Kyu “Mike” Paek

“[Mike] is the first person that I think of when I want to talk through a complex legal issue (bankruptcy and otherwise) or need a recommendation for a good book.”

MIKE is the chief deputy clerk for the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court, where he oversees all aspects of court operations. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding the court through the countless obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his current role, Mike served over six years as career law clerk to Retired Bankruptcy Judge Stuart M. Bernstein, assisting with numerous high-profile “mega” chapter 11 cases, chapter 15 cases, brokerage liquidations under the Securities Investor Protection Act, and multi-million-dollar adversary proceedings. He previously worked in the Business Reorganization Group of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he represented debtors, creditors, DIP lenders and investors.

Mike teaches Advanced Business Bankruptcy at Fordham University School of Law as an adjunct professor. The course presents complicated topics in business bankruptcy through simulations in which groups of students play the role of interested parties in a chapter 11 case. He also is a frequent contributor to such well-regarded publications as the ABI Journal, Norton Bankruptcy Law Adviser and Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law & Practice. His most recent article focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of bankruptcy practice.

Mike mentors the chambers’ summer interns and trains incoming term clerks. In addition, he runs the court’s lecture series by which the judges meet with the summer interns and discuss various bankruptcy-related topics, and he has served as the court’s Employee Dispute Resolution Coordinator. Diversity is of great importance to him, and he believes that better representing the ever-increasing diversity of the country is paramount to engendering trust from the public of the bankruptcy system. In this spirit of bringing more diversity to the industry, he introduces law students and young attorneys to various aspects of bankruptcy practice as a member of the Bankruptcy Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. He also recently taught a CLE course on § 363 sales to its members.