Judicial Service Honored at National Bankruptcy Conference
The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and Thomson Reuters have presented the 2026 William L. Norton Jr. Judicial Excellence Award to retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alan S. Trust. The presentation took place during the 100th Annual Conference of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) in San Diego, California.
The annual award recognizes a bankruptcy judge who has demonstrated distinguished service to the bench and made significant contributions to insolvency law, legal education, and judicial scholarship. Named in memory of William L. Norton Jr., a founding member of both the ABI and the American College of Bankruptcy, the honor includes a financial contribution made by Thomson Reuters in the recipient's name to support bankruptcy research and educational programming.
Career Benchmarks and Judicial Achievements
Judge Trust served for more than 18 years on the bench of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, including six years as chief bankruptcy judge prior to his retirement from full-time judicial service in 2026. During his tenure, Judge Trust presided over more than 40,000 bankruptcy cases and 2,500 adversary proceedings, authoring more than 120 published legal opinions.
In 2023, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed Judge Trust to a two-year term as the sole bankruptcy judge observer to the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judge Trust also served by designation on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut during his time on the federal bench.
Beyond his courtroom responsibilities, Judge Trust has served on the faculty for national judicial workshops conducted by the Federal Judicial Center and was selected for Law360's Bankruptcy Editorial Advisory Board in 2026. He was inducted as a Judicial Fellow into the American College of Bankruptcy in 2025.
Transition to Alternative Dispute Resolution
Following his retirement from the federal judiciary, Judge Trust joined JAMS, an international provider of alternative dispute resolution services, serving as a mediator and arbitrator specializing in complex commercial, corporate restructuring, and insolvency matters.
Previous recipients of the William L. Norton Jr. Judicial Excellence Award include retired bankruptcy judges Harlin DeWayne Hale and Joan N. Feeney.