PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
January 6, 2003

RICHARD F. CLIPPARD APPOINTED
U.S. TRUSTEE FOR TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Richard F. Clippard has been appointed United States Trustee for Tennessee and Kentucky (Region 8), it was announced today by Lawrence Friedman, Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees. Clippard’s appointment takes effect January 21, 2003.

“I am delighted to welcome Richard Clippard to the U.S. Trustee Program,” Friedman stated. “His extensive background in civil and criminal enforcement, including his recent service as interim United States Attorney, will aid the Program immeasurably as we carry out our Civil Enforcement Initiative and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies on criminal prosecutions.”

“I am honored to be appointed as United States Trustee,” Clippard stated. “Having spent nearly 15 years in the United States Attorney’s Office, I am well aware of the critical role played by the United States Trustee Program in ensuring the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system. Under Director Friedman, I look forward to leading the career professionals in Tennessee and Kentucky as we work to implement the Attorney General’s mandate of combating fraud and abuse in the bankruptcy system.”

Clippard served as interim United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, in Nashville, from May 2001 through February 2002. During that time he was also the Chief of the Civil Division for the Nashville Office of the United States Attorney, a position he held since 2000 after joining the office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 1988. From 1983 to 1988, Clippard was a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Small Business Administration in Nashville; in 1987, he was appointed Eastern Regional Counsel of the Year. Clippard practiced law with the Nashville firm of Butler, Lackey, Holt & Snedeker from 1980 to 1983.

From 1993 through 2002, Clippard served as the ethics officer for the Nashville Office of the United States Attorney, handling ethics inquiries and providing training on ethics matters. He is also a frequent legal education instructor on topics relating to civil litigation and criminal prosecution, including criminal investigations in bankruptcy fraud.

Clippard received his law degree in 1980 from the University of Mississippi Law School in Oxford, Miss., and his undergraduate degree in 1976 from the University of Mississippi.

The United States Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws.

The Program has 21 regions and 95 field offices. Region 8 is headquartered in Memphis, with offices in Nashville and Chattanooga, Tenn., and Louisville and Lexington, Ky.

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