Chief Judge Pamela Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee has announced the appointment of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Rucker of Chattanooga as the next chief bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The appointment will be effective Oct. 1.
Rucker will fill the position current Chief Judge Marcia Phillips Parsons will be vacating upon her retirement on Sept. 30. Parsons has served as the chief judge since July 2, 2012.
A chief bankruptcy judge is the statutorily appointed presiding officer of the bankruptcy court, and serves as the court’s executive and organizational leader, Reeves says.
“In fulfilling the duties of the position, a chief bankruptcy judge guides the development, adoption and enforcement of uniform policy for the bankruptcy court through the active participation of all the court’s bankruptcy judges and with the support of the district court.”
Rucker has served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee since April 2, 2010. Before taking the bench, she practiced bankruptcy law with Miller & Martin in Chattanooga for 27 years. She previously served as chairperson of the firm’s commercial department and leader of the Bankruptcy Creditor Rights Group.
Rucker has served as a board member and president of the Mid-South Commercial Law Institute and on the joint committee of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Tennessee Bankers Association that worked on the enactment of Revised Article 9 in Tennessee.
Rucker is a frequent lecturer about bankruptcy and a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.
She received her undergraduate degree in English and economics from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and her law degree from the University of Georgia, where she was a member of the National Moot Court Team.
There are two other federal bankruptcy judges in the Eastern District of Tennessee: Judge Nicholas Whittenburg in Chattanooga and Suzanne Bauknight in Knoxville.
Source: United States District Court