The Fifth Circuit has selected Aubrey L. Thomas as the next bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio division. Aubrey L. Thomas has served as the Assistant United States Trustee for the San Antonio field office of the United States Trustee since July 2021. In that role, Ms. Thomas exhibited a strong commitment to public service and excellence in the practice of bankruptcy law.
Ms. Thomas was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She received a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and in arts management from Northern Arizona University. Later, Ms. Thomas attended law school at Lewis & Clark Law School, in Portland, Oregon, serving as the editor-in-chief of the Lewis & Clark Law Review and graduating magna cum laude. Ms. Thomas began her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Jack Landau, at both the Oregon Court of Appeals and then the Oregon Supreme Court.
After her clerkship, Ms. Thomas returned to Arizona and worked at the law firm of Davis Miles McGuire Gardner, PLLC and later the Flagstaff Law Group, representing debtors and creditors in chapter 7, 13, and 11 bankruptcies. During her time in Arizona, Ms. Thomas obtained her Arizona State Bar certification as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy and was an active member of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court. Upon relocating to Texas, Ms. Thomas planted deep roots in the San Antonio legal community, joining the Larry E. Kelly Bankruptcy American Inn of Court and working on the 2024 WDTX Local Rules Committee.
Ms. Thomas and her husband, whom she met at NAU, share three children and spend the majority of their free time attending music lessons, sports games, and other school activities. In her free time, Ms. Thomas enjoys reading, attending classical music concerts, and paddle boarding the rivers of the Texas Hill Country.
Please join us in welcoming Aubrey L. Thomas as our newest bankruptcy judge, effective April 6, 2026.
Sincerely,
Chief Judge Craig A. Gargotta
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas