It’s ironic that lots of us chose bankruptcy as a specialty because we didn’t want to litigate. Bankruptcy looked easy, the recession creates clients and the practice is centered around official forms. Then one day you realize that bankruptcy is full of motion practice. And nothing is more important than dealing with relief from stay […]
Why You Need To Know The Three Musketeers Of Bankruptcy
In literature, the three musketeers answered to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. In the world of bankruptcy, they live on yet with different names. That doesn’t make them any less effective or, in the wrong hands, less lethal. The Code accords better treatment to creditors holding liens. Therefore, it is often our sworn duty as fighters […]
Need A Bankruptcy Form or Local Rule For A Mortgage Case?
The National Consumer Law Center once again takes on a gargantuan task at the Bankruptcy Mortgage Project website. The site gathers documents, rules, procedures and forms touching mortgage issues in bankruptcy cases, organized by state. Within the site, it addresses Loss Mitigation Chapter 13 Plan Cure Requirements Stay Relief Lien Stripping Chapter 13 Plans […]
Go Back, Says Mortgage Law Expert
Pamela Simmons is one of the towering figures in the field of mortgage law, Truth in Lending and the mortgage meltdown. She and her partner Bill Purdy are my go-to lawyers for anything related to mortgage loans gone bad. I count her a friend as well. Below is an open letter she wrote to […]
You Can’t Tell The Players Without A Scorecard
The business bankruptcy version of “who’s on first” is the inquiry: who is liable for this debt? Get a clear answer or get ready for trouble. A small business owner and his business are often indivisible in his mind. When a bankruptcy lawyer doesn’t work to pull them apart, analytically, he should be […]
Humpty Dumpty and Statutory Interpretation
After all the time I spend cajoling, suggesting, demanding that bankruptcy lawyer READ THE CODE, I was bitten by my own advice recently. The youngish bankruptcy lawyer had read § 109, and leapt to a conclusion 180 degrees from correct. He was utterly right that the words of the statute talk about debts the debtor […]
Chapter 13 Trustee Makes A Christmas List
OK, so I’m behind. Christmas was three weeks ago. I’m just getting around to sharing with you my Chapter 13 trustee’s Wish List for 2012, which she announced at our bankruptcy bar’s Christmas party. The fact that she has to “ask” us to do what the Code says we must speaks volumes about the attention […]
