Announcement Archive

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, September 5th, in observance of Labor Day.

United States Bankruptcy Court
for the Northern District of California

survey for Bankruptcy Judge William J. Lafferty

Judge William J. Lafferty of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California asked the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) to survey members of the Bar to assess his level of performance. The judge’s decision to ask the FJC to conduct this survey is entirely voluntary and is part of Judge Lafferty's ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of public service possible. The FJC, which is the research and education organization for the federal courts, is located in Washington, D.C. The FJC has been conducting similar surveys for judges for several years.

During the week of June 13, the FJC will send an email to each attorney who has had a case or proceeding assigned to Judge Lafferty during approximately the past three years. The email will explain how to access and complete an online questionnaire.

Research staff at the FJC will compile and analyze completed questionnaires, and will provide Judge Lafferty a report, including a statistical summary and a compilation of the comments that are received.  FJC staff will not provide the judge with the identity of the people who responded, if that information becomes known to them. The results are exclusively for Judge Lafferty’s use in improving his performance during the remainder of his term; they will not be provided to anyone other than the judge and they will not be used in the reappointment process.

Judge Lafferty currently serves on the FJC Committee on Bankruptcy Judge Education.  FJC staff who work with the committee are in a different division of the FJC and are not involved in this survey. The results will not be shared with them and will not affect Judge Lafferty’s standing on the committee.

If you do not receive an email from the FJC and want to participate, please contact Beth Wiggins of the FJC by phone at 202-502-4076 or by email at bwiggins@fjc.gov.

If you have questions about the survey or encounter any technical difficulties, please also contact Ms. Wiggins. If you would prefer to complete a paper version of the questionnaire, she can provide you with a copy and instructions for returning it to the FJC.

These features include:

1. “Live Chat” which will allow you to interact with the Helpdesk via chat box.
    
2. A definitions glossary that will be available throughout the website. You can access definitions by hovering over identified key words.
    
3. Our “Calendars” page is now divided between court calendars and 341 calendars
    
4. A new “Advanced Search” feature is available on some of the sections of the website.
    
5. A new format for the Attorneys' ECF manual
    

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, May 30th, in observance of Memorial Day.

In December 2015, the Clerk of Court and the San Francisco Division of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California relocated to the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California, 94102.

Courtrooms for Judges Blumenstiel and Montali are located on the 16th Floor. Judge Blumenstiel will preside in Courtroom 19; Judge Montali will preside in Courtroom 17. The San Francisco Division’s intake counter is located on the 18th Floor. All telephone and facsimile numbers associated with the San Francisco Division remained the same, as is the post office box.

The Clerk of Court and his administrative staff conducts business on the 5th floor. All telephone and facsimile numbers associated with the office of the Clerk of Court remained the same.

All divisions of the Bankruptcy Court will be closed on Monday, February 15th, in observance of Presidents' Day.