Paul G. Hyman Jr.
Paul George Hyman, Jr. (born September 17, 1952) is a judge for the United States bankruptcy court, Southern District of Florida. He was formerly Chief judge. Early life and education. Hyman received a Bachelor degree in economics from Vanderbilt University in 1974. He received a Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of Miami School of Law. Legal career. Hyman began his legal career as an assistant attorney for the Britton Cohen Kaufman & Schantz from 1977 to 1979, practicing commercial litigation. In 1979, he became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida . In 1981, he returned to Britton Cohen Kaufman & Schantz, where he represented debtors, creditors and trustees in all types of bankruptcy proceedings. In 1983, he moved to Denver to join the firm of Holme Roberts & Owens where he continued his bankruptcy practice representing United Bank of Colorado and large corporate debtors in their Chapter 11 proceedings. He became a partner at Holme Roberts in January 1986. In October 1993, Hyman was nominated to serve as a United States District Judge of the Southern District of Florida and became Chief Judge in 2006. Hyman has presided over many notable cases including  Southeast Banking Corp., SunCruz Casinos, Burt Reynolds Production, Palm Beach Princess Cruises, Palm Beach Finance Partners, Mercedes Homes, Ginn-LA St. Lucie and Marc H. Roberts. Hyman serves as the co-chairperson of the Bankruptcy Judicial Liaison Committee and as a member of the Business Law Section's executive council and the Archives and History Committee of the Florida Bar for approximately 15 years. He served as Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida from October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2015. On January 3, 2018, Hyman retired and began serving as a  recalled Judge for the Southern District of Florida for the purpose of conducting settlement conferences. Personal life. Hyman was married for 27 years to attorney Judy Hyman, who died in 2010. Hyman is father to two children, twins Zachary and Kaylee. He later married Kelly A. Hyman, who has been called by Forbes as a "a modern day Erin Brockovitch" who is an Australian- American lawyer, media commentary and Television legal analyst.