August 14, 2008
On July 15 President Bush moved quickly in his consideration and
immediately signed into law a bill that would officially rename the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York’s Brooklyn
courthouse to the Conrad B. Duberstein United States Bankruptcy
Courthouse.
Representative Edolphus Towns, D-NY originally introduced the
legislation that would rename the courthouse after the late Judge
Duberstein. According to Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa “the
words wisdom, fairness, beloved mentor, humor, humility and
humanity are used not only to describe his life, but also reflects
the principles he brought to his law practice. He was a judge
guided by a sense of fairness and perpetual desire for nothing but
justice for all who were in his courts. His accomplishments
were without bounds.”
Honorable Conrad B. Duberstein ’41, ’91
HON who passed away at age 90 in November 2005, was an
inspiring presence at the School of Law. Having attended the
evening session at St. John's University School of Law, Judge
Duberstein was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York in
1942. He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by St.
John’s University in 1991. Following his US Army service during
World War II, Judge Duberstein joined one of New York’s top
bankruptcy firms, where he headed the firm’s bankruptcy practice.
In 1981, he accepted appointment to the Bankruptcy Court, and
became Chief Judge in 1984. Judge Duberstein was a member of the
advisory board for the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and
the St. John’s LL.M. in Bankruptcy
Program. The American Bankruptcy Institute and the School of
Law named the only national bankruptcy moot court
competition in his honor. The competition brings together
students from around the country. This year forty-four teams
from around the country participated with close to 200 lawyers and
judges assisting with the competition. A gala awards banquet
is held each year at Chelsea Piers in New York City to honor the
competitors and winners. This year more than 800 people,
including top judges and lawyers, attended the event. Judge
Duberstein’s impact on the law community is far reaching and a
courthouse named after him is a fitting honor.