Arthur J. Gonzalez

Judge Gonzalez became a Senior Fellow immediately following his retirement as Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on March 1, 2012. Prior to becoming a Senior Fellow, he was an adjunct professor. Judge Gonzalez teaches courses in bankruptcy law.

Judge Gonzalez received an undergraduate degree in accounting from Fordham University and a master’s degree in education from Brooklyn College in 1974. He received a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1982. He also received an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law in 1990. Judge Gonzalez was a staff attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service and earned the Chief Counsel’s Special Achievement Award for three consecutive years. Thereafter, he entered private practice. Judge Gonzalez was appointed Assistant United States Trustee for the Southern District of New York in 1991 and served in that position until his appointment as United States Trustee for Region 2 (Second Circuit) in 1993. He served in that position until his appointment to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in 1995 to a fourteen-year term. In 2009 he was appointed to another fourteen-year term and in 2010 was appointed Chief Judge. During his tenure Judge Gonzalez presided over many large complex corporate reorganizations, including Enron, WorldCom and Chrysler cases.

Following his retirement, Judge Gonzalez was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, Character and Fitness Committee. As well, in 2012 he was appointed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York as Examiner in the ResCap case. Further, in 2016 Judge Gonzalez was appointed by President Obama to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico established under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA).

Prior to beginning his law career, Judge Gonzalez was a teacher in the New York City School System for 13 years.