Marvin Isgur has been a United States Bankruptcy Judge since February 1, 2004. Judge Isgur’s first bankruptcy experience was as an expert witness before the bankruptcy court and then as a principal of a number of real estate partnerships that became chapter 11 debtors.

Judge Isgur received his bachelors degree from the University of Houston in 1974. In 1978, he received an MBA, with honors from Stanford University. Between 1978 and 1990, Judge Isgur was an executive with a large real estate development company in Houston. In 1987, he returned to the University of Houston where he received a law degree (with high honors) in 1990. Between 1990 and 2004, Judge Isgur represented trustees and debtors in chapter 11 and chapter 7 cases. He also represented various parties in 14 separate chapter 9 bankruptcy cases.

Judge Isgur has written over 150 memorandum opinions. He was one of the first judges to issue opinions interpreting the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.

Judge Isgur is a volunteer with the Houston Urban Debate League, a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the Houston Independent School District to bring policy debate to high school students. He is one of the principal organizers of the annual University of Texas Consumer Bankruptcy Conference in Galveston, Texas and is a frequent speaker at continuing education programs.

When his volunteer and court activities permit, Judge Isgur spends his weekends sailing on Galveston Bay.

Miriam Goot

Attorney
Houston, TX

Miriam Goot was born in Riga, Latvia and moved to Houston, Texas in 1980. Miriam was raised in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Psychology in 1999. Following graduation, Miriam attended St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, TX. During law school Miriam clerked for a small consumer bankruptcy firm for two years where she realized her desire and passion to practice bankruptcy law. Miriam was a Judicial Intern to the Honorable Leif M. Clark for six months before graduating from law school in 2002. After law school, Miriam returned to Houston and has practiced bankruptcy law with the law firm of Walker & Patterson, P.C. since 2003. Miriam’s practice consists primarily of consumer bankruptcy representation. A large portion of her practice focuses on all forms of bankruptcy litigation in representing debtors, creditors and chapter 7 trustees. Miriam is the vice-chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the Houston Bar Association. She is currently a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Houston Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers. For the last year, Miriam has been a participant in the Honorable David R. Jones’ Bankruptcy litigation class. Miriam is fluent in Russian.