Steven Jay Katzman

Steve Katzman specializes in complex insolvency, federal and commercial litigation. Because of his varied and significant background, Mr. Katzman offers unique, unparalleled trial, bankruptcy and complex litigation experience to the clients he serves.

Steve Katzman is the current Vice President of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum for 2010 – 2011.

From May, 2003 to March, 2008, Mr. Katzman was appointed as the United States Trustee for Southern District of California, the Districts of Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. From November, 2003 until August, 2006, Mr. Katzman was also appointed as United States Trustee for the Central District of California. During his tenure as United States Trustee, Mr. Katzman was responsible for oversight of over 100,000 bankruptcy cases filed annually, including: the reorganization of two operational airlines; a resort property valued at 500 million dollars with over 2 billion dollars in unsecured debt; a national distributor of vitamins and mineral supplements; the examiner appointment in a chain of movie theaters; the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee in a multi-million dollar ponzi scheme; and the bankruptcy case of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. Mr. Katzman also served as the Chair of a national United States Trustee Program group investigating and pursuing litigation strategies to redress creditor abuses of the bankruptcy system.

Mr. Katzman served for eight years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. From 1991 through 1996 he prosecuted bankruptcy fraud and related crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, with the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. From 1996 through 1999, he established and managed a new office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in Youngstown. During his tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Katzman pursued numerous trials and appeals, including the prosecution of attorneys, accountants, and corporate officers for embezzlement, concealment of assets and tax offenses, complex bank and mail fraud cases, a highly publicized interstate telemarketing fraud, a multi-million dollar counterfeit conspiracy, and death threats to a federal bankruptcy judge.

Before his appointment as U.S. Trustee, Mr. Katzman was senior insolvency and federal litigation counsel for the Orange County, Calif., law firm of Albert, Weiland & Golden LLP. Prior to his service with the U.S. Attorneys' offices, Mr. Katzman was an associate with the Newport Beach, Calif., office of Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, and a law clerk for Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan in the Central District of California.

Mr. Katzman has been a frequent speaker at many national and regional legal associations, including the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the California, Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego Bankruptcy Forums, the California State Bar, and the Federal Bar Association. Additionally, Mr. Katzman has lectured on numerous occasions at the Justice Department’s national training facilities.