Kelley prepares for E.D. Bankruptcy bench

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Susan V. Kelley

In two weeks, the U.S. Eastern District of Wisconsin will have a new bankruptcy judge as Susan V. Kelley takes the bench. With nearly two dozen years of experience under her belt, Kelley, who lives in Madison, is ready to head east toward the Milwaukee-based court.

“I hope to hit the ground running and start with dockets on July 7,” Kelley said during an interview. “I’ve been practicing bankruptcy law over 20 years, so I’m pretty comfortable with the procedures and the substance — definitely the substance.”

Introduction to Bankruptcy

Kelley, a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich in Madison, began working with bankruptcy law just as the current bankruptcy code took effect in 1979, following passage by the legislature in 1978. As she described it, the veteran bankruptcy attorney “fell into” a position clerking for Maryland Bankruptcy Judge Glenn Goldburn.

Graduating from law school at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Kelley had not planned on practicing bankruptcy law. She planned to clerk for a state court trial judge, dealing with civil and criminal cases. However, one week before Kelley was scheduled to begin, she was notified that the judge she was to clerk for had given her position to the son of a judge, whom he had clerked for.

Following up on a bulletin she had seen posted regarding a clerkship to one of the new bankruptcy judges, Kelley found her calling. She noted that she has “come to love bankruptcy law very much.”

“I was in the first class of law clerks under the new bankruptcy code,” Kelley recalled. “It was a fantastic opp-ortunity. I got out of that clerkship in a year and had as much familiarity and experience with the (new) law as people who had practiced 20 years.”

That opportunity opened doors for Kelley and in 1980 she went to work for a Baltimore firm known then as Weinberg and Green. In 1987, she came to Madison with Murphy & Desmond S.C. After five years, she joined the firm known then as Lee, Kilkelly, Paulson & Kabaker where she was a shareholder. She became a partner with Michael Best & Friedrich in 1999.

Throughout that the years, she has been captivated by the variety of issues within bankruptcy law, which incorporates areas such as real estate, secured transactions, tax, environment and labor. Her practice has included representation of creditors, debtors and trustees, which she sees as good preparation for taking the bench.

Variety of Experience

At one end of the spectrum, she has represented debtors with $5,000 of credit card debt, while at the other end, she has represented creditors attempting to protect $100 million.

In the latter case involving Carley Capital Group, Kelley was the lead creditor’s attorney. She noted that at the time it was the largest bankruptcy case filed in the Western District of Wisconsin. During that case, she successfully argued a bankruptcy preference issue to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

When asked to give the most interesting case she had been involved with, Kelley recalled talking with the city of Baltimore after the Colts left town for Indianapolis. A bankruptcy attorney asked the city to join an attempt to place the Colts in involuntary bankruptcy. Kelley noted she talked the city out of it.

As the veteran bankruptcy attorney prepares to take the bench, she plans to draw upon the lessons learned from representing a broad range of people and companies throughout the years. She also hopes to emulate what she has learned from watching judges like Robert D. Martin of the Western District, whom she described as smart and practical. She hopes to recognize the merit in each participant’s position, a lesson learned from Maryland Bankruptcy Judge James F. Schneider.

“I hope to have the philosophy that the case is not my case and it’s not even the lawyer’s case, it’s the party’s case,” Kelley said. “I hope to remember that this is this person’s case and this is the bank which has the lien on his car’s case. I’ll try to treat the litigants and the lawyers with that respect and attitude.”

At the same time, she expects that lawyers entering her courtroom will treat one another with that same respect.

“One of my biggest pet peeves is attorneys who don’t seem to respect the other side,” Kelley said, recalling a recent case where opposing counsel began pointing a finger at her and directing arguments toward her rather than toward the bench. “I would not tolerate that.”

She also would suggest that lawyers not instruct their clients to cry in an effort to gain sympathy from the bench.

“It’s not going to fly with me,” Kelley said, noting they are coming to the court voluntarily to seek relief. She acknowledged that bad things do happen to bring some people to the point of seeking bankruptcy relief. However, they need to keep their argument objective.

Kelley will be sworn in during a private ceremony on July 1. A formal ceremony is being scheduled for mid-August.

Tony Anderson can be reached by email.