WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lawrence Friedman, Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST), announced today that he has appointed Joseph A. Guzinski as EOUST General Counsel. The EOUST is the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Trustee Program, a component of the Justice Department that promotes integrity and efficiency in the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. The EOUST supervises the operations of 21 regional U.S. Trustees and 95 field offices covering 88 federal judicial districts.

"Joe Guzinski is an experienced bankruptcy attorney who has served in varied capacities since he joined the U.S. Trustee Program in 1996," Friedman stated. "I am confident that, as General Counsel, Joe will provide leadership and direction for all attorneys in the U.S. Trustee Program. His vision for the Office of General Counsel is one I share: that OGC will provide support to the field offices both by giving guidance to our attorneys in the field and by providing additional personnel when particularly large or difficult cases or issues arise."

Guzinski has served as EOUST Acting General Counsel since June 2000. He was also the EOUST's Assistant Director for Research and Planning from 1997 through May 2001, overseeing activities relating to strategic planning, statistical research, public information, and consumer affairs. Before joining the EOUST in 1996, Guzinski worked in the bankruptcy sections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Resolution Trust Corporation. Additionally, he served as Special Counsel to the FDIC's and RTC's Drexel Task Force. Prior to that, Guzinski was an associate at the Baltimore law firm of Frank Bernstein Conaway and Goldman, where his work included litigating bankruptcy cases arising from Maryland's savings and loan crisis.

Guzinski obtained his J.D. in 1983 from the University of Virginia Law School in Charlottesville, Va., and his Bachelor of Arts degree in American History in 1976 from Towson State College in Towson, Md.