Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan for the Maryland Bankruptcy Court

In February of 2011, the Court revisited the Strategic Plan for the District of Maryland forming a committee comprised of three members of the bench and four Clerk’s office staff. After some thoughtful and insightful discussion, the committee reaffirmed that the primary reason our Court exits is to, “Promote social and economic order by reconciling the opportunity of debtors to a fresh start with the right of creditors to be paid.” With this doctrine as our guide, the committee then focused on identifying the most pressing areas of concern which challenge the Court’s ability to carry out its mission. Two such challenges were identified which will serve as the focus and driving force behind the Court’s efforts over the next few years and are described below.

Our Court is faced with the risk of losing judgeships should any of our present judges leave office for any reason. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) authorized three additional judgeships for Maryland for a total of 7 active judgeships. These new judgeships are temporary with the restriction that should any judgeship on the Court’s bench become vacant 5 years after these three were filled, the vacant judgeship would no longer be authorized. Two of our new judgeships eclipsed the 5 year mark on April 1st of this year and the third milestone is reached on June 19th. In the fall of 2010, the Judicial Conference of the United States conducted a judgeship study in which members of both the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the District of Maryland and the Maryland State Bar Association, Consumer Section participated. This study concluded that not only should our Court have its three temporary judgeships converted to permanent but an additional 8th permanent judgeship should be created. House Resolution 1021, the Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011, which was passed by the House Judiciary Committee in March 2011, would simply extend the sunset clause on our temporary judgeships for another 5 years. However, the prospect of any legislation regarding judgeships being passed by this Congress is very unlikely due to the overwhelming concern of increasing federal spending. Because of this looming specter of reduced judicial resources to pre-BAPCPA days, the Court has launched a renewed effort for efficiency under our 2011 Strategic Plan. The primary strategy is to increase the level of resources available to assist judges with the administration of justice. Our goal is to increase the efficiency of operations by applying technology, increased information, better tools and renewed resourcefulness to better prepare the Court for a possible loss of judgeships.

Unrepresented debtors continue to be a significant concern for this Court. The bankruptcy process can be difficult for individuals who attempt to pursue financial relief without the benefit of legal counsel. The complexity of the bankruptcy process generates a substantial volume of confusion and frustration from unrepresented litigants which takes an inordinate amount of resources from both the Clerk’s office as well as chambers to address. The potential financial viability of the parties after bankruptcy is at stake while preserving an independent and objective judicial process. Much success has been achieved with the 2007 strategic goal of providing additional legal resources to these debtors, particularly with the Debtor Assistance Project, or DAP. However, more work and effort is needed to address these ongoing concerns and this goal is renewed under this 2011 version of our Plan.

2011 Strategic Planning Committee

Judge Nancy V. Alquist
Judge Wendelin I. Lipp
Judge Robert A. Gordon
Mark D. Sammons, Clerk of Court
David J. Smith, Chief Deputy Clerk
Rick Thompson, Information Systems Manager
Ken Ridgeway, Division Manager

Mark D. Sammons
Clerk of Court
December 20th, 2011