As time marches on, so does Bankruptcy Judge John Laney

Those staff members who know U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John T. Laney III the best gave him a clock Friday afternoon.

How appropriate for a man who seems to be outrunning time. And it’s not like he didn’t need one. The clock that has been in his courtroom is not working.

The gift was to commemorate 30 years as a bankruptcy judge in the Middle District of Georgia. At 74, Laney, a Columbus native, continues to work full time in an intense and demanding corner of the federal judicial system.

Ultimately, he’s a judge who must walk the fine line between returning what money remains to those who are owed and giving those who file for bankruptcy the lawful protection afforded, as well as the second chance intended by the law.

“I truly believe he sees this as a calling,” said U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land, who attended a luncheon in Laney’s honor.

It must be a calling, because he is essentially doing it for free and has been for about eight years.

“Judge Laney in his 30 years has seen a lot of clerks come and go; and he has seen a lot of judges who were on the bench when he was appointed and have left; and he has seen judges appointed and left,” said Bill Tanner, a former clerk for the Middle District Bankruptcy Court. “He just keeps on staying. And it is almost like he didn’t get the pamphlet from HR explains the judicial benefits available to federal judges.”

He could have left with full pay in his retirement years.

“If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Laney said Friday just before posing for pictures with fellow bankruptcy judges and attorneys who have clerked for him.

So, he reports to the downtown Columbus office in One Arsenal Place each day and handles a workload that tops 100 cases.

In fact, two years ago, he accepted a 14-year re-appointment to the job.

“He’s an optimist,” Land joked.

Laney not only has longevity, but also he is good at what he does, Land pointed out earlier this year when he spoke at a ceremony honoring Laney’s 50 years in the legal profession.

“I can speak from personal experience that John is rarely wrong,” Land said then. “Appeals from bankruptcy judges are initially heard by the district judge. And I do not recall a single occasion during my 14 years on the federal bench where I have reversed John. I also do not believe any of those affirmances have been overturned by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.”

That’s a legal track record that is difficult to argue against.

He is “a man of integrity, a man of honesty and man of fairness to everybody,” Tanner said, echoing the remarks of those who have worked alongside Laney for years.

Laney, who spent 16 years practicing law in Columbus before his appointment to the bench, has a clear understanding of his difficult job.

“People who are creditors don’t want to be here and people who are debtors don’t want to here,” Laney said. “And yet, the bankruptcy system performs an important function that they don’t have in every country.”

And Columbus is fortunate to have a man of Laney’s caliber and character in this important, and oftentimes underappreciated, role.

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 9:07 AM with the headline "As time marches on, so does Bankruptcy Judge John Laney."