Judge Montali is a United States Bankruptcy Judge in San Francisco.  He was appointed April 23, 1993, and reappointed April 22, 2007.  His current term will expire in April 2021.  He also served as a member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit from 2000 to 2010, and as Chief Judge in 2009 and 2010.               

He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame in June 1961 and his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley in June 1968.  He was in private practice, specializing in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights from 1969 – 1993.

He has served in the following Judicial Organizations:

Judicial Conference of the United States, Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System; Liaison from the Bankruptcy Administration Committee to the Bankruptcy Rules Committee (involved in drafting rules for Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, including rules for direct appeals); several subcommittees of Bankruptcy Administration Committee; Ninth Circuit IT Committee and the Editorial Advisory Board of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal.

His professional organizations include: Business Bankruptcy Committee (member and prior secretary), Section of Corporation, Banking and Business Law, American Bar Association; National Bankruptcy Conference (former member);American College of Bankruptcy (Fellow); American Bankruptcy Institute (former member); California Continuing Education of the Bar; Joint Advisory Committee, Business Law Subcommittee; San Francisco Bar Association, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section (former Chair); Debtor/Creditor and Bankruptcy Subcommittee, Business Law Section, State Bar of California (former member); and the Bankruptcy Advisory Committee, Northern District of California (former member).