DOJ Taps New Chief Bankruptcy Watchdog With Consumer Expertise

The US Justice Department has appointed as its top bankruptcy watchdog Tara Twomey, a bankruptcy rights expert who has focused on consumer credit issues, mortgage origination, and student loans.

Twomey, who is the executive director of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center, will start the position on Feb. 27. She will will replace Clifford White, who retired last year after 17 years in the Justice Department’s US Trustee Program.

The US Trustee Program oversees consumer and corporate bankruptcy cases. It appoints court-supervised trustees to liquidate companies that aren’t operating. The office also sets up and appoints members to committees to represent lower-ranking creditors in larger corporate reorganizations.

“The United States Trustee Program plays a critical role in ensuring the fairness of the bankruptcy process — including by providing impartial oversight and protecting consumer debtors from fraud and abuse,” said US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I am confident that Ms. Twomey’s leadership will advance USTP’s mission to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for debtors, creditors, and the public.”

The Trustee Program includes an executive office in Washington DC, and about 1,000 employees in 90 field offices across the country, according to the Justice Department.

Twomey is also of-counsel at the National Consumer Law Center, a national research and advocacy organization that focuses on justice in consumer financial transactions, especially for low-income and elderly consumers, according to the center.