ILC Judicial Profile Series: United States Bankruptcy Judge Theodor Albert (Central District of California)

The following is a profile of the Honorable Theodor Albert – the latest in a series of profiles of Ninth Circuit bankruptcy judges.  Judge Albert and members of the Insolvency Law Committee and Business Law Section Executive Committee met in Judge Albert’s chambers and discussed his personal and professional background, observations from the bench, and other issues of interest.

Prior to Taking the Bench

Judge Albert was born in 1953 at Fort Sill Army base, Oklahoma.  His father was in the military and his family were there on account of his imminent travel overseas near the end of the Korean War.  However, he spent most of his childhood in Massachusetts and California.  The family eventually settled down in Walnut, a city in Los Angeles County, where Judge Albert graduated from J.A. Rowland High School.  He received his undergraduate degree in history from Stanford University in 1975, and a law degree from UCLA in 1978.

Judge Albert’s first job after law school was with a small mid-Wilshire firm but he soon moved to Orange County to work at Corbett, Steelman & Davidson.  Early in his career, a major client of the firm sought representation in bankruptcy cases and Judge Albert was assigned to handle the client’s needs.  He learned that he liked the bankruptcy practice, where no two cases are alike and where legal issues are drawn from different disciplines.  The experience led the judge to specialize in insolvency law.  His early years as an attorney coincided with the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, which went into effect in October 1979.

In 1983, Judge Albert moved his practice to Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, where he eventually headed the insolvency practice at the firm’s Newport Beach office.  A few years later, he was appointed a special examiner of a music store in Costa Mesa where he identified and documented a fraud racket.  Harry L. Gastley, Assistant U.S. Trustee with the Office of the United States Trustee, was impressed with the report and suggested that the judge apply for a position as a Chapter 7 trustee.  Judge Albert applied and was selected for the panel.  He enjoyed the work as Chapter 7 trustee, but the nature of the trustee practice was somewhat incompatible with Buchalter’s other practice areas, where billings and collections were more regular.

In 1995, Judge Albert co-founded Albert, Weiland & Golden, a boutique bankruptcy firm where he practiced until his appointment to the bench.  The law firm that Judge Albert co-founded not only was known for being one of the preeminent bankruptcy boutiques, but has also become known for its alumni, including other members of the federal judiciary and well-regarded attorneys in the community.

Transition to the Bench

In 2005, Judge Albert was appointed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California.  He initially presided in Los Angeles but after about a year moved to the Ronald Reagan Courthouse in Santa Ana.  Judge Albert became the Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in 2022 and will serve in that position until the end of this year.

Asked why he decided to transition from private practice to the bench, Judge Albert stated that he reached a point in his career where he realized that he had accomplished and experienced all that he wanted to achieve as an attorney.  He worked on significant Chapter 11 cases, served as Chapter 7 trustee and as an examiner, and represented individual and corporate debtors.  His practice exposed him to most angles of a bankruptcy case.  He now wanted to experience the bankruptcy process from a judicial perspective, which was less about money and more about the equity of each case.

Judge Albert does not miss his days as an attorney or billable hours, finding his work as a judge extremely rewarding.  To that end, he has always tried to instill in lawyers that the practice of law is a noble profession and, if one gets paid to do it, that’s a bonus.  When first appointed to the bench, he found the changed relations with prior colleagues and the isolation that sometimes accompanies the job somewhat difficult.  He stated that it was at first somewhat disconcerting to feel the distance, with people at times standing up when he walked into a room, but that he got used to it.  He has been grateful to his fellow judges in the Central District, who have been supportive and available to provide perspective.  The Judge is also extremely grateful to have had Amna Chaudhary as his career law clerk, and credits her for keeping his chambers going for many years.  While taking the position as Chief Judge could have created a crushing workload, he was quick to note that Kathy Campbell, the Clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, made the role manageable.  He refers to her as a “national treasure” and a critical reason for the success of the Court.

