WASHINGTON, D.C. – R. Michael Bolen has been reappointed by the Attorney General as United States Trustee for Louisiana and Mississippi (Region 5), the Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees announced today.

“Mr. Bolen is an experienced bankruptcy lawyer, and enjoys the respect of the bankruptcy bench and bar,” Director Cliff White stated. “Of particular note is the leadership he displayed after Hurricane Katrina, which affected the U.S. Trustee Program’s offices in New Orleans and Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Bolen took the lead to ensure that all employees were safely relocated. He worked closely with the Executive Office, the bankruptcy courts, and other agencies to set up alternative work locations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, making sure that the offices were up and running simultaneously with the bankruptcy courts.”

Mr. Bolen was first appointed as U.S. Trustee for Region 5 in June 2002. Prior to his appointment, he served in the U.S. Trustee Program as a senior attorney in the Jackson, Miss., office. Before joining the Program in 1988, Mr. Bolen was an estate administrator for the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and an assistant city prosecutor, and engaged in the private practice of law. He received his law degree from Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, Miss., and his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.

The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. The Program has 21 regions and 95 field offices. Region 5 is headquartered in New Orleans with additional offices in Shreveport, La., and Jackson, Miss.