David A. Mawhinney is the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Central and Western Divisions of Massachusetts and a Subchapter V Trustee for Region One. He replaced Denise M. Pappalardo upon her retirement which was effective December 24, 2022.
David is a 2002 graduate of Boston College and received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2011.
When David started law school in the fall of 2008, he knew nothing about bankruptcy. His path to bankruptcy began when he wrote his way onto a journal called the Uniform Commercial Code Reporter Digest. Although he already had a talent for writing, working on the Digest taught him how to write more effectively. Through the Digest he also met Professor Ingrid Hillinger, who became an important mentor early in his career. Also in connection with the Digest he took secured transactions followed by some bankruptcy courses. Upon graduation from law school, with a letter of recommendation from Professor Hillinger, David secured a clerkship with Frank J. Bailey, Judgeof the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Judge Bailey became another influential person in David’s life.
Davidthen moved to private practice where he was an associate in the restructuring and insolvency group at K&L Gates LLP in Boston and the bankruptcy, restructuring and workout group at Bowditch & Dewey LLP in Framingham. During that period, he worked on corporate restructurings and became a Subchapter V Trustee following the enactment of the Small Business Reorganization Act.
David is proud to count himself among the ABI’s “Top 40 Under 40” for 2019, and as part of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges 2018 Next Generation Program.
He is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees. He is also a member of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees and the Boston and Worcester County Bar Associations.
He credits Carolyn Bankowski, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the District of Massachusetts, and Charles A. “Chad” Dale for being strong mentors in his professional life.
David is an avid fitness enthusiast. He enjoys exercise, particularly riding his bike. But he also enjoys playing guitar, reading, listening to podcasts, barbecuing, and comedy and live music performances. As a hometown boy, he enjoys all aspects of Boston sports.
As with many ‘bankruptcy nerds’ David is interested in history, particularly financial history, and macro-economics. When pushed to pick a favorite book/movie genre, David chose science fiction.
He and his wife, Sara, have three sons, so, of course, most of his free time is spent with whatever they are interested in.
The theme in his Chapter 13 office is: Be helpful, consistent, and predictable. Be nice. In our “Meet a New Trustee” series, we try to always share something ‘bankruptcy people’ don’t know about the subject. We definitely have a conversation starter regarding Mawhinney: Before law school he was an actor . . . in New York City! David, we look forward to learning more about this!
