Richard S. Lauter, Partner and Leader of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group, authored, "U.S. Trustee Program: Is Reduced Discretion the Better Part of Valor?” which was published in the May 2013 issue of the ABI Journal.
This article examines the considerable expansion of powers granted to and exercised by the United States Trustee Program (the “USTP”) since its creation in 1979. Mr. Lauter discusses the pitfalls associated with increased prosecutorial discretion by the U.S. Trustee, including increased transaction costs and recommends a restructuring of the USTP to reflect the present day needs of debtors, creditors, and the bankruptcy system as a whole.
