WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ira Bodenstein will serve as United States Trustee for Michigan and Ohio (Region 9) for an interim period following the resignation of Donald M. Robiner, it was announced today by Martha Davis, Acting Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees. Robiner resigns his position as U.S. Trustee for Region 9, effective today. Bodenstein will serve in the position until Robiner's successor is appointed.

"We are grateful to Don Robiner for his service in Region 9, particularly in helping to manage one of the largest bankruptcy caseloads in the nation," Davis stated. "We are confident that Ira Bodenstein's experience will allow him to provide strong leadership and continuity within the region during the interim period."

Bodenstein is U.S. Trustee for Wisconsin and Northern Illinois (Region 11). Immediately prior to his appointment in May 1998, he was a partner in the bankruptcy and reorganization practice group of D'Ancona & Pflaum in Chicago. He received his law degree in 1980 from the University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Fla.

The United States Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases nationwide and intervenes in court to enforce the bankruptcy laws.