Salt Lake City, UT – This week the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit selected Michael Thomson and David Leigh to fill upcoming vacancies on the bankruptcy bench for the District of Utah. Each appointment is pending successful completion of a background investigation.

Thomson is currently a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig. Prior to that, he was a shareholder at Ray Quinney & Nebeker P.C., and a partner with Dorsey & Whitney. He has served as a Chapter 7 panel trustee, a Chapter 11 trustee, a federal equity receiver, and as a Sub-Chapter V trustee.
Thomson earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law where he graduated in the top 11% of his class and was an Articles Editor for the Utah Law Review.

Thomson is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the Character and Fitness Committee of the Utah State Bar, a board member of the Federal Bar Association’s Utah Chapter, and an appointed member of the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah. He also donates his time serving as director of the Utah Bar Foundation.

Once his background investigation is satisfactorily completed, he will replace Judge Joel Marker who is retiring from the bench on June 25, 2025.
Leigh is currently a shareholder and director with the firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker P.C. in Salt Lake City. Prior to this, he was an associate attorney with the firm of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. He has represented various parties in bankruptcy including Chapter 7 trustees as well as commercial debtors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.

Leigh received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law where he was managing editor for the Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation.

Leigh is a past president, the current vice president, and a long-standing trustee board member of the Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum. He currently serves as the CLE Coordinator for both the Bankruptcy Section and the Banking and Finance Section of the Utah State Bar. He also serves as a member of the Wyoming Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section Council. In addition, Leigh serves on the Board of Governors, the Western Region Executive Council, the Executive Council of the Bankruptcy Section, and is the current chair of the Legislative Committee of the Bankruptcy Section for the Commercial Law League of America. Leigh also currently serves as the Regional Chair for North America for the Lex Mundi International Insolvency, Bankruptcy, and Restructuring Practice Group. Finally, Leigh is an appointed member of the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah.

In 2024, Leigh received the Attorney of the Year Award from the Banking and Finance Law Section of the Utah State Bar.
Leigh will replace Judge Kevin Anderson who is retiring in September 2025.

The Tenth Circuit, with administrative headquarters in Denver, Colorado, encompasses the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

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