Salt Lake attorney William T. Thurman will replace Judge John H. Allen on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah.
Allen retired July 15, 2001, after 18 years on the bench and died July 21, 2001, from complications of Parkinson's disease.
Thurman, 53, has practiced law in Salt Lake City since graduating from the University of Utah Law School in 1974. He specializes in bankruptcy law at the firm of McKay, Burton, & Thurman.
"I've always thought that I'd like to become a judge," Thurman said, "but the opportunities of becoming one are so few and far between."
Thurman has set numerous goals for his new position, including implementing electronic case filing and addressing changes spurred by the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001.
Thurman is expected to be sworn in by U.S. District Chief Judge Dee Benson sometime in early September. The judgeship is a 14-year appointment, after which time he can apply for a renewal.
He and his wife, Sue, and have two grown children, Patrick Thurman and Shelley Jensen.
Thurman's father, William Taft Thurman, served eight years as a U.S. attorney for Utah, having been appointed by presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.