Hon. Michael B. Slade

Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream: Mint Chocolate Chip

Judge Slade was appointed on November 24, 2024, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit as a United States

Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Slade fills the vacancy of Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar who retired on August 30, 2024.

Judge Slade earned his bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and his law degree, with honors, from Harvard Law School. Prior to being appointed, he was a partner in the Chicago office of the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, where he had a general litigation practice that included substantial work in bankruptcy courts around the country.

In March 2024, he was named “Bankruptcy Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation. Judge Slade also represented indigent clients on a pro bono basis for more than twenty years; in 2021 he received the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In addition to his law practice, Judge Slade taught trial advocacy to young lawyers through the Kirkland Institute for Trial Advocacy and has taught at the University of Chicago Law School.

He served for ten years on the board of CARPLS, Cook County’s largest legal aid provider, including two years as the board president. He currently serves on the board of the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Chicago chapter of THRIVE Scholars, a
nonprofit program that focuses on expanding educational resources for students in under-resourced communities to help them succeed in college and in their careers.