University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Mary Davies Scott (born in 1944) earned her J.D. from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, in 1978. Scott was appointed Bankruptcy Judge to the Eastern District of the United States Federal Court in 1987, where she remained until her retirement in 2002. From 1996 to 2002, she served as a member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Scott is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, where she has served in a number of leadership roles. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Bankruptcy since 2002. Scott planned and taught at various workshops and seminars for the Federal Judicial Center, an organization that provides continuing education to the federal judiciary, including bankruptcy judges. As chair of the American College of Bankruptcy's Archives Committee, Scott was instrumental in creating and developing the National Bankruptcy Archives at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The collection, 1984-2002, chiefly include correspondence, meeting materials, and related records pertaining to Scott's activities as a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American College of Bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Judicial Center, the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and the Office of the United States Trustees.

Norman H. Nachman (1909-2001) worked as a Chicago bankruptcy attorney for 60 years, served as President of the Chicago Bar Association, and helped to draft new bankruptcy code. His colleagues named him the “Dean of U.S. Bankruptcy Lawyers.” This collection, dated 1983-1998, consists of materials relating to Nachman’s career in bankruptcy law and includes case documents, reports on aspects of bankruptcy law, Nachman’s daily appointment calendars, business correspondence dated 1992-1998, and various publications including law journals and books authored by his colleagues.