Someone asked me the other day how I keep up on cases. I bit my tongue, since my usual sense about advance sheets and the like is that I’m horribly behind. (I’m so behind I’m talking about “advance sheets”, cases printed on paper!). Reading my email seems to consume a disproportionate portion of the day. […]
Can You Clean Up After Business Closure?
Whether it makes sense to file a Chapter 7 for a corporation is a nuanced issue. Whether you advise to file Chapter 7 for the corporation or just shut the business down without bankruptcy, there’s some mop-up to do. Miss these wind up issues and the corporate officers will not sing your praises. Payroll taxes […]
Why No Look Fees Are No Good For Bankruptcy Lawyers
No look fees for bankruptcy cases are comfortable and easy for the practitioner. You can quote a fee for a Chapter 13 confident that most other attorneys in town are quoting the same fee. No fear of price competition. The client likes it. It appears to offer certainty in an uncertain world to someone worried […]
Here’s A Way To Rescue Your Client’s Exemptions
Do you know which ignored prefiling issue triggers the most reopened bankruptcy cases? I’ve got no data but my money’s on avoidable judicial liens. We as bankruptcy attorneys have gotten so caught up in avoiding consensual mortgages where they are totally unsecured that we forget to look for the easy stuff. Stuff that is available […]
Here Are 3 Ways To Cram Down A Car In Spite Of The Hanging Paragraph
There are three labeled exits from the 910 freeway. Find one and you save your client thousands of dollars. Miss them all and you do your client a disservice. The infamous hanging paragraph in §1325(a) prohibits bifurcation of a creditor’s claim secured by a vehicle into a secured claim and an unsecured claim. Specifically: section […]
Top Ten Takeaways From NACBA Convention
A week after the NACBA convention, I’ve almost caught up on practice paperwork, continuing education reporting, and sleep. Now’s the time for some reflection on the experience as a whole. Here’s my list of big-picture ideas and to-do’s . How about you? What stood out for you at NACBA if you were lucky enough to […]
What I Learned In San Antonio, And What We Missed
After a long weekend with 900 bankruptcy colleagues, I’ve been thoroughly reminded about all that remains to be learned about this marvelous profession. What did I learn, and what was missing? I took my first bankruptcy case 32 years ago, and looking back, I blanch at what I didn’t know then. Even now, I see […]
