Chris Hawkins Appointed Judge

chrishawkins

Chris Hawkins was sworn in as a bankruptcy judge for the Middle District of Alabama on March 14, 2022, succeeding Judge William R. Sawyer.

Before his appointment, Chris was a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, where he focused exclusively on bankruptcy and insolvency matters. For over twenty years, he represented debtors and creditors in out-of-court restructurings, commercial and consumer bankruptcy cases, bankruptcy litigation, and consumer bankruptcy compliance and regulatory enforcement matters.

Chris recently completed a two-year term as Co-Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Consumer Bankruptcy Committee and is an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He co-authored Thorny Issues in Consumer Bankruptcy Cases (2nd ed. 2020) and is a member of the 33rd Class of Fellows of the American College of Bankruptcy. He is listed in Chambers USA for Bankruptcy and Restructuring and recently was named in the 2022 edition of the Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Bankruptcy and Restructuring Lawyers.

Chris graduated summa cum laude from Spring Hill College in 1996, earning bachelor’s degrees in English and Marketing. He earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1999, where he graduated summa cum laude, served on the managing board of the Alabama Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Chris and his wife, Carrie, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last June. They are the proud parents of four boys and one girl. When he is not working, Chris enjoys spending time on the water and playing in local tennis leagues. On Saturdays in the fall, Chris and his family often can be found tailgating in Auburn.

Academy Circle Logo Final
Consumer Bankruptcy Education

The NACTT Academy offers a comprehensive community for bankruptcy professionals seeking to advance their education in consumer bankruptcy.

Related Articles

kennedy
December 3, 2023
The Honorable David S. Kennedy, retired Chief U. S. Bankruptcy Judge, Western District of Tennessee, passed away on November 26, 2023.
June 2, 2019
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of Tennessee If a Chapter 13 debtor does not list a creditor on the creditor matrix when filing the petition and makes no effort to provide supplemental notice to the creditor, the provisions of Rule 3002 allow the extension of time for the creditor to file a...
Members
Molly Pro picture
June 26, 2022
Consider if you will that your client has just filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. They have intelligently chosen to surrender a luxury item - a boat or 4-wheeler or even that extra vehicle they don’t need. Because the creditor would like to preserve the value of the collateral by obtaining possession quickly, they file a Motion for Relief shortly after...
Members
November 21, 2021
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Middle District of TN (Nashville) Where pro se debtors filed numerous groundless complaints and made specious allegations against their former counsel, sanctions under Rule 9011 were appropriate notwithstanding the fact that the debtors were now acting pro se. (Hopkins) In re Jones, 2021 WL 4168110 (Bankr. S.D. O.H., Sept....
Members
May 12, 2019
By Robert B. Branson and Tammy Branson, Branson Law PLLC (Orlando, FL) Congress’ goal of bankruptcy is for the honest debtor to get a fresh start. Since most federally guaranteed student loans are nondischargeable, the current outcome is a “false start” instead of a fresh start. Resolving a $1.5 trillion student loan crisis is problematic in that the caselaw was...
Members
May 5, 2019
The CFPB (Bureau), May 2, 2019, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which proposes to raise the coverage thresholds for collecting and reporting data about closed-end mortgage loans and open-end lines of credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rules. The NPRM would provide relief to smaller lenders from HMDA’s data reporting requirements, and would clarify partial exemptions...
June 30, 2019
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) Over the past twenty years, the judicial estoppel doctrine has had a significant impact on people who file bankruptcy. Judicial estoppel has grown to be a significant issue within the consumer bankruptcy system. The Commission was asked to address it. Judicial estoppel is a doctrine created to protect the...
Members
gustafson2
Judge Gustafson and Daniel Tavera explore “Who Benefits” from work done in a Chapter 13 case, and they suggest that the title of this piece comes from an old-time radio show – “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” – one of the most popular radio shows in its day. It was a five-part show called “The Cui Bono Matter.” To hear a...
Members
March 14, 2021
By Mark S. Wheeler, Staff Attorney to M.O. Marshall, Standing Chapter 13 Trustee (Chicago, IL) (Used with expressed permission. Published February 2021 in the Northern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee Newsletter.) Despite appearing before the Senior Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois perhaps hundreds of times over the last 29 years, I was uncharacteristically nervous to...
September 26, 2021
By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) "Equity is not an old man, with a long grey beard, sitting under a tree. Equity has rules."1 Introduction Section 105 When enacted in 1978, the Bankruptcy Code in section 105 included an "all writs" statute for the Bankruptcy Courts: The court may issue any order, process, or judgment that...
Members

Looking to Become a Member?

ConsiderChapter13.org offers a forum to advance continuing education of consumer bankruptcy via access to insightful articles, informative webinars, and the latest industry news. Join now to benefit from expert resources and stay informed.

Webinars

These informative sessions are led by industry experts and cover a range of consumer bankruptcy topics.

Member Articles

Written by industry experts, these articles provide in-depth analysis and practical guidance on consumer bankruptcy topics.

Industry News

The Academy is the go-to source for the latest news and analysis in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy industry.

To get started, please let us know which of these best fits your current position: