Elizabeth D. Katz

Hon. Elizabeth D. Katz is Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Massachusetts in Springfield, initially appointed on March 13, 2017, and assigned to the Western and Central Divisions, then named Chief Judge on Sept, 10, 2022. On April 17, 2018, she was appointed to the First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. From 1995-2007, Judge Katz was an assistant district attorney for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, and she was chief of the District Court Prosecutors from 2000-07. She also was an associate at the firm of Katz, Argenio and Powers, PC from 2007-08 and later became an associate at the Ostrander Law Office from 2008-13, where she concentrated her practice on bankruptcy law. At Ostrander Law Office, she represented a chapter 7 trustee in adversary proceedings, counseled individuals and businesses in financial distress, and represented clients in bankruptcy cases. In 2013, she formed and operated The Law Office of Elizabeth D. Katz, focusing on criminal defense and bankruptcy law. Immediately prior to her appointment, she had been a founding partner at Rescia, Katz & Shear, LLP since 2015. An active member of the Hampshire County, Hampden County and Massachusetts Bar Associations, Judge Katz served as president of the Hampshire County Bar Association from 2012-14. She also was co-chair of both the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Western Massachusetts Bankruptcy Symposium and the Western Division of the M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program. In 2016, Judge Katz was awarded the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award. In addition, she has been a frequent panelist and lecturer on the topics of both criminal and bankruptcy law. From 2019-24, Judge Katz taught consumer bankruptcy at Western New England University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in 1991 and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where she received the Edward F. Hennessey Award in 1994.