Burton R. Lifland (1929 – January 12, 2014) was an American federal bankruptcy judge who served as chief judge for the

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is the United States bankruptcy court within the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Southern District of New York is a major venue for ba ...

and chief judge of the bankruptcy appellate panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Lifland received a B.A. from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1951, followed by a J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law in 1954. Lifland then entered private practice until his appointment to the bankruptcy court in 1980, later becoming chief judge.Constantine N. Katsoris,
A Tribute to the Fordham Judiciary: A Century of Service
, 75 ''Fordham L. Rev.'' (2007), p. 2325. In the mid-1980s, Lifland presided over the bankruptcy proceedings of insulation company

Johns Manville Johns Manville is an American company based in Denver, Colorado, that manufactures insulation, roofing materials and engineered products. For much of the 20th century, the then-titled Johns-Manville Corporation was the global leader in the ma ...

occasioned by

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-related claims. By the early 1990s, Lifland was described as "the dean of the bankruptcy bar, having handled many of the high-profile cases that have characterized the end of the profligate 1980s", and noted to have "set the tone that has given the Manhattan federal court a reputation as one of the most pro-debtor bankruptcy courts in the nation".Glenn Kessler,
Macy's Bankruptcy Judge
, ''Newsday (Suffolk Edition)'' (January 29, 1992), p. 37. In 1992, he presided over bankruptcy proceedings for the Macy's department store change. He later oversaw the bankruptcy proceedings of entertainment company

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, natural gas company Calpine, and beverage maker Dana, as well as the aftermath of the

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDA ...

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, among many other influential cases.

References

1929 births 2014 deaths Syracuse University alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts {{US-federal-judge-stub