ILC Judicial Profile Chief Judge Julia W. Brand United States Bankruptcy Court Central District of California, Los Angeles Division

The following is a profile of the Honorable Julia W. Brand – the latest in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit bankruptcy judges.  Members of the California Lawyers Association’s Insolvency Law Committee and Business Law Section Executive Committee met Judge Brand in her chambers and discussed her personal and professional background, observations from the bench, and other issues of interest.

Life Before the Bench

Judge Brand was born in Seattle, Washington.  Her family moved often when she was young to accommodate her father’s career as a department store advertising executive.  The family lived in Portland, Denver, and Washington D.C., among others, before settling in La Canada Flintridge, California, where she graduated from La Canada High School.  Judge Brand received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UCLA in 1981 and her law degree from the USC Gould School of Law in 1985.  She spent a year abroad during college, studying history at the University of Stirling, in Scotland and traveling throughout Europe.

Though she was the first in her family to attend law school, other family members followed in her footsteps, including two of her sisters, a nephew, and her two sons.

After law school, Judge Brand worked at a small litigation firm in Santa Monica before joining the litigation department at Gendel, Raskoff, Shapiro & Quittner, a venerable Century City bankruptcy boutique firm.  In October 1991, Gendel Raskoff dissolved.  In addition to Judge Brand, other Gendel Raskoff attorneys who chose a public service career include Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and United States bankruptcy judges Sheri Bluebond and Samuel L. Bufford (Ret.).

After Gendel Raskoff, Judge Brand worked at Katten, Muchin, Rosenman LLP (1991 to 2007), Liner, Grode, Stein, Yankelevitz, Sunshine, Regenstreif & Taylor LLP (2007 to 2009), Danning, Gill, Diamond & Kollitz, LLP (2009-2010), and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Shreck LLP (2010 to 2011).  Over the years, she represented secured creditors, creditor committees, and corporate debtors, among others, in Chapter 11 cases.  While at Brownstein Hyatt, the judge had a hand in drafting legislation requiring California municipalities to attend mediation before filing Chapter 9 cases.

Transition to the Bench

Between 2009 and 2013, multiple Central District of California bankruptcy judges retired, creating opportunities for a new generation of judges to make their marks.  Inspired by Judge Kathleen Thompson Lax’s artful handling of her courtroom and cases, and her calm demeanor and graciousness toward litigants, Judge Brand applied for the position.  She was selected by the Ninth Circuit and sworn in as a United States bankruptcy judge in the Central District of California, Los Angeles division, on October 24, 2011.  She was renewed for a second 14-year term on October 24, 2025. 

On December 1, 2016, she was appointed to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) for a seven-year term, which was extended for an additional three years in 2023.  She became chief judge of the Ninth Circuit BAP in May 2025, a position she will hold until her term on the panel ends in November 2026.  In June 2025, Judge Brand became chief judge of the Central District’s Bankruptcy Court, following the untimely passing of Chief Judge Theodor Albert.

The judge’s career on the bench has been extremely rewarding, giving her the opportunity to do what she enjoys most, determining legal disputes and helping parties reach amicable settlements.  She enjoys finding the right answers to legal issues without having a timer as in private practice.  Her advice for attorneys considering a career as a bankruptcy judge is that they attempt to get a broad legal experience, including in consumer and corporate bankruptcy law.  They should also do some soul searching and be introspective about why they want to serve on the bench and whether their skills and personalities match the role.  The judge noted that the current openings for bankruptcy judges in the Central District of California reflect a similar generational change as when she joined the bench and she is excited for the fresh perspective the new judges will bring. 

In Her Role as Bankruptcy Judge

Judge Brand offers the following advice to attorneys who appear in her courtroom:

                1.  Reach out to opposing counsel and try to resolve disputes informally prior to a hearing.

                2.  Be prepared and present your best arguments at the hearing.  Do not repeat the arguments in your brief or just submit on the papers and instead make arguments that may influence the outcome.  Attorneys should also be prepared to address issues raised by the judge and opposing counsel.  That is the purpose of oral argument.

                3.  Before trial, be familiar with the logistics of presenting exhibits, getting evidence admitted, and how the court handles direct and cross-examinations, among others.

                4.  Draft a strong pre-trial stipulation and try to address issues that can be resolved without the court’s intervention.

                5.  The bankruptcy court represents the integrity of the legal process.  Attorneys should therefore treat the process with respect, starting with how they act, dress and the backgrounds they choose for virtual hearings.

                6.  Be sure to check the court website to determine whether the judge has additional procedural rules and follow them.

Judge Brand posts pre-hearing tentative rulings for uncontested matters but generally does not do so in contested matters, preferring not to influence oral arguments.  She is an advocate of young lawyer training and encourages law firms to allow their young associates to argue motions when appropriate.

In Her Role as Chief Bankruptcy Judge

As chief judge of the Central District’s bankruptcy court, Judge Brand is the court’s spokesperson and liaison to the Ninth Circuit’s administrative office, and she works closely with Kathy Campbell, Clerk of Court, in the management of the court’s operations.  She also works with various stakeholders to fulfill the court’s five-year strategic plan.

According to Judge Brand, a major challenge facing the court is its decreasing budget.  The court these days is expected to accomplish more with less funding.  In fact, the court’s staff was reduced from over 300 during the last recession to approximately 100 today.  Employees are therefore asked to fulfill multiple roles and responsibilities.

In Her Role as a BAP Judge

Judge Brand enjoys her role on the BAP and said that she will really miss it when her term ends.  It allows her to participate in the appellate review of important legal issues and provides opportunities to publish opinions that add to legal scholarship, fill in gaps in the law or add new perspectives to ongoing discussions.  The BAP sits nine times and issues around 200 dispositions each year.  Judge Brand has also enjoyed getting to know and work with colleagues from other judicial districts, both within and outside the Ninth Circuit.  Her role on the BAP has strengthened her belief that bankruptcy judges should make good records of their rulings so that the BAP or District Court will understand how the courts came to their conclusions.  She finds that serving on the BAP helps her in her own role as a bankruptcy judge and she encourages newer bankruptcy judges to sit pro tem on the BAP.

For attorneys appearing before the BAP, Judge Brand offers the following advice:

                1.  Write clear, direct and persuasive briefs.  Oral argument is short (15 minutes) and there is no time for an attorney to fully present arguments that were not properly developed in the briefs.

                2.  At oral argument, focus on opposing counsel’s and your own weak points. 

                3.  Be ready to respond to questions from the panel.  Though judges often know prior to oral argument how they are likely to rule, they can and have changed their views following oral arguments.

Judge Brand notes that dissents on BAP panels are rare, as the judges try to reach consensus.  However, sometime consensus is not possible and that is okay too.

Off the Bench

Judge Brand loves to hike, especially when the reward at the end is a waterfall.  She enjoys attending the theater and likes to read both fiction and nonfiction books.

This article was written by Uzzi O. Raanan (uraanan@greenbergglusker.com), a partner at Greenberg Glusker, LLP and former Chair of the Business Law Section, Corey R. Weber (cweber@bg.law), a partner at BG Law LLP and former Chair of the Business Law Section, and Misty Perry Isaacson (misty@salvatoboufadel.com), of Salvato Boufadel, LLP, a member of the Insolvency Law Committee.