ILC Judicial Profile – Meet New Bankruptcy Judge J. Barrett Marum, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Southern District of California

The Hon. J. Barrett Marum sat down with Gary Rudolph and Kathleen Cashman-Kramer to talk about his first ten months on the bench.

Judge Marum’s 14-year term officially began on August 30, 2024.  He succeeded Bankruptcy Judge Louise De Carl Adler, who retired in 2022.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Marum had a long career at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP, in its San Diego and Silicon Valley offices.  His practice focused on bankruptcy matters of all sizes throughout the U.S. and commercial litigation in California. Early in his earlier career he clerked for the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.  

His Early Years

A native of Napa, California, Judge Marum received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the  University of California at Berkeley in 2000, graduating in three years with high distinction, and his Juris Doctor in 2003 from UCLA School of Law, where he was awarded Order of the Coif and served as a member of the Environmental Law Journal.  He also noted that his girlfriend in law school later became his wife after law school. 

When asked why he became a lawyer, Judge Marum recounted that his father, a psychologist, rented space in the Bay area from a lawyer who practiced plaintiff’s side asbestos law, which is the first time he could recall meeting a lawyer.  His first real job in college was working in a different plaintiff side asbestos law firm in the asbestos proof of claim department, completing forms, researching depositions, and other tasks related to the various bankrupt asbestos manufacturers.  This set him on his path, and when he graduated from law school and passed the bar, he got a job at the San Diego office of Latham & Watkins.  While practicing law he served as a lawyer representative for the Southern District of California in the Ninth Circuit; he served as director for the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum; he was a long-standing member of the Southern District of California’s Bankruptcy Local Rules Committee; and he regularly provided pro bono services to indigent clients, including among others, veterans, disaster victims and adopting parents.  

Why a judge? Judge Marum knew that he wanted to be a bankruptcy judge since 2008 when he watched Laura Taylor go through the process.  He has always wanted to put his law degree to service in the public good and becoming a judge struck him as one of the most impactful ways he could do so.

What’s his philosophy or legal maxim as a lawyer and a judge? He learned from Judge Laura Taylor some time ago: “ask for permission instead of forgiveness.”

What does he expect from practitioners? File things on time; ask for an extension before the deadline passes; be on time; be courteous to your opponent; and when preparing a cash collateral motion, make sure there is a good budget with it.  (As to this last point, he has dealt with numerous such motions in his first ten months and has had to send them back to re-work the budgets; he is also grateful that there is now a local form that should help the parties.  (See Appendix D2 to our local rules (pages 72-74); on page 74 there is an example of what a 13 Week Projected Cash Flow Analysis should look like and he “strongly recommends” using it.)

What does he want to see/does not want to see? Do’s: Civility; practicality.  Don’ts:  late filings; ignoring the rules; personal attacks (he won’t tolerate these); and parties filing pleadings the morning of the hearing and expecting that he will have had a chance to read them.  While not really a do or don’t, Judge Marum prefers in court appearances for hearings, except for the simple, non-contested status conferences or similar hearings.

Feelings on the use of AI in briefs? Judge Marum is a big believer in the benefits of and uses of technology in the courts, but he admits that this is a tough one to figure out, including how to embrace it and use it in a way that does not compromise anything. 

What does he miss/doesn’t miss about private practice? Does miss: development of case strategy; the negotiations that go on behind the scenes; working with his long-term clients; and finding creative solutions to solve problems.  Doesn’t miss: all the administrative tasks; unreasonable client demands and opponents; and billable hours.

What does he look forward to as a judge? No longer advocating a position and instead trying to get it right by applying the law as he is allowed or required to do. 

His life outside of the law is very active.  Judge Marum competed in powerlifting competitions for twenty years, and he and his wife love the mountains and snow: he is an avid skier, and his wife is an avid snow boarder.  In fact, he stated that together they have completed all resorts on Canada’s Powder Highway. 

Judge Marum occupies Department 2 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Diego, located at 325 West F Street.

These materials were authored by Kathleen A. Cashman-Kramer and Gary B. Rudolph, Directors at Fennemore Law’s San Diego office.