Corbit Named to Fill Bankruptcy Vacancy

(CN) - Frederick Corbit, a Seattle attorney, has been named to fill the judicial vacancy on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Corbit, who was sworn into office on Sept. 19, fills a judgeship left vacant by the retirement of Judge Patricia Williams, who will continue to service the court as a recalled judge.

Until his appointment to the bench, Corbit worked as a senior attorney and manager for the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle, a publicly-funded legal aid program serving low-income families and individuals.

Prior to that, the 59-year-old was in private practice as a partner at the former Heller Ehrman LLP in Seattle. The firm dissolved in 2008, a year after Corbit left to join NJP.

A native of Spokane, Corbit received his B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Washington in 1977 and his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, in 1980. He also completed a program on negotiation at Harvard Law School and received a mediation certificate in 2005.

Corbit clerked for Judge Kenneth Treadwell of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington and for Chief Justice Robert Utter of the Washington State Supreme Court.

He's been president of the Creditor Debtor Rights Section of the Washington State Bar Association, president of the Bankruptcy Section of the King County Bar, and is a former member of the rules committee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on which he now serves.

In addition to these activities, Corbit has taught the bankruptcy course at Seattle University and lectured frequently at the University of Washington School of Law, Seattle University School of Law, and Gonzaga University School of Law.

He will maintain chambers on Spokane, Wash.

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