Debevoise Lawyer is Newest New York Bankruptcy Judge

New York’s bankruptcy bench is expanding again, this time with the appointment of a longtime corporate bankruptcy lawyer in New York.

Michael Wiles, until recently a partner at New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, will be sworn in Tuesday as the newest judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, a federal appellate court announced Friday.

The appointment comes two weeks after the court brought Judge James Garrity back to the nine-member bench after a hiatus of more than 15 years in private practice. Mr. Wiles replaces Judge James Peck, who retired in 2014 and joined the law firm Morrison & Foerster.

The move is the first career change for Mr. Wiles in 35 years. The lawyer joined Debevoise after graduating from law school and in 1989 began focusing on bankruptcy work. Recent assignments include arguing a key appeal in the American Airlines bankruptcy that allowed the airline to repay $1.3 billion in debt without paying make-whole premiums, representing creditors in the Lehman Brothers case and defending funds sued after the collapse of Bernard Madoff’s firm.

“Mike has been a valued colleague and has been an incredibly bright bankruptcy lawyer,” Debevoise partner Natasha Labovitz said Friday. “We look forward to the decisions he will make on the bench.”

Mr. Wiles joins a court that, along with nearby Wilmington, Del., is at the forefront of the corporate bankruptcy community. The Southern District of New York has grabbed 18.5% of all large, public-company bankruptcy filings since 1980, with Delaware clocking in at 35.8%.

The slowdown in business Chapter 11 filings—which have fallen steadily since 2009, to just over 6,000 nationwide last year—means Mr. Wiles will also handle his share of consumer bankruptcies.

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals oversaw Mr. Wiles’s appointment. Unlike district-court judges, who are confirmed by the Senate and serve for life under Article III of the Constitution, bankruptcy judges are appointed by the federal appellate courts and serve 14-year terms.

Write to Sara Randazzo at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @sara_randazzo