U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mike K. Nakagawa of the District of Nevada Reappointed

SAN FRANCISCO – Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have approved the reappointment of U.S. Bankruptcy Mike K. Nakagawa of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. He will begin his second 14-year term on September 1, 2020.

Judge Nakagawa, who maintains chambers in Las Vegas, has served on the bankruptcy court for the District of Nevada since 2006. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he practiced bankruptcy and business law in Northern California for more than 20 years. Judge Nakagawa taught bankruptcy law and business reorganization at McGeorge School of Law, and also served on the Sacramento County Civil Service Commission for more than 10 years. He served as a bankruptcy resolution advocate for both the U.S. District Court and U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California. Judge Nakagawa also provided a variety of pro bono services through the voluntary Legal Services Program for Sacramento County.

Born in Modesto, California, Judge Nakagawa received his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, in 1977. He received his juris doctorate from the University of California, Davis, in 1980. While in law school, Judge Nakagawa was a member of the law review as well as a tutor in civil procedure. Following law school, he had an extended judicial clerkship with Chief Judge Philip C. Wilkins of the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of California from 1980 to 1984.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada, which is authorized 1 temporary and 3 bankruptcy judgeships, reported 10,046 new filings in 2019, up 6.8 percent from 2018.

Bankruptcy judges serve a 14-year renewable term and handle all bankruptcy-related matters under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have statutory responsibility for selecting and appointing bankruptcy judges in the nine western states that comprise the Ninth Circuit. The court uses a comprehensive merit selection process for the initial appointment. For reappointments, the court conducts a performance review and considers public comment evaluations.

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