Bankruptcy Judges Appointed in Arizona

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Three new judges have been appointed to fill upcoming vacancies on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, the 9th Circuit said.

Attorney Daniel Collins, 54, will be sworn on Jan. 18, 2013, in place of Phoenix division Judge Charles Case II, who is retiring after 19 years with the court.

A native of Rochester, Minn., Collins received his bachelor's from the University of Arizona in 1980 and his graduated from UA James E. Rogers College of Law in 1983. He became a partner in 1994 at Leonard, Collins & Kelly, which later merged with Collins, May, Potenza, Baran & Gillespie in 2004.

Collins' practice dealt primarily in commercial bankruptcy, representing creditors, trustees and Chapter 11 debtors. He has been appointed as an examiner, Chapter 11 plan agent and plan administrator. In addition to helping individuals and corporate debtors find nonbankruptcy solutions, Collins also periodically handles real estate, estate planning and probate matters.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Edward Phillip Ballinger Jr., 59, will be sworn into office for the Phoenix division on Feb. 15, 2013, replacing Judge Redfield Baum Sr., who served the court for 22 years.

Ballinger has sat on Arizona's Maricopa County Superior Court since 1998. He worked as an associate presiding judge for the county's juvenile court and completed a civil judge assignment before moving to the Maricopa County Criminal Court.

Previously, Ballinger worked as a partner at Brown and Bain, now Perkins Coie, where he mostly represented large credit stakeholders, served as debtor's counsel and argued a number of appeals before the 9th Circuit and the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Ballinger received his bachelor's degree, with honors, from Ohio State University in 1976, and obtained his master's of business administration and his juris doctor in 1979.

Assigned to the Tuscon division, attorney Brenda Moody Whinery, 52, will be sworn into office Feb. 1, 2013. She replaces Judge James Marlar, who has served since 1993.

Whinery is a native of Tucson, receiving her bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 1982 and her juris doctor from UA James E. Rogers College of Law in 1985.

She has been partner since 2002 with Mesch, Clark & Rothschild where she focuses primarily on commercial bankruptcy matters including representation of corporate and individual debtors, Chapter 11 trustees, and official committees of secured and unsecured creditors. She has served as a court-appointed mediator in bankruptcy matters, as an arbitrator in state court matters and as a Chapter 11 trustee. Her other accomplishments include a stint as the U.S. trustee for the District of Arizona from 1998 to 2002.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona received 36,556 filings in 2011.

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