Court Overview

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico is composed of two full-time judges, their staffs, and the Clerk's Office. The court and Clerk's Office are located in downtown Albuquerque in the Dennis Chavez Federal Building and United States Courthouse at the southwest corner of 5th Street and Gold Avenue SW. All bankruptcy cases for the entire state of New Mexico are filed and processed in this office. The Clerk's Office, led by Norman H. Meyer, Jr., Clerk of Court, assists the court in managing its caseload of approximately 9000 new cases per year. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico seeks to be a leader among courts in processing cases in a timely manner and in promptly discharging debtors.

In addition to the Clerk of Court, the Clerk's Office is staffed by approximately 37 deputy clerks who are involved in various duties entailing processing of court documents and administration of the court. The court strives to provide the best service possible to the public, practitioners and other members of the court family.

The bankruptcy court falls within the administration of the judicial branch of the United States Government. Salaries of court employees are set in the Court Personnel System (CPS) as opposed to the general schedule (GS) which establishes salaries of civil service employees. Although salary, leave accrual, health and life insurance benefits as well as the retirement system for judicial employees are comparable to those for civil service employees, judicial employees are considered "exempt" employees and serve at the will of the court.

The Court Personnel System provides the opportunity for new employees who perform exceptionally well to advance quickly to full performance, thus shortening the developmental period. The court provides extensive training in use of CM-ECF, its automated case processing and electronic filing system, and procedures in all areas of court work. Ongoing training is provided so that employees are up-to-date in automation and substantive bankruptcy knowledge.

The bankruptcy court observes ten public holidays per year. Employees accrue 13 days of paid vacation (annual leave) per year for the first three years of employment, and up to 26 days per year thereafter. Judicial employees are paid biweekly (26 pay periods per year) and accrue four hours of sick leave per pay period in addition to annual leave. Benefits for permanent employees also include participation in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plan; the Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) plan; and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which includes agency automatic and matching contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), a portable component of FERS. Employees may also participate in long-term disability, long-term care and flexible spending programs available through and administered by private companies.