One of the leading figures in the development of the consumer bankruptcy field, Henry J. Sommer, has lectured at Penn Law and currently serves on the Toll Public Interest Center Advisory Board. The Biddle Law Library Archives recently processed Sommer's papers and the collection is now open for research.
After graduating from Harvard, Sommer worked for Community Legal Services in Philadelphia as Project Head of its Consumer Law Project until 1996. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of Collier on Bankruptcy, a leading bankruptcy treatise.
The Henry J. Sommer Papers, 1975-2005, primarily reflect the first phase of the lawyer's career. The collection includes papers Sommer accumulated while serving for the National Bankruptcy Conference, materials from Continuing Legal Education seminars and other meetings where Sommer lectured, copies of published manuscripts and articles written by Sommer, and videotapes of Sommer and colleagues holding practitioner oriented seminars on the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978.
The Archives considers the Sommer papers the foundation of its growing effort to collect in the area of consumer bankruptcy. We look forward to receiving additional papers covering other phases of Sommer's distinguished career. We also recorded an oral history interview conducted with him, which is available online here.
The finding aid for the Henry J. Sommer Papers is located here. If you are interested in learning more about this collection, contact Jordon Steele or stop by the Archives.
