Hon. Alan S. Trust

Chief Judge

Current Position

U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Eastern District of New York
Central Islip, NY 11722
USA

The Honorable Alan S. Trust ascended to the bench on April 2, 2008, and sits in the Eastern District of New York. He became Chief Bankruptcy Judge on October 1, 2020.

In December 2023, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. appointed Judge Trust to a two-year term as the Bankruptcy Judge Observer to the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Judge Trust is proud to join the American College of Bankruptcy as a Judicial Fellow.

Judge Trust has been selected by the Federal Judicial Center on several occasions to serve as a faculty member for national bankruptcy judge workshops, and has spoken on issues such as evidence and the power of the bankruptcy courts to regulate its proceedings through sanctions and contempt. Judge Trust has been an adjunct professor of law at the St. John’s University School of Law since 2009.

Judge Trust has been previously designated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to mediate cases in the Southern District of New York and to sit in the District of Connecticut bankruptcy court. Judge Trust has continued to serve as a judge mediator. He also served for five years on the Judiciary Data Working Group under the auspices of the Administrative Offices of the United States Courts.

Judge Trust is the recipient of the 2022 New York Institute of Credit Conrad B. Duberstein Memorial Award for Excellence and Compassion in the Bankruptcy Judiciary, and the 2022 Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors’ Judicial Service Award.

Judge Trust served a two year term as President of the Eastern District of New York Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and serves as CLE Committee co-chair. He is a past Chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the Federal Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors of that Section, and has served as the CLE Committee chair. He is also a past member of the Editorial Board of the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, a coordinating editor for the Journal, and for over ten years had responsibility for the Dicta column. He is also a member the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and has served as the NCBJ liaison to the FBA.

Judge Trust remains a frequent speaker and contributor for numerous CLE events and seminars, addressing bankruptcy, mediation, trial practice and ethics issues, and has participated in a number of civics programs. He was instrumental in the creation of the Pro Bono Mediation Program and the formation of the Consumer Lawyer Advisory Committee adopted by the EDNY Bankruptcy Court.

Judge Trust attended Syracuse University, graduating summa cum laude in 1981, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He attended New York University School of Law, where he served on the Law Review and graduated cum laude in 1984. After graduation, he relocated to Dallas, Texas to begin his law practice. Judge Trust opened his own law firm (Trust.Law.Firm, P.C.) in December 1995 and managed that firm until appointed to the bench.