Quick: tell me everything you know about Federal Rule of Evidence 803(17)! If you’re like me, there’s deafening silence. I’ve apparently skated through forty years of bankruptcy practice without really considering how Kelly Blue Book figures get into evidence. If it worked, I just went on. (Hint: it’s FRE 803(17). But a change in California […]
Objection: Hearsay
There you are, client on the witness stand, jury in the box, story being told on direct exactly the way you prepared her, things going just swimmingly. And then opposing counsel stands and utters those two lovely words…”Objection, hearsay.” Huh? That’s ridiculous, you confidently think to yourself, just as you hear the trial judge say, […]
Start with problem, not procedure
The new bankruptcy lawyer sent me an email. What do I file when there’s an objection to my client’s amended Chapter 13 plan: notice a hearing? file a demurer? In her case, the form of the “objection” suggested the opposing counsel was as new to bankruptcy as the debtor’s lawyer. My advice? First: figure out […]
Prompt Full Disclosure from Bankruptcy Clients
If the price of a bankruptcy discharge is full disclosure, some clients still want to underpay. No matter how carefully you script your initial interview with a client in quest of everything you need to know to advise them on bankruptcy, there will be some tidbit, relevant to your quest, that isn’t evoked with your […]
Dig Deep In Your First Meeting With A Prospective Client
The success of a bankruptcy case is frequently determined at the first meeting between client and lawyer. The information that is exchanged and the confidence that is built at that encounter shapes the client’s expectations, the choice of chapter, the timing of the filing and much more. So I cringe when I hear stories about […]
Proofs of Claim, Res Judicata, And A Good Night’s Sleep
Trouble shared is trouble halved. Brainy Quotes attributes that bit of wisdom to writer Dorothy Sayers. (Also to Lee Iacocca; take your pick). One of the things that keeps me troubled at night is the preclusive effect of a filed proof of claim. So, I’ll share my worries, and you can worry too. Filed claims deemed […]
Why Courtroom Rules Work In Your Conference Room
“Objection: calls for a legal conclusion.” That’s a perfectly good courtroom objection to a question asked of a witness at trial. The rules of evidence make the court, not the witness, the sole arbiter of the law. What does that have to do with filing bankruptcy schedules, you ask. I suggest you import this courtroom […]
