Bess Creswell was appointed to serve as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Alabama on April 16, 2018 and became Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Middle District of Alabama on October 17, 2020. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a partner in Burr & Forman LLP’s Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy Group where she represented debtors, creditors, and committees in workouts, debt restructuring, and bankruptcy cases. She earned her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, her M.B.A. from the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, and her B.A. from Campbell University. After law school, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Ray C. Mullins in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. She presently serves on the Policy and Procedure Committee and the Endowment Committee for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and is a member of the Alabama Bankruptcy Assistance Project Advisory Board.

In October of 2015, Judge Oldshue took the bench as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Alabama, in Mobile, Alabama.  Prior to taking the bench, Judge Oldshue was a shareholder in the firm of Rosen Harwood, P.A in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he served as the Managing Shareholder of the firm's Creditor's Rights Department. While in practice, Judge Oldshue’s memberships included the Alabama State Bar, where he served as Chairman of the Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section, the Tuscaloosa County Bar, American Bankruptcy Institute (member, Commercial Fraud Task Force, Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee, and Consumer Bankruptcy Committee), the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, and the Commercial Law League of America. In 2001, Judge Oldshue became one of only seven attorneys in the state to achieve board certification as a specialist in creditors’ rights law. Judge Oldshue received his Bachelor of Science degree, and his juris doctorate and master’s of business administration concurrently, from The University of Alabama. 

Judge Robinson is an expert in bankruptcy, banking and commercial law and is a frequent speaker for CLE programs on related topics.  He earned his B.B.A. from Georgia State University and his J.D., summa cum laude, from Cumberland School of Law, where he served as Executive Editor of the Cumberland-Samford Law Review. Before going on the bench, Judge Robinson was a partner with Burr & Forman LLP, where he practiced for 32 years. His practice concentrated on commercial litigation, banking and bankruptcy. He is a member of the Alabama State Bar.