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Court and Community News

Thursday, April 4, 2024
Bacher Selected For U.S. Bankruptcy Court In New Hampshire; Hedges selected as U.S. Magistrate judge for District of Massachusetts

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Bacher Selected For U.S. Bankruptcy Court In
New Hampshire

Chief Judge David J. Barron of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit announced today that Kimberly A. Bacher has been selected to fill the upcoming vacancy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire that will result from Chief Judge Bruce A. Harwood's retirement on Aug. 11, 2024. Bacher will be appointed to the bankruptcy bench following Harwood's retirement and upon FBI clearance.

Bacher has been practicing bankruptcy law for the entirety of her nearly 20-year legal career. She is a member of the state bars of New Hampshire and Illinois, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, among other federal jurisdictions.

For the past 12 years, Bacher has been a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Trustee's Office, first serving in Chicago, Illinois, before transferring to Concord, New Hampshire. For the past several years, in addition to her New Hampshire caseload, she has also received assignments from the Chicago U.S. Trustee's Office. She also serves as the U.S. trustee's appellate coordinator for the Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern and Western districts of Wisconsin and is a member of the U.S. Trustee Criminal Enforcement Working Group.

A first-generation college graduate, Bacher received a B.A. from the University
of Vermont in 2001 and her J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law in 2005. Following law school, Bacher completed a two-year clerkship with Hon. Jack B. Schmetterer of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. After her clerkship, she practiced bankruptcy law in Chicago, Illinois, at Goldberg Kohn from 2007 to 2009, and at Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC from 2009 to 2012.

Bacher is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association, was on the board of the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation from 2011 to 2013, and was a member of the Bankruptcy Court Liaison Committee for the Northern District of Illinois from 2013 to 2017, and of the Public Service Committee of the New Hampshire Women's Bar Association in 2023. Outside of the legal community, she is a volunteer with the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women, where she helps incarcerated women prepare to reintegrate into the community. In 2018, Bacher coordinated the creation of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) chapter in New Hampshire, and has since taught and organized dozens of presentations to young adults about financial management and the consequences of credit abuse.

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Hedges selected as U.S. Magistrate judge for
District of Massachusetts

The judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts have selected Jessica D. Hedges to be a magistrate judge, subject to the required background investigation. When appointed, Hedges will sit in Boston. 

Hedges began her legal career as a term law clerk at the Massachusetts Superior Court. She then entered private practice at a small Boston criminal defense and civil rights firm. She is currently a founding senior partner of the firm Hedges & Tumposky LLP. 

Hedges served a six-plus-year term as Criminal Justice Act Board chair for the district.  She oversaw recruitment efforts for the CJA Panels in Boston, Worcester and Springfield; initiated substantial revisions to the district’s CJA Plan; worked with the federal defender to provide regular trainings to the panel; undertook a major overhaul of the district’s CJA Mentorship Program; and helped to navigate the significant challenges faced by CJA Panel members and their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her tenure, Hedges has been a staunch and consistent advocate for an independent defense bar in the district, and she provided valuable feedback to the court on the composition and administration of the CJA Board and the CJA Panel. 

Hedges currently teaches at Boston College and previously taught at Northeastern University School of Law. She is a graduate of Boston College and received her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.