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Judge Alan Trust ’84 has spent 40 years in bankruptcy law, first as a practitioner who founded his own firm and then, starting in 2008, as a member of the judiciary. Since 2020, he has been chief judge of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York. We spoke with him about why he loves this area of law and what it was like to make the transition to the bench.

How did your perspective on bankruptcy law change after you became a judge? 
Most of my work in practice involved businesses. But once I took the bench, I had to take a lot of these theoretical constructs and apply them to real-life people who were standing in front of me.

Bankruptcy judges are the front lines of the federal courts. We see people who are probably at their lowest point: individuals fearful of losing their house and car, and worried about how to explain that to their family; business owners seeing their companies slipping away. We have the responsibility of making decisions that affect these people’s lives. The flip side is recognizing that we have a job to do. We don’t have free rein to just do what we want. We have to apply the statute that Congress gave us and follow the case law and the rules. So we end up making a lot of tough decisions we need to make to fulfill the oath we swore to.

What is something that you have found working in bankruptcy law that an average person or even a lawyer in a different area may not know about? 
Despite the difficult issues we confront, it is definitely the coolest area to practice in. It’s fast-paced, brings in all substantive areas of law—state and federal—and the lawyers spend a lot of time making deals. If you want to be in court a lot, bankruptcy is the place to be.

Also, the people who practice in this area are generally pretty laid back, and they tend to interact with each other fairly well. If you’re a traditional trial lawyer, you may never try a case against that same lawyer twice. But in bankruptcy, you’re seeing the same people day after day, year after year. It really requires you to be a lot more up front with people. Credibility is the coin of the realm with the judges and other lawyers. So this practice area really fosters more collegiality.

Tell us about your first day as a judge. 
You’re never ready to conduct your first hearing until you conduct your first hearing. There’s no way to simulate the experience of sitting on the bench, wearing the black robe, listening to lawyers making arguments. I remember my very first case. The lawyers all argued, and then I made a ruling. So all the lawyers then started saying, “Thank you, Your Honor.” I was the last one to speak. I said, “Thank you, Your Honor,” and I stood up and left. I realized after I got into chambers that they were talking to me, and I had a good laugh at myself.

What’s the most rewarding part of being a judge? 
While this is an awesome job, probably the highlight has been working with law clerks and interns, helping them develop into good lawyers. I spend a lot of time talking about why certain cases require a certain outcome, how to think about the law in a holistic way, and how to identify the issues and figure out what the right answer is. And I try to emphasize that people can disagree and still be respectful to each other. 

This interview has been edited and condensed.