The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania hosted the National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks (NCBC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Held from June 30 to July 2, the conference was attended by more than 600 federal judiciary employees, 12 of whom were from the Central District of California. This year's NCBC marked 30 years of commitment in providing opportunities in advocacy and professional development to Bankruptcy Court employees.
Attendees were able to participate in breakout sessions on topics such as: Next Generation CM/ECF — Now What?, Web 2.0 and Social Media Policies in the Bankruptcy Courts, Writing Skills for Case Management and Court Website Design. Upon return from the conference, the attendees gave a formal presentation on the best practices learned to the Board of Judges and senior staff.
In 2010, the Central District participated in the Bankruptcy Courtroom Use Study conducted by the Federal Judicial Center (FJC). As part of the study, our district joined eight others to create over 4,100 scheduling events and 4,200 actual use events in 35 courthouses and other locations. This data makes it possible for the FJC to meet the needs of the judiciary by accurately analyzing how scheduling and use of bankruptcy courtrooms actually correspond.
The Clerk's Office assembled a Forms Task Force with senior members from the Clerk's Office and law clerks. The Task Force developed a process for approving forms and established standards for the Court's LBR and other forms.
To better serve the Court's pro se debtors, the Forms Task Force completed an extensive project to convert all of the Court's case commencement forms into PDF fillable documents and revamped the "Petition Forms" web page. On November 15, national fillable forms replaced our in-house non-fillable case commencement forms, and local case commencement documents also required by the Court were made fillable. These forms are now included in the Court's chapter 7, 11, and 13 petitions forms packages. Instructions in the Court's Petition Forms package were also updated as part of this project.
The Forms Task Force also updated the "Petition Forms" web page to make it less cluttered and more user-friendly by including links to the Court's FAQs in English and Spanish, the "Don't Have an Attorney?" page, the Court's ZIP code search for where to file and other helpful information.
On December 10, 275 Chamber's and Clerk's Office staff members attended the annual Winter Education Seminar. Held in Los Angeles, the "Bankruptcy Refresh Project" promoted three goals: renew outlook, reinvent skills, and refresh attitudes. Speakers gave presentations on time management, generations in the workplace, and social media and the Court. Chief Judge Zurzolo and Clerk of Court Kathleen J. Campbell each expressed appreciation and gratitude to all the staff for their hard work in 2010.
On October 23, Judges, Court staff and their families enjoyed a district-wide picnic at Brookside Park in Pasadena. Attendees participated in activities such as softball, volleyball, tug-of-war, as well as a cooking contest and talent show. Children of staff were able to enjoy face painting, a jumper house, and balloon animals made by a clown.
Chief Judge Zurzolo and Clerk of Court Kathleen J. Campbell welcomed guests and recognized the dedication of all court staff during the hard economic times. Judges in attendance included Judges Bauer, Bluebond, E. Carroll, P. Carroll, Donovan, Kwan, Mund, Robles, Thompson, and Tighe.
In 2010, the Court began hosting informal activities that focus on celebrating our diverse heritage in the workplace.
For the first time, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. District Court co-hosted Hispanic/Latino heritage celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, which lasts from September 15 to October 15. On October 12, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court invited George Yepes, an internationally known painter, muralist, and Director of the Academia de Arte Yepes, to speak at the celebration. During the event, Bankruptcy and District Court staff members enjoyed a slide presentation and a question and answer session with Mr. Yepes. On October 15, the U.S. District Court hosted a presentation by U.S. District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez. Judge Gutierrez shared his story of rising from humble beginnings to his confirmation to the bench.
In celebration of Native American Heritage month, the Court invited Geri Keams to speak to Court staff. Ms. Keams is a Navajo (Dineh) storyteller, writer, and actress. On November 22 and 29, Ms. Keams visited the Los Angeles and Riverside Divisions to speak about her experiences of growing up on a reservation and tell stories from books she has authored.
At the request of the Court, during the week of July 13 the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) conducted an on-site review of the Central District's IT department's management, organization, and operations. The visit was conducted under the consultative service known as the "Court Management Review Program," offered by the Bankruptcy Court Administration Division. The program is designed to provide an independent assessment of existing Clerk's Office operations and to propose recommendations for consideration by the Court. It also provides a good opportunity for AO staff to become more familiar with "better" practices being implemented in the courts and to share those practices with other districts.
Each year, the Court conducts internal reviews to ensure adherence to internal controls. Internal controls not only increase accountability and integrity within court operations, but also reduce inefficiencies and minimize the risk of fraud. Ten internal controls and audits were performed in 2010 at all five divisional offices and five administrative departments.
In 2010, the Clerk's Office paid out $6.16 million in trustee payments, setting a post-BAPCPA record. The total trustee payments made were 59 percent greater than 2009, when the Clerk's Office paid out $3.88 million. With nearly $516,000 in payments made in January 2011, up nearly 23 percent from last year, the Clerk's Office should surpass the $6.33 million in payments made in 1998.
Several modifications were made to the Local Bankruptcy Rules (LBRs) in 2010. Some of the major revisions included:
Public Notices 10-007, 10-009, 10-018, 10-020, 10-021, 10-023, 10-028, were issued to advise the public of revisions to Local Bankruptcy Rules.
In 2010, several revisions were made to the Court Manual. The table of contents was modified to include page numbers next to each listed section and subsection. Instructions regarding service lists and BNC noticing were revised in Section 4-4 of the manual. A list of exceptions to serving a judge's copy of filed documents was added to Appendix F. New helpful hints regarding invalid addresses were included in Appendix G: Section 2009-003. The updated Court Manual is available on the Court's website under Forms/Rules/General Orders.
On September 20, the Court implemented new security features for certified documents. Certified documents now have a watermarked certification sheet with a staple placed through the embossed gold seal at the top left-hand corner and the Court's seal embossed over the Clerk's signature. The previous practice of using a red ribbon and grommet has been discontinued. Parties wanting to verify the authenticity of a document can do so via PACER. PACER is available for a fee to registered users and at no cost at any of the Court's divisions.