Judge Derek J. Baker was appointed as a Bankruptcy Judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on February 19, 2025. He serves in the Philadelphia Division. Prior to his appointment, Judge Baker maintained a private practice with Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s Philadelphia and Princeton offices. Judge Baker’s practice focused on Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy issues throughout the country representing all major players in workouts, restructurings, foreclosures and bankruptcies. Judge Baker’s primary practice involved first chair trial and appellate work in state and federal courts (including bankruptcy courts) and arbitration panels, addressing varying restructuring issues ranging from enforcement of creditor remedies to contested confirmation hearings on plans of reorganization. Judge Baker is a former chair of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference. He served on various local rules committees and is a Certified Mediator, have served on the Bankr. E.D. Pa. Mediation Panel. In March 2025, Judge Baker was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. Judge Baker obtained his B.A. with University Honors from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude) and a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law (magna cum laude), where he was a member of the Law Review. Judge Baker has also served as a Director, President and immediate Past President of the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation, a statewide non-profit whose mission is focused on financial education and providing credit access for people with disabilities to acquire assistive technology.

Mr. Engel is an associate at the firm of Smith Kane Holman, LLC, where he practices primarily in the areas of bankruptcy and debt counseling.  He earned his B.A. from Millersville University and his J.D. from Temple Law.  Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Engel worked for the U.S. Department of Labor and clerked for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eric L. Frank.  

Matt is a graduate from Miami University, where he earned a BA, triple-majoring in Philosophy, History and Women’s Studies in 2012. Matt continued his academic career by earning a MA in Philosophy and graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Stony Brook University in 2014. As a graduate student, Matt presented his philosophical work as a key-note speaker in philosophy conferences throughout the United States and abroad. Matt later joined Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law (Penn State Law), where he earned his Juris Doctor in 2018. During his time at Penn State Law, Matt served as a legal intern for: the Legal Aid Society of Columbus; Shoaf and Wencker, LLC, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Matt also became a finalist for Penn State Law’s Moot Court team and served as an executive board member of Penn State Law’s Family Law Society and Black Law Student’s Association. In 2020, Matt returned to Miami University to earn his MBA certificate. Upon graduating Penn State Law, Matt served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Jackie A. Bernard in the Blair County Court of Common Pleas. In this position, Matt attended court proceedings daily, drafted judicial opinions for criminal and civil matters, and acted as a jurist in civil hearings. After his tenure as a Judicial Law Clerk, Matt practiced as a Prosecutor/Trial Attorney for the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in Harrisburg. During this time, Matt investigated, prosecuted, and settled with utility companies for violating state and federal public utility regulations in administrative, state, and federal courts.