Observations from the Bench

Judge Albert provided the following advice to practitioners:

• Attorneys who sign legal briefs should remember that this is their opportunity to speak to the court. 
• It is important to have humility.
• Attorneys should make sure that the law and citations in briefs are accurate.  The court takes citations very seriously and if an attorney uses an inaccurate citation taken from artificial intelligence programs, it could greatly impact the attorney’s reputation and it is not worth it.
• Attorneys should not ignore weaknesses in their arguments but explain why the weaknesses are not determinative of the ultimate result.
• Attorneys are officers of the court and should be respectful of the court and opposing counsel, even if they disagree with them.

Asked whether he has advice for attorneys who aspire to serve on the bench, the Judge noted that there is no single formula for achieving such an appointment.  However, judicial candidates should consider certain truisms.  They must be good lawyers and colleagues, diligently research the law and spend the necessary time to draft good briefs.  Integrity and honesty are paramount for a judge.  Having a reputation for cutting corners will often scuttle a candidacy for the bench.

Asked about the Bankruptcy Court’s biggest challenges, Judge Albert noted that the Court’s budget in recent years has been difficult to manage.  Congress has been unable to pass timely budgets, which results in a constant threat of a government shutdown.  While the Bankruptcy Court in this district could survive about two to three weeks using its own financial resources, a shutdown would still be extremely disruptive.

Even if the federal government is able to pass a budget in the upcoming months, there will be a 9% reduction in the Court’s 2025 operating budget.  The clerk’s office staff in Santa Ana has already been cut significantly in recent years, leaving a reduced capacity in the event bankruptcy filings increase.  The same is true for judicial positions.  Judge Sandra Klein recently announced that she will retire this coming April and Judge Wayne Johnson will retire at the end of February.  Judge Albert plans to retire on March 21, 2026.  After these retirements, the Central District of California will only have 13 active bankruptcy judges, which is about 11 judges fewer than the number in office prior to the Covid 19 pandemic.  It takes about 12 to 18 months to fill a judicial position, which means that a sudden rise in bankruptcy filings could tax the Court’s capacity to efficiently handle cases and is something that the judge worries about.

During his time on the bench, Judge Albert had the opportunity to teach at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law for 14 years.  He found it extremely rewarding to see the lights turn on in student faces when they learned new concepts.

Judge Albert relies heavily on his law clerks, so when he interviews, he seeks candidates who actually want to serve as clerks, demonstrate a specific interest in bankruptcy law, and who read and write well.  The judge keeps in touch with former clerks long after they have moved on and have started their own careers.

The Judge’s Interests Off the Bench

On a personal level, Judge Albert is married and has two adult sons, Brendan and Brian, and two stepsons, Sean and Casey.  Only Casey chose law as his career.  Judge Albert loves history, specifically of the American Civil War and ancient Rome.  When his sons were younger, the family would participate in Civil War reenactments, for which the Judge has fond memories.  He displays Civil War memorabilia in his chambers, including a painting called “Congress Burning” by Tom Freeman, depicting the March 8, 1862, destruction of the U.S.S. Congress by the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia. The judge remarked that at that moment in history all navies of the world became obsolete.  Another painting is Don Troiani’s “Sons of Erin,” depicting the men of the Irish Brigade and their chaplain, Father Corby, who gave the soldiers absolution moments before the Battle of Antietam at Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862.

He noted that people are so busy with electronic devices nowadays that they are often not focusing on deeper issues.  Judge Albert believes that there is value in grade school students (and frankly everybody) memorizing the Gettysburg Address, that there is value in the words of Lincoln rolling around in student minds (an issue that Shelby Foote commented on in a speech at Gettysburg and later in the PBS Civil War series), and that he still has most of the Gettysburg Address memorized.

Judge Albert has a deep interest in ancient Roman law.  In 2003, he was invited to spend time at the American Academy in Rome, where he researched and wrote an article about bankruptcy law in the Roman Empire.  The article, entitled The Insolvency Law of Ancient Rome, was published by the California Bankruptcy Journal in 2006.  It described how the Romans handled voluntary and involuntary bankruptcies, exemptions, and the discharge of debt, among others.  See 28 Cal. Bankr. J. No. 3, at p. 365. The Judge was impressed at how “modern” their approach was.

This article was written by Uzzi O. Raanan (RaananLawGroupLA@gmail.com), a  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@ppilawyers.com), a member at Pagter and Perry Isaacson, APLC, and a member of the Insolvency Law Committee.