Letters in the client’s mailbox superficially offer great news: the junior mortgage will be forgiven! That good news just adds on a new facet to our job description: spotting possible tax consequences and alternatives for our clients by reason of tax on cancellation of debt. As the National Mortgage Settlement gains momentum, we can expect […]
Does Your Intake Process Make For Happier Clients?
“My staff is spending too much time on the phone with clients: how do I stop it and make us more productive?” That was the question raised at our workshop last weekend on technology, marketing and office management. On the one hand, if you are going to do good work and distinguish yourself from the […]
Good Service Isn’t Automatic When The Stay Isn’t Either
Sometimes it seems that the substance of the law is easier than procedure. Adequate service is both essential and ephemeral. We’ve been struggling for some time about who to serve and how to do it on the issue of stripping underwater mortgages. Locally, the spotlight seems to have shifted to service when you move to extend […]
Tax Troubles Ahead
Severe weather alert: IRS turbulence spotted The head of our local IRS insolvency section announced a reading of BAPCPA which turns the law as we know it on its head. Worse it portends surprised counsel and unhappy Chapter 13 clients if it is accepted. Here’s his contention: the taxes associated with any tax return filed after the […]
Polish Your Advocacy Mindset
Be an advocate-your client has enough opponents. It’s no accident that the word for lawyer in Scotland, Belgium and India is advocate. If we do our jobs for bankruptcy clients well, we are advocates for their interests at every stage of the game. Yet I hear lawyers assuming that there is a known and pat […]
New Kid On The SoCal Bankruptcy Block
I’m deviating from the usual here to cheer on my friend and partner in the adventure that is Bankruptcy Mastery, Jay Fleischman. Yesterday I presented him for swearing in to the California Bar yesterday, some 17 years after he took the New York Bar. Personally, I’m not sure I could muster the energy and the […]
On Pricing The Consumer Bankruptcy Case And Involuntary Pro Bono Work
You probably spend hours in service of your client without compensation. At least, that’s how the majority of consumer bankruptcy lawyers operate. Is this the only way to practice? It seems as if the consumer debtor bankruptcy bar has been brought up to believe that we should expect no payment from our clients once […]
