For Immediate Release
September 19, 2002

MARY E. MAY APPOINTED U.S. TRUSTEE FOR
KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, AND NEW MEXICO

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Mary E. May has been appointed United States Trustee for Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico (Region 20), it was announced today by Lawrence Friedman, Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees. May's appointment takes effect September 23, 2002.

"It gives me great pleasure to welcome Mary May to the U.S. Trustee Program, as she brings a solid record of bankruptcy experience to this important region," Friedman stated.

"I am pleased to be given this opportunity, and I look forward to working for Director Friedman and leading the talented and dedicated staff in each of the region's offices," May stated. "I am honored to serve under Attorney General Ashcroft and to assist in carrying out his mandate to eliminate fraud and abuse in the bankruptcy system."

Before her appointment, May was a partner with the Wichita law firm Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C., which she joined in 1983. Her practice included bankruptcy, creditors' rights, banking law and regulation, commercial law, and real estate and commercial lending. Since 1997, she also served as a Chapter 7 panel trustee in the District of Kansas.

May served on the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys from 1996 to 2002, and she is a long-time member of the Wichita Bar Association's Ethics Committee, acting as vice-chair from 1998 to 2002. She is also a frequent speaker on issues pertaining to bankruptcy, commercial law, attorney ethics, and professional opportunities for women lawyers.

May is active in many community and charitable organizations. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA of Wichita Inc.; the Board of Trustees of Leadership Wichita; the Board of Directors of the Kansas Humane Society; and the Advisory Board of the Kansas Childhood Hunger Identification Project.

May received her law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1983, and her undergraduate degree from Avila College in Kansas City, Mo., in 1979.

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 20 is headquartered in Wichita with additional offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Albuquerque.

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