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Honorable Paul W. Bonapfel

United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Georgia

Staff Information

Judicial Assistant	(404) 215-1018
Courtroom Deputy Clerk	(404) 215-1021
Law Clerk	(404) 215-1020

Chambers e-mail: pwbchambers@ganb.uscourts.gov

Judge Tabs

Hearing Information

• Available Hearing Dates - Atlanta

• Available Hearing Dates - Rome

• Open Calendar Procedures

• Form of Notice

• Important Instructions re: Scheduling Hearings on Motions for Relief from the Automatic Stay in Ch 7 cases

General Information

• Communications with Chambers by e-mail

• Motions to Extend or Impose Stay under 362(c)

• Lien Stripping Forms:

   Form Motion to Strip Lien
   Proposed Order to Strip Lien
   Plan Provisions to Strip Lien

• Engagement of Professionals in Chapter 11 Cases for ATLANTA & ROME

• Guide to Small Business Reorganization Act

About the Judge

Appointment Date:	April 10, 2002
Education:	B.A., cum laude, Florida State University, 1972 J.D., University of Georgia, magna cum laude, 1975
Prior Employment:	Law Clerk, Hon. Wilbur D. Owens, Jr., United States Judge, Middle District of Georgia, June 1975-June 1977. Associate, Nicholson & Meals (E. Penn Nicholson, III and Robert N. Meals), June 1977-October 1980. Associate (October 1980–March 1982) and Member (April 1982–April 2002), Lamberth, Bonapfel, Cifelli & Stokes, P.A., now Lamberth, Cifelli, Stokes, Ellis & Nason, P.A.
Professional Organizations:	• State Bar of Georgia, Admitted June 1975. Also admitted to Supreme Court of the United States, United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, Georgia Supreme Court, and Georgia Court of Appeals. • Adjunct professor of law, Emory University School of Law (Spring terms, 2010, 2012), and Mercer University School of Law (Spring terms, 2008-14). • Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy. • Recipient of David W. Pollard Achievement Award, presented annually by the Bankruptcy Section of the Atlanta Bar Association to a lawyer exhibiting high standards of professionalism and ethics in the bankruptcy practice, June 2000. • Previous bar-related leadership and activities: Bankruptcy Section, State Bar of Georgia, Officer 1985-89, Chair, 1989-90; Bankruptcy Section, Atlanta Bar Association, Officer, 1984-88, Chair, 1988-89; Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute, Board of Directors 1988–2002, Officer, 1990-92, President, 1992-93, Chair, 1993-94, and Chair of Faculty and Program Committee for several years. • Speaker at continuing legal education programs presented by Federal Judicial Center of the U.S. Courts; Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia; Bankruptcy Section of the Atlanta Bar Association; Coastal Bankruptcy Law Institute; American Bankruptcy Institute; University of Texas School of Law; Oklahoma Bar Association; National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees; Federal Bar Association; Committees on Bankruptcy and Consumer Financial Services of Business Law Section of American Bar Association; Middle District of Georgia Bankruptcy Law Institute; Mid-South Commercial Law Institute; Tennessee Bar Association; Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal; and Turnaround Management Association. • Member of National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, American Bar Association, and American Bankruptcy Institute
Publications:	Chapter 13 Practice and Procedure (Thomson/West) (Coauthor with Hon. W. Homer Drake, Jr., and Adam M. Goodman) Individual Chapter 11 Cases Under BAPCPA, 25 AMER. BANKR. INST. J., No. 6, 1 (July/August 2006). Practice in the Grand Style, 8 GA. BAR J., No. 5, 63 (April 2003), Officers of the Court, 8 GA. BAR J., No. 6, 83 (June 2003), and Officers of the Court, 9 GA. BAR J., No. 1, 70 (August 2003). Minority Challenges to At-Large Elections: The Dilution Problem, 10 GA. L. REV. 353 (1976). The Legal Nature of Public Purpose Authorities: Governmental, Private or Neither?, 8 GA. L. REV. 680 (1974).