Judge Hilary L. Barnes

Biography

Hilary Barnes began her term on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada (Reno) on March 31, 2023. Immediately prior to joining the bench, Judge Barnes was a member of Allen Barnes & Jones, PLC, a bankruptcy boutique, where her practice primarily focused on bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation, and out-of-court workouts on behalf of both debtors and creditors. During her legal career, she practiced with international, national, and regional law firms, and represented myriad constituencies in different chapters of bankruptcy. She served as chair of the Arizona State Bar bankruptcy section and on the executive committee of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, including as its president. Judge Barnes was also a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative and served on the Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee for the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. Born in Colorado and raised in the Midwest, Judge Barnes earned her B.A. in art history (with honors) from the University of Chicago and her J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where she served as executive editor of the Jurimetrics Journal of Law, Science & Technology and was honored with the ABA Editorial Excellence Award.