BOSTON (April 4, 2024) — Chief Judge David J. Barron of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit announced today that Kimberly A. Bacher has been selected to fill the upcoming vacancy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire that will result from Chief Judge Bruce A. Harwood's retirement on August 11, 2024. Attorney Bacher will be appointed to the bankruptcy bench following Chief Judge Harwood's retirement and upon FBI clearance.
Attorney Kimberly Bacher has been practicing bankruptcy law for the entirety of her nearly twenty-year legal career. Attorney Bacher is a member of the state bars of New Hampshire and Illinois, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, among other federal jurisdictions. For the past twelve years, Ms. Bacher has been a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Trustee's Office, first serving in Chicago, Illinois, before transferring to Concord, New Hampshire. For the past several years, in addition to her New Hampshire caseload, she has also received assignments from the Chicago U.S. Trustee's Office. She also serves as the U.S. Trustee's Appellate Coordinator for the Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin and is a member of the U.S. Trustee Criminal Enforcement Working Group.
A first-generation college graduate, Attorney Bacher received a B.A. from the University of Vermont in 2001 and her J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law in 2005. Following law school, Attorney Bacher completed a two-year clerkship with the Honorable Jack B. Schmetterer of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. After her clerkship, she practiced bankruptcy law in Chicago, Illinois, at Goldberg Kohn from 2007 to 2009, and at Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC from 2009 to 2012.
Attorney Bacher is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association, was on the board of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation from 2011 to 2013, and was a member of the Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee for the Northern District of Illinois from 2013 to 2017, and of the Public Service Committee of the New Hampshire Women's Bar Association in 2023. Outside of the legal community, she is a volunteer with the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women, where she helps incarcerated women prepare to reintegrate into the community. In 2018, Attorney Bacher coordinated the creation of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) chapter in New Hampshire, and has since taught and organized dozens of presentations to young adults about financial management and the consequences of credit abuse.
Chief Judge Barron stated: "Kimberly Bacher will bring great energy and deep experience in the bankruptcy system to the District of New Hampshire. Her evident commitment to public service, concern for those in need, and respect for the Rule of Law will serve her well in this important position, as she takes over the duties of her distinguished predecessor, Bruce Harwood." Chief Judge Barron also thanked Chief Judge Harwood for his many years of dedicated and distinguished service.
Chief Judge Barron expressed his gratitude to the members of the Bankruptcy Judge Merit Selection Panel, which was chaired by First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí. The members of the Panel were First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson; District of New Hampshire Judge Samantha D. Elliott; Circuit Executive Susan J. Goldberg; Michael S. Askenaizer, Esq., of the Law Offices of Michael S. Askenaizer PLLC; Eleanor Wm. Dahar, Esq., of Dahar Law Firm; Joseph A. Foster, Esq., of McLane Middleton; and Elizabeth Woodcock, Esq., Assistant Attorney General for the New Hampshire Department of Justice.