Year Honored: 1994
Birth: 1935 - 2020
Biography
Helen S. Balick graduated from Dickinson Law School in 1966, a fact that was made more impressive as Balick had not attended undergrad. During high school Balick began working as secretary at a local law firm, performing duties now assigned to paralegals. She was encouraged to apply to law school and performed well enough on the Graduate Records Test and Law School Aptitude Test to be admitted. Her husband, Bernard Balick was a classmate at Dickinson.
She was the 13th woman to be admitted to the Delaware Bar. Balick began working as staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Delaware, before becoming a Master in Family Court. She was then promoted to U.S Bankruptcy Judge, before she was appointed United States Magistrate for Delaware. Through this role she was the first woman to serve on the Federal Bench in Delaware. The position was split into two roles after a change in the bankruptcy code, with Balick serving as the sole bankruptcy judge from 1974 – 1993. She presided over cases such as Continental Airlines, Columbia Gas Systems, and Trans World Airlines, and established procedures to efficiently administer large cases that have been adopted by bankruptcy courts across the country.
Balick was a member of the Delaware, American, and Federal Bar Associations until her retirement in 1998. Upon her retirement, a resolution of the Delaware General Assembly commended Judge Balick’s exemplary service,” stating that “… the personal warmth, strength of character, judicial temperament, and demonstrated achievements of the honorable Helen S. Balick stand as an inspiration to all Delawareans, especially those young men and women who aspire to legal careers.”
During her years on the bench, Balick was also active in numerous professional organizations including the National Association of Women Judges, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. She was also on the boards of Dickinson Law, as both Vice-President and President; National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges; President of the Executive Board of the General Alumni Association; Jewish Historical Society of Delaware; Wilmington School Board; and was the first President of the Board of the Statewide Community Legal Aid Society.
For her service, Judge Balick has been awarded the Delaware Alliance of Professional Women Trailblazer Award (1984); Dickinson Outstanding Alumni Award (1987); Recognized by ‘Law 360’ as one of the most influential bankruptcy judges in U.S History (2016); Delaware State Bar Leadership Award; and Widener University Created the ‘Helen S. Balick Chair in Business Bankruptcy Law.’
Upon her death in 2020, Chief Justice Christopher S. Sontchi said “she was an outstanding jurist with an occasionally feisty judicial demeanor. She also had an excellent sense of humor. She was cordial to all and particularly kind to young lawyers, quickly learning their names. She leaves behind a formidable legacy. We all owe a great deal of gratitude to her for her 24 years of service to the court and the pioneering role she played in the DE Bar and in making our court what it is today.”
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Sources and Additional Readings
District of Delaware. Passing of the Honorable Helen S. Balick | District of Delaware | United States Bankruptcy Court. (2020, September 24). Retrieved January 11, 2022, from http://www.deb.uscourts.gov/news/passing-honorable-helen-s-balick
Helen S. Balick Obituary (2020) The News Journal. Legacy.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/delawareonline/name/helen-balick-obituary?pid=196857670
Pileggi, F. (2011, November 8). Helen S. Balick Chair in Business Bankruptcy Law. Delaware Corporate & Commercial Litigation Blog. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.delawarelitigation.com/2011/11/articles/commentary/helen-s-balick-chair-in-business-bankruptcy-law/
YouTube. (2018, February 24). Helen S Balick - US bankruptcy judge, district of Delaware - 1/3/1985. YouTube. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-zFUTF26VM
- Collections: 1994