The Hon. Ronald Sargis, ’82, is the former Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California. He was appointed to the bench in the Eastern District in 2010.
In January 2024, he was reappointed to serve as a bankruptcy judge for a second 14-year term on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California.
Sargis earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University in 1979 and a Juris Doctor degree, with distinction, from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1982. After law school, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Loren S. Dahl. He, then, worked in private practice for 26 years with the firm Hefner, Stark & Marois. At the firm, he became a partner in 1989 and a managing partner from 1997-1998.
Judge Sargis’ legal practice included commercial law, PACA rights enforcement and litigation, fair debt collection practices and fair credit reporting compliance and litigation, oil and gas law, and federal and state legislation and regulation relating to fair debt collection practices, fair credit reporting, homestead and other exemptions, and HIPPA regulations and compliance. In addition, Judge Sargis helped draft legislation relating to debt collection, including laws about identity theft, child support, and hospital debt collection practices.
During Sargis’ first term on the bench, he served on the Ninth Circuit Conference of Chief Bankruptcy Judges Committee and served for three years on the Executive Committee for that conference. More of his accomplishments include serving as the Chair of that Conference for the 2021-2022 year, during which he was the Chief Bankruptcy Judge Observer to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council and the Ninth Circuit District Court Judges Conference.
In addition, Judge Sargis has also served on the California State-Federal Judicial Council. He serves on the Legislative Committee for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. He is on the executive committee for the Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court.
Judge Sargis was an adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law from 2014 to 2020, teaching a course on bankruptcy. He has also served as a Chancellor to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church from 1993 to 2000.
Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law is celebrating members of its vast alumni network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is part of a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law alumni.
Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary.