Hon. Erithe A. Smith

Hon. Erithe A. Smith is a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of California in Santa Ana. She was appointed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994 and was reappointed to a second term in 2007. In 2004, she was appointed by the Circuit to the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel and served on the BAP until 2007. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Smith was a partner in a boutique law firm in Irvine, Calif., specializing in corporate insolvency and bankruptcy law. In past years, Judge Smith has served as an associate editor of the ABI Journal, a member of the Judicial Advisory Council of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (Orange County Chapter), a past president of the Orange County Bankruptcy Forum, and an appointed member of the Bankruptcy Education Committee of the Federal Judicial Center. In October 2012, she was appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts to the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System, a standing committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judge Smith is a frequent speaker and lecturer at various professional conferences, seminars and workshops. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1979 and her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law (Berkeley Law) in 1982. From 1982-85, she clerked for Hon. Marcus M. Kaufman of the California Court of Appeal and Hon. Peter M. Elliott of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.