules and Evidence Rules, writing commentary on proposed rules, and serving as reporter for several rounds of amendments to local bankruptcy court rules.
She is trained in the Best Practices in Local Government Fiscal Management Training Program at Michigan State University Extension, April 2011. She is a frequent author and speaker on bankruptcy law.
Professional Activities
Calton founded and is chair of the Board and President of Pro Se Bankruptcy Assistance Project, Inc. d/b/a Access to Bankruptcy Court (“ABC”). ABC is a nonprofit dedicated to providing individual pro se Chapter 7 debtors with representation, both by funding attorneys at reduced rates and working with Michigan law schools to establish legal aid clinics. ABC is an eligible Michigan State Bar Foundation Access to Justice Fund and the recipient of a grant from the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation.Calton is co-chair of the Detroit Debtor/Creditor Rights Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan
State Bar of Michigan
The State Bar of Michigan is an organization of lawyers in the State of Michigan. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in the state of Michigan...
and a member of the Business Law Council. She is on the Advisory Committee to the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Honors
• The Best Lawyers in America, 2010 and 2011• Dbusiness, Top Lawyers, 2010 and 2011
• Michigan Super Lawyers, 2007–2010
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated