Bankruptcy Mastery

Becoming a better bankruptcy lawyer

Expect The World, New Bankruptcy Lawyers!

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

New Bankruptcy Lawyers Know Only Law

The New York Times challenges us to "Expect The World."  For the new bankruptcy lawyer, that world has limited horizons.  Can we work together to change that?  The front page piece of the Grey Lady recently exposed that newly admitted  lawyers can't practice law.  Had the reporter contacted me for input, I would have pointed to this site as an attack on the problem. After all, that's what … [Continue reading...]

How Long Can Underwater Lien Hold Its Breath?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

What happens to an underwater mortgage after a Chapter 7?  That was the sorta metaphysical question my newbie luncheon partner asked at the NACBA workshops this fall. She knew that you could not strip off a consensual lien in a Chapter 7.  So, just what was the situation post discharge? I really like questions 1) for which there is an answer,  and 2) for which I know the … [Continue reading...]

Consumer Is A Bad Word

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

I'm not usually at a loss for words, but I'm certainly less than excited about the word "consumer". As a moniker for our potential clients, it's inadequate.  After all, how perverse to identify them by a trait we'd like to change, consuming. Yet, I'm struggling for another word.  "Debtors"  is a word the public confuses with "creditors".  "Individuals" is insipid, and "families" excludes the … [Continue reading...]

What Are We Worth As Bankruptcy Lawyers?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

I sat with a new client discussing his bankruptcy options, puzzling how to price a Chapter 7 that's fair to me and fair to the client. To the client, it no doubt looked like a "simple" Chapter 7:  a job, a couple of pieces of underwater property, no taxes, no spouse,  no sweat, right? To me, it looks like a minor quagmire: There's an income blip in the look back period Client's parent … [Continue reading...]

Tell Them Apart: Exempt and Exclude

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice, Exemptions

New  and not so new bankruptcy lawyers muddle the difference between "exempt" and "exclude".  It makes a world of difference. You have to make the call when listing property of the bankruptcy estate, usually various kinds of retirement assets.  All of the debtor's assets and legal rights come into the estate. Exemptions allow you to extract assets from the estate .  The … [Continue reading...]

Unfinished Business Of Learning The Law

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

  Every legal seminar needs an extra day, in solitude, to internalize what you've "learned". At the NACBA Fall Workshops last weekend,  Jay repeated the old saw that a workshop is worthwhile if you bring home one good idea. He told our group in the Business of Bankruptcy Law tract that we aimed  to provide more than one good idea. But the gems that you can tick off  easily are … [Continue reading...]

NACBA Workshops A Real High For Bankruptcy Lawyers

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

The content and the company at NACBA's fall workshops has me flying. I've come off two days  in Colorado Springs, making presentations on the means test and on applications for compensation and hosting the Business of Bankruptcy track with New York bankruptcy lawyer Jay Fleischman . The energy and curiosity of the newer bankruptcy lawyers was particularly energizing.  They  came with difficult … [Continue reading...]

Why you should want your competition to become better bankruptcy lawyers

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Sounds counter intuitive, doesn't it? It should be easier to be a stand out if all the bankruptcy lawyers around you are Lilliputians. Yet I second Jay Fleischman's wish for more good bankruptcy lawyers around me.  And I think that the attitude I've encountered among some newcomers to the field, that they won't share anything with their competition, is shortsighted and self … [Continue reading...]

Did You Forget Bankruptcy’s Magic Words?

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

We have an incantation that, uttered when you file the bankruptcy schedules, protects us from certain harm.  Or at least awkward admissions. Remember? Try saying :   Disputed!  Unliquidated! This spell allows you to disclose, notice, and discharge creditor claims without admitting that the debtor is liable or without determining the amount of the claim.  (Can you tell I just got around to … [Continue reading...]

Courtroom Journal: Hardship Discharge & Rotten Economy

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Is the current  rotten economy and marginal job skills a circumstance for which a Chapter 13 debtor is not "justly accountable"? Or does nothing short of death or disability entitle a debtor to a hardship discharge in Chapter 13? Yesterday's hearing was triggered by the Chapter 13 trustee's objection to our motion for a hardship discharge.  The debtor is an independent truck driver who is … [Continue reading...]

Two Things To Do When The Phone Has Stopped Ringing

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

If you are lonely as the Maytag repairman in this lull in bankruptcy filings, add to your practice enhancing projects  some office organization  tasks. The two that head my list are write a staff training manual and improve my work product retrieval system.  Let's work on the  retrieve and recycle  issue first. Central to good client service and making money in your bankruptcy practice it is … [Continue reading...]

How To Cope With The Slowdown In Bankruptcy Filings

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

When you're really, really busy in the bankruptcy business, you long for some quiet.  Fewer deadlines and less stress sounds wonderful. When the phone is quiet, however, you worry that you've seen your last client and your practice is doomed. To prevent yourself from breaking down, you can try products like CBD Oil, you should click to read more about how CBD works. All My (Bankruptcy Practice) … [Continue reading...]

My Favorite Things About Being A Bankruptcy Lawyer

By Filed Under: Bankruptcy Practice

Lawyers consistently ask me why I became a bankruptcy lawyer.  If you're thinking of diving into the field and don't know if it's your cup of tea then perhaps these insights will help you. I treasure making an immediate and tangible difference in people's lives, right here and right now. So many worries in life are beyond my scope or simply have no quick fix. I can't fix ill health, old age, … [Continue reading...]