THE luck of the draw gave the biggest bankruptcy in history to the second-most junior bankruptcy judge in Manhattan.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's case was randomly assigned to United States Bankruptcy Judge James Peck. That puts the fate of US$613 billion in claims before a judge whose largest case since joining the bench in January 2006 was the US$3-billion reorganization of Quebecor Corp.

In his courtroom, Peck, 62, who taught at Rutgers University, will be giving orders to Harvey Miller, 75, the dean of the bankruptcy bar and a lecturer at Yale, Columbia and New York Universities.

Also subject to Peck's gavel will be Martin Bienenstock, 55, representing some of Lehman's creditors. He was chief lawyer for Enron Corp, which in 2001 filed what was then the largest bankruptcy in American history.

"Peck's a very experienced bankruptcy litigator," said Bienenstock. "I think everyone involved should be pleased that you have someone thoughtful, studious and experienced. The fact that he hasn't been on bench for many years doesn't mean he's not experienced."

Former litigator

Peck and his staff decline comment on pending cases. Miller didn't return phone calls and e-mails from Bloomberg News.

Before becoming a judge, Peck, a native New Yorker, worked for 16 years as a bankruptcy litigator at Schulte Roth & Zabel, a New York law firm that specializes in representing hedge funds. Before that, he was a partner at Duane Morris in Philadelphia.

Since his appointment, he has developed a reputation among bankruptcy lawyers for thoroughness and his deference to the market in his rulings. In a 2007 decision related to the bankruptcy of satellite phone maker Iridium LLC, he broke legal ground in a decision that may offer clues as to how he'll approach the Lehman case.

"People won't be able to know too much about how I'm thinking in a case, because I don't even know sometimes," Peck said earlier at the 2008 American Bankruptcy Institute conference.