I attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I earned my B.A. degree, with Honors, in Political Science.  (I completed my junior year in France at the University of Bordeaux and earned a Certificate in Political Studies for foreign students. I am fluent in French). I earned my J.D. degree in 2008 from UC Hastings College of the Law, and became a member of the State Bar of California the same year.

In 2009, I accepted the position of Staff Attorney to the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee (Oakland Division) for the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of California. In this position, and subsequently as Senior Counsel, I assisted the Trustee in reviewing and administering thousands of bankruptcy cases from the date of filing to their completion. I conducted section 341 Meetings of Creditors, represented the Trustee at Confirmation Hearings, argued Law & Motion matters and related litigation in the Bankruptcy Court, and was responsible for handling all appeals for our office.

In addition to California State Bar membership, I am a member of the bar of the Northern District of California, the Eastern District of California, and of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

I have been a speaker on several bankruptcy law panels, written articles published by the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT) and by Westlaw/Thomson Reuters, and I have served on the adjunct faculty of JFK University Law School.

On a more personal level . . . I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area; my mother worked as a public school teacher, and my father as an attorney, who later served as a California Superior Court Judge in Contra Costa County; I learned from an early age the value of education, hard work, and the importance of serving the public. I am married and have two children.

Jonathan N. Vaknin is a skilled attorney and real estate broker with extensive experience in consumer bankruptcy law.

Mr. Vaknin obtained his undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University in 2004 and his Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law in 2008.

Mr. Vaknin is admitted to practice law by the State Bar of California and is licensed to practice law before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California. In addition to his law licenses, Mr. Vaknin actively maintains a Real Estate Broker’s license with the California Bureau of Real Estate.