Dean Kirby, Jr.

Dean is a shareholder of Kirby & McGuinn. His practice concentrates in the areas of Commercial Bankruptcy, Lending & Commercial Transactions, and Creditor Rights. Dean was born October 1, 1954 in Lincoln Nebraska. He received his B.A. in 1976 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received his J.D. from the University of California- Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1979. He served as Associate Editor of the California Law Review. Dean was an adjunct professor of law at San Diego's Thomas Jefferson School of Law from 1986 through 1991, teaching Bankruptcy. Dean has been appointed to serve as an examiner and as a trustee in chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. He has also served as a chapter 7 trustee. He has served as counsel for chapter 7 and chapter 11 trustees, official creditor committees and for court appointed receivers. In 2005, he was honored by the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California as Mediator of the Year. Dean served as a member of the Insolvency Law Committee of the State Bar of California (Business Law Section) from 1999 to 2002. He has been named as a Director Emeritus of the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum. Dean is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Commercial Law League of America, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the United Trustee's Association and the California Creditor’s Bar Association. Dean is certified by the American Board of Certification as a specialist in the field of Creditor Rights. He is also certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in Bankruptcy. He is the only California lawyer to have achieved certification in both Creditor Rights and Bankruptcy. Dean’s blog “Bankruptcy Beach” covers developments in bankruptcy law from a creditor’s perspective, with an emphasis on California and the Ninth Circuit. Dean is rated AV® by Martindale-Hubbell, their highest rating of skill and integrity, indicating very high to pre-eminent legal ability and very high ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the bar.