The Good Ole Days

Minnesota Litigator has an interesting guest post today by retired bankruptcy judge Dennis O'Brien. What struck me was the arc of Judge O'Brien's career. After graduating from William Mitchell in 1974, he practiced at a small firm in Duluth for a couple of years, then went solo as a general practitioner. Just a few years later, in 1983, he applied to become the part-time bankruptcy judge in Duluth. Apparently he was the only applicant--mainly because the structure and jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court was being gutted and in complete disarray. Even so, it is impossible for me to imagine that any similar job for a federal appointment (even one that was doomed to last just six months or less) would not be swarmed with applicants today